Elizabeth Olsen remembers that in New York she had panic attacks every hour

Elizabeth Olsen “didn’t understand” the feeling of panic until she reached a certain age.

The Marvel actress has opened up about how she experienced panic attacks in New York at the age of 21, a feeling she says she didn’t realize because she grew up as a very loud and confident child.

“I remember, I would get [panick attacks] every hour,” said Olsen in an interview with the newspaper Variety published on October 3. “I used to live on 13th Street between 6th and 7th. I was crossing 6th Avenue to 14th Street and I realized I couldn’t cross the street — I stood against the wall and I just thought I was going to drop dead at any moment.”

Olsen described a “spiraling” sensation that occurred in her body at signs of change in her environment.

“If I went from cold to hot, hot to cold, full to hungry, hungry to full — any change in my body, my whole body was like, ‘Oh, something’s wrong!'” Olsen told the publication. “It was so amazing. The ENT doctor said it could have been due to the vertigo as it was all about the rotation. So it’s been an interesting six months.”