Clay Aiken admits to taking Paxil

[Guest guest]

On Good Morning America this morning Diane Sawyer had an interview

with former American Idol contestant Clay Aiken. Diane asked him if

he took Paxil & he told her yes. She then asked him if he was afraid

of becoming " addicted " to it. He told her that he was more afraid of

becoming addicted to other things he used to take. The interview

continues tomorrow morning.

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=2464292

Clay Aiken Confesses Fear, Panic Attacks

The Former 'American Idol' Contestant Takes Antidepressants to

Control His Racing Thoughts

Sept. 19, 2006 — He was the North Carolina boy who made it big

on " American Idol. " But for Clay Aiken, fame came with a price.

" And when I was in the room, or when I am in the room, the walls are

closing in on me and my heart races and I don't understand it, " Aiken

told ABC's Diane Sawyer.

Aiken has suffered from panic attacks for years, a secret few people

knew, until now.

Watch " Good Morning America " Wednesday and Thursday for Diane

Sawyer's interview with Clay Aiken.

" I would look back and say, 'Why is your heart racing. … Why are your

palms sweaty? What is the problem?,' " Aiken said.

" And I guess I just got to a point where I thought, 'OK, listen,

you're not going crazy. I'm not going, I'm not going crazy.' And so I

talked to my doctor and I said, 'Listen, here's the thing. I don't

understand why I feel like I'm gonna have a heart attack when I go

into these rooms. I don't get it.' "

Aiken admitted that he takes Paxil, an antidepressant, to control his

attacks. But they don't occur onstage when he's performing, as some

might assume.

" No. I don't get nervous up there, " Aiken told Sawyer. " I don't. I

don't have any stage fright. "

Hear more of Clay Aiken's revelations Wednesday and Thursday on " Good

Morning America. "