Jennifer Esposito Recalls Agoraphobia, Suicidal Thoughts, Losing a Tooth & Psych Ward Visit Amid Celiac Diagnosis | Just Jared - Celebrity News and Gossip

Jennifer Esposito is getting candid about her physical and mental health.

The 53-year-old NCIS and The Boys actress made an appearance on Maria Menounos‘ Heal Squad podcast, where she opened up about being diagnosed with celiac disease, and the long journey towards healing her body.

“I cannot tell you how ill I was from the time I was a child, and I was told every different thing. The physical symptoms, stomach issues, hair falling out, nails falling off, but then the panic disorder,” she explained.

Per Mayo Clinic:

Celiac disease is an autoimmune condition where the immune system reacts to gluten, sometimes causing damage to the small intestine. Gluten is a protein found in foods containing wheat, barley or rye.

If you have celiac disease, eating gluten triggers an immune response to the gluten protein in your small intestine. Over time, this reaction can damage your small intestine’s lining and prevent it from absorbing nutrients. This condition is called malabsorption.

Jennifer then revealed that when she was in her 20s, she became agoraphobic and moved back with her parents.

“The panic attacks started to get so bad that I wind up becoming agoraphobic. I had to stop everything. [I had] thoughts of suicide; I was really, really deeply depressed,” she admitted, saying she went to a psychologist and got put on medications, and was even offered shock treatment.

While starring in Samantha Who, she said things began to “collapse” and a tooth fell out of her mouth in the middle of a scene.

“I was mortified but also had been so ill that I went hysterical. Like, somebody has to help me,” she revealed, saying that it led to a doctor visit, who gave her the diagnosis and said it was the “worst case” she had ever seen.

“They had me on four Klonopin a day, and I was still a trembling mess,” she said of the severe panic attacks.

She started to work with a medical expert, and was “in such bad shape” that she asked for a test of her vitamin levels. The doctor took her to a psych ward.

“It was seven of the most excruciating hours of my entire life. I was yet again pleading for my sanity…you’re still telling me this is my mind.”

“It was because I said, ‘I’m gonna jump out the window’…they thought I was going to harm myself,” she added.

She since documented her experience in her book Jennifer’s Way: My Journey with Celiac Disease—What Doctors Don’t Tell You and How You Can Learn to Live Again. Watch the conversation above.

Posted To:Celiac Disease health Jennifer Esposito