Emma Stone credits acting with curing panic attacks

EMMA STONE overcame crippling panic attacks as a child by embracing acting.

The Help star felt unable to leave her mother's side until she decided to focus on the arts after she was cast in a school play at the tender age of six.

She tells Britain's Bliss magazine, "It hit me really hard. It freaked me out and I couldn’t leave my mom’s side, but then I remembered how good it felt to be on stage. I met other people like me, who liked the same things I liked. It became this place where I could be myself and express myself."