Kathy Griffin Reveals She Was Diagnosed With Complex PTSD
Kathy Griffin has had a rough few years. After 62-year-old Kathy posted that infamous pic of the bloody Trump head in 2017, she got fired from her gig hosting CNN’s New Year’s Eve broadcast, venues canceled her shows, and she was essentially blacklisted from show biz. Then, in 2021, Kathy was diagnosed with lung cancer. A few months later, she revealed she was cancer-free after getting her left lung removed. This is all to say, bitch has gone through it! And, even though she’s “slowly being uncancelled” (her words), Kathy hasn’t emerged unscathed. USA Today reports that she took to TikTok to share that she’d been diagnosed with complex PTSD and was suffering from frequent anxiety attacks.
Last Tuesday, Kathy told her TikTok followers that she’d been diagnosed with “an extreme case” of complex post-traumatic stress disorder. Kathy believes her condition began five and a half years ago, around the same time as the Trump picture controversy. Kathy doesn’t explicitly mention that incident, but it’s implied. She adds that her lung cancer diagnosis “didn’t help” things. Here’s Kath’s video:
@kathygriffin Never talked about this publicly. I have lots of tools, but it is extremely intense. I’ve never experienced anything like this in my life. If you’re someone who also deals with this, I am sending you lots and lots of love. #PTSD#Depression#Anxiety#ComplexPTSD
On Friday, Kathy posted a follow-up vid to TikTok and Instagram. She revealed she’d suffered an eight-hour-long anxiety attack the day before; “eight hours of freakin’ writhing in pain in the bed.” Jesus. Kathy says she felt another one coming on that morning, so she took a walk along the ocean, “which is helpful.” She adds:
And I’m sort of almost, like, mid-an anxiety attack right now. It feels good to be walking my way through it. I just keep telling myself it won’t last forever.
In the caption of her Instagram video, she writes that her panic attacks (she refers to them as both panic and anxiety attacks) can last a full day or multiple days in a row, and sometimes she has to go to the ER for IV fluids due to her anxiety vomiting:
On Saturday, Kathy posted another update about her mental health. She said that morning, she’d woke up feeling OK. She shares that her “PTSD attacks me in mornings,” so every single morning, “I wake up terrified.” Kathy says it first hits her chest with tingles; then it moves to her stomach. That’s when the vomiting may kick in. Fun! Kathy says, “it’s day by day”:
@kathygriffin Thank you to the response about my PTSD Anxiety PanicAttacks This is all this is new to me. My life definitely changed 5 1/2 years ago as you guys know, but this last year and a half has been plagued with PTSD stuff. it’s funny. I don’t have anxiety about performing, but I have anxiety about life. 😰
I had a five-minute-long anxiety attack recently, and that was hell. HELL. I can’t imagine having one that lasted multiple days. Luckily for Kathy, she has four dogs, who she refers to as her “healers.” Here’s her “board certified medical PAWfessional recovery pack,” greeting her after her lung surgery back in 2021:
Drs. Olivia, Elliott, Maggie, and Mary may be board certified, but I really hope they didn’t help out with their mother’s lung surgery. They don’t have thumbs!
Pic: Instagram