Grey’s Anatomyalum Sarah Drew revealed she overcame panic attacks during her first pregnancy thanks to a life changing piece of advice from her father.
Drew, who played Dr. April Kepner for more than a decade, recalled being six months pregnant and overwhelmed by fears of motherhood.
“I was worried I was going to screw up… I was worried that I wasn’t going to have the necessary selflessness,” she told Fox News.
Seeking guidance, she wrote to her father, a pastor, who urged her to embrace “aggressive gratitude.”
Drew explained, “You’re replacing the scary and the dark with, ‘I’m grateful that there is oxygen in my lungs. I have a roof over my head…’ All of a sudden, your brain chemistry starts to shift.”
She now calls gratitude “the greatest combatant of fear in my life,” a practice she continues as mother to son Micah and daughter Hannah.
Drew previously spoke about panic attacks while filming Shonda Rhimes-created show’s harrowing season 6 finale, describing nightmares and trauma from the mass shooting storyline.
Today, she says gratitude has rewired her response to fear, transforming panic into resilience.
2026-05-25 11:58:00
