Valerie Bertinelli reveals that she tested positive for…

Navigating the Aftermath with Intention

Rather than trying to hide the vulnerability of the situation, Bertinelli detailed the specific grounding tools she relies on to pull herself back to center when her nervous system misfires.

To cope with the lingering physical symptoms and calm her heart rate, she turned to a combination of intentional meditation and EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)—a therapeutic technique designed to help the brain process and reframe distressing emotional responses.

Even hours after the peak of the attack, as she recorded the video, her hands continued to shake. Yet, she chose to hit record anyway, noting that the "after-effects f***king suck," but that keeping it real was the only way she knew how to navigate it.

Breaking the Stigma Together

Sharing a moment of raw, unpolished difficulty can be daunting for anyone, let alone a public figure. Bertinelli admitted she initially felt a wave of fear about posting something so intensely personal. Ultimately, she decided that stepping out in courage was worth the risk if it helped even one person feel less isolated.

The response from her community was immediate and overwhelming. Hundreds of thousands of fans, peers, and fellow anxiety-sufferers flooded her comments with messages of profound gratitude, reminding her that she is far from alone.

By pulling back the curtain on the messy, exhausting reality of an anxiety attack, Valerie Bertinelli didn’t just share an update—she reminded her audience that mental health struggles are not a personal failure, and that there is immense power in simply saying, "This is hard, and I'm doing my best.