Britney Spears has opened up about her 2007 breakdown in an Israeli publication, revealing her anxiety issues were at the root of the problem.
The Toxic singer hit the headlines a decade ago after she shaved off her hair, lashed out at photographers with an umbrella and locked herself and her kids in a bathroom in a desperate attempt to stop them from being returned to their dad, Kevin Federline.
The meltdown led to a spell in a hospital and her father took over her financial and business affairs as Britney's conservator.
Ten years on, Britney is reflecting on those troubling times, revealing she felt 'overwhelmed' by the smallest of things.
"From an early age I always felt that everyone was testing me," she tells Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahronot. "If (something) was not in place, it would have been enough to get me to this point of anxiety. I could get overwhelmed by a lot of very small, disproportionate things."
As part of her healing process, Spears made a personal vow to herself to take more breaks in a bid to improve her mental health.
"I had to give myself more breaks through my career and take responsibility for my mental health," she adds. "There were many decisions that were made for me and that I didn't make myself... I think I was a different person then, young, and I did not always know instinctively what was good and what was wrong. I am in a much better place in my life."
Britney credits her sons, Jayden and Sean, for helping her to better cope with life: "(They) shaped my personality, filled me, made me less worried about what is happening to me," she states.
