Peter Andre's crippling panic attacks

Mar 9, 2010, 12:01 GMT

Peter Andre considered suicide after suffering crippling panic attacks.

The 'Behind Closed Doors' singer - whose marriage with glamour model Katie Price ended in May last year - admitted the frequent attacks got so bad, he thought about ending his life and credits the love of his family for saving him.

He said: "Did I think about ending my life? You can have thoughts like that and I'm not going to lie, there were times when it was so bad that I thought, 'Am I better off?' But you have to look at what's around you. My family were my entire life and I thought, 'How are they going to live the rest of their lives?' That's what stopped me."

The 36-year-old star ended up in hospital after suffering a breakdown 10 years ago, but this only made him worse because he convinced himself he was even more ill.

He explained to Britain's OK! magazine: "They didn't know what was wrong with me, but they soon realised that all I had was a breakdown.

"There was nothing wrong with me but I started to think this was because of the people around me. One woman in there had been tripping from an acid pill from the 70s. Another guy was in a straight jacket all day long and others had tried to commit suicide."

Despite sometimes still suffering from the panic attacks, the reality TV star - who has children Junior, four, and Princess Tiaamii, two, with Katie - insists he won't let himself fall so low again.

He said: "The last time I had a panic attack was three months after my break-up and the stress just built up and hit me. You think you're having a heart attack. No matter how many times you've had it, every time you think, this is it, I'm going to die.

"Because of my kids these days I can't be anywhere I can't control.

"I won't go back to hospital because I've got children, they need me and I will always be there for them. I will never go back. I've got such a great family."