Natalia Grace Listens to Taylor Swift to Cope with Past Trauma: ‘It Helps Me with My Nerves’ (Exclusive)
The Ukrainian orphan reveals she struggles with anxiety, ADHD and PTSD — and listening to music helps
The Ukrainian orphan reveals she struggles with anxiety, ADHD and PTSD — and listening to music helps
Ukrainian-born American Natalia Grace, who was born with a rare form of dwarfism, has endured a lifetime of harrowing trauma. From an early age, she claims she was subjected to both physical and emotional abuse while living with in an orphanage and with an adoptive family.
More recently, people close to Natalia allege in the final season of The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: The Final Chapter — airing on ID and streaming on Max Jan. 6 and 7 — that she faced similar mistreatment at the hands of another pair of adoptive parents into adulthood.
These devastating experiences, 21-year-old Natalia says, have left her grappling with complex anxiety and post-traumatic stress. Yet, through it all, she has found solace in a surprising place—the music of Taylor Swift. Allison Michael Orenstein Natalia Grace PEOPLE Cover Story.
In the latest issue of PEOPLE, now on newsstands, Natalia opens up about her struggles with mental health and how she's overcoming those challenges through therapy and medication.
“I have anxiety all the way to the roof,” says Natalia, who suffers from situational and generalized anxiety, ADHD and PTSD and takes prescribed medication. “It’s definitely hard to deal with. I’m the type of person that hides it until I get too overwhelmed, and it explodes.”
But as a Taylor Swift fan, Natalia says she also uses music as a tool to get through sometimes debilitating stress. Swift's tunes calm her and the superstar's lyrics remind her that she's never alone in her pain.
"There's actually a lot of songs by Taylor that are very relatable," she says. "She's such a comfort to me. I play music through my headphones and it just kind of helps my nerves." . Allison Michael Orenstein; Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Natalia Grace, left; Taylor Swift, right.
Natalia says she is slowly learning how to confront her ongoing mental health issues, including finding strength in cathartic music by other artists who have faced their own struggles.
At night, when she often experiences nightmares , she uses headphones to escape the negative thoughts. She listens to singers like Ariana Grande and Miley Cyrus. And one of her favorite songs is "Love's Not Pain," by Jessica Baio.
Baio's lyrics "We knew too much, too young, we were just kids, losing our innocence," resonate with her because it's what she went though as a child, says Natalia.
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"I had to grow up so fast. I learned things that I should have been learning at an older age, not so early in life," she adds. "But then Baio sings: 'We only saw hearts breakin,' nothin' like movie scenes, but you're always showin' me.'"
"It reminds me that life is not a movie, but there is people that can show you that love isn't always pain."
The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: The Final Chapter premieres January 6 and January 7 on Investigation Discovery and streams on Max.
