Amanda Seyfried says she struggles with panic attacks that 'feel like life or death' due to fame

• Seyfried says her body goes into "fight or flight" when she has anxiety.
• "The endorphin rush and the dump that happens after the panic attack is so extraordinary," she said.
• The Oscar nominee says her home life on a farm helps her mental health.

Oscar-nominated actress Amanda Seyfried says she struggles with showing people she's "normal" despite being famous.

In fact, the "Mean Girls" star admits it has led to anxiety and panic attacks that feel like "life or death."

"That's what a panic attack is, really," Seyfried told Willie Geist on Sunday's episode of "The Today Show." "Your body just goes into fight or flight. The endorphin rush and the dump that happens after the panic attack is so extraordinary. You just feel so relieved and your body is just kind of recovered in a way. It's so bizarre because it's physiological, but it starts in your head."

Seyfried, 35, has been famous most of her life. And since 2017, she's been married to actor Thomas Sadoski, which has only heightened that fame. But now earning a best supporting actress Oscar for her performance as Marion Davies in David Fincher's "Mank" has lifted her stature even more, and with that, her struggle to show others that she is grounded.

"Every time I meet someone new, I'm just so desperate for them to understand that you can talk to me," Seyfried said. "I wanna connect like everybody else, because I am like everybody else."

The actress said what helps with her anxiety is that she and Sadoski do not live in Los Angeles, but on a farm in upstate New York. She even admits that she was completely unaware of her Oscar nomination. It was her mother who woke her up to tell her of the nom.

"It was very conscious," she said of not living in Hollywood. "I've always wanted to live on a farm. I just need to feel grounded somewhere that I can trust will always be there."