Valerie Bertinelli opens up about suffering from 'really bad' anxiety

Valerie Bertinelli has candidly described how she "couldn't stop shaking" amid a recent anxiety attack.

Taking to Instagram on Sunday, the Hot in Cleveland actress shared a video showing her right hand shaking uncontrollably and could be heard saying, "I'm doing my best, the after-effects of an anxiety attack f**king suck."

In the accompanying caption, Valerie opened up about how she had experienced a "really bad" anxiety attack the day before, despite not having one for a "very, very long time".

"I was weeping uncontrollably, and my heart felt like it was pounding out of my chest. I couldn't stop shaking," she wrote. "I know I'm taking a chance, but, I want to share it because I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one out here who has experienced this. Gratefully these attacks have become much more infrequent, so this one took me a little bit by surprise today."

Valerie went on to explain that she felt as if her body and mind were "actually under attack".

And while the former Valerie's Home Cooking host embraces meditation and eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy to help with the issue, she still hasn't figured out how to calm the shaking.

"Part of me is fascinated by what the human body is capable of when our feelings can get in the way or override any reasonable thought and another part of me is just curious on how all of this happens, you know the weird neuropathies in our brain and how it affects our bodies, what feelings (which are just information btw) are and why are they so powerful that they make our body go into overdrive," the 64-year-old continued.

To conclude the message, Valerie emphasised that she hopes her decision to be "incredibly vulnerable" and speak out on the topic will help others.

"Tell me I'm not the only one out here and is there anything that you have also found to be helpful? Anyway...this little bit of vulnerability is brought to you by someone who wants you to know you're not alone," she added.