Millie Bobby Brown adopted a therapy dog after online comments caused bad panic attacks

1 April 2020, 11:44

Millie Bobby Brown opens up about panic attacks and her therapy dog with Miley Cyrus

Katie Louise Smith

By Katie Louise Smith

Millie joined Miley Cyrus on 'Bright Minded' and spoke about how her mental health inspired her to adopt her new dog, Winnie.

By now, if you've spent any amount of time on Instagram over the past few weeks, you'll have seen that international treasure Millie Bobby Brown has adopted a gorgeous little puppy.

The Stranger Things star showed off Winnie to her fans shortly after her 16th birthday, and she's been posting pics with her on social media ever since.

READ MORE: Millie Bobby Brown calls out people sexualising her in 16th birthday post

Yesterday (March 30), Millie joined Miley Cyrus on her new daily talk show 'Bright Minded' where they spoke about how people mispronounce their names, their joint struggle with growing up in the spotlight, how Millie learned her American accent from Hannah Montana, and how Winnie the dog came to be in Millie's life.

In the chat, Millie revealed that Winnie is actually a therapy dog, and she adopted her to help comfort her when she experiences anxiety attacks.

Millie Bobby Brown says "really bad panic attacks" inspired her to get a therapy dog
Millie Bobby Brown says "really bad panic attacks" inspired her to get a therapy dog. Picture: @mileycyrus via Instagram, @milliebobbybrown via Instagram

Speaking to Miley over the livestream, Millie opened up about her decision to get a dog. “So, basically, when I was like 10 and I was in the industry, I was very confident and really didn’t care what people would say about it," she started. "And then recently, since maybe I turned 15, about two years ago, I just started having really bad panic attacks and really bad anxiety and I just struggled with it really bad."

"I still struggle with it but it’s getting better," Millie continued. "I’m working on it but it’s something that I don’t really– I’m not as carefree as I was when I was 10 and just started in Stranger Things. And now a lot of people have a lot more to say about me. There’s a lot of good but there’s a lot of bad."

Millie then went on to explain how she then talked her parents in to getting her a therapy dog, small enough for travel and to comfort her when she's really stressed.

Enter Winnie the Pooh.

In the past, Millie has opened up about how the hate comments, sexualisation and negative trends on social media have affected her mental health and left her feeling insecure.

On her 16th birthday, Millie posted a self-edited video on Instagram alongside a caption that reads: "the last few years haven't been easy, I'll admit that. there are moments i get frustrated from the inaccuracy, inappropriate comments, sexualization, and unnecessary insults that ultimately have resulted in pain and insecurity for me."

In the chat with Miley, Millie credits her parents, siblings, close friends and cast mates for reassuring her and validating her feelings when it all gets too much, and for being her voices of reason who tell her when she's doing well and where she's going wrong.

Millie, you're doing amazing sweetie!