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Gabrielle Union opens up about how the pandemic and 'racial reckoning' sent her 'PTSD into overdrive'

Invision/AP
Invision/AP

Actress Gabrielle Union has opened up about how the pandemic and recent wave of "racial reckoning" sent her "PTSD into overdrive."

The Bring it On actress has always been open about her past experiences and mental health.

Union previously said that she was diagnosed with PTSD at 19 after she was raped at gunpoint. In 2018, she spoke about having PSTD as part of The Child Mind Institute's #MyYoungerSelf social media campaign, saying, "I'm here to tell you that I am PTSD survivor, thriver, bada** motherf***er. I was diagnosed with PTSD at 19 after I was raped at gunpoint — and I didn't let it stop me."

She encouraged people, telling them, "You can literally be anything you want to be. PTSD isn't a death sentence. You don't have to be alone or feel isolated. There are so many of us out there who are feeling exactly what you're dealing with it and it doesn't make you weak. It doesn't make you anything but human."

(Getty Images)
(Getty Images)

Now, she's speaking out about how recent events have exacerbated her PTSD. She told Women's Health via People, “The combination of the pandemic and this racial reckoning, alongside being inundated with [images of] the brutalization of Black bodies, has sent my PTSD into overdrive," continuing on to say, "There’s just terror in my body."

She went on to say that to cope, "I break out my emotional fix-me toolkit, and I try to run through all the situations. I call it my 'What's the likelihood of X happening?' method ... If I'm fearful about going into a store because I'm anxious about being robbed, I'll make myself feel better by going to one where there will be witnesses to cut down those chances. It's been this way since '92. It's just something I do; second nature."

(Getty Images)
(Getty Images)

Union recently celebrated her six-year anniversary with husband Dwayne Wade. She's also starring in the TV show L.A.'s Finest star alongside Jessica Alba.