Kate Beckinsale opens up about living with PTSD: “It’s like hell”

Kate Beckinsale appeared from her bed in two videos and described post-traumatic stress disorder as “hell,” opening up about the grief that followed the deaths of her mother and stepfather.

The actress said people who have witnessed or experienced extreme horror, terror and violence often cannot simply escape their trauma. Many become highly skilled at hiding what they are going through, she said, and receive little consideration because their suffering remains unseen.

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It’s like hell.

Beckinsale explained that people with PTSD may lead apparently normal lives while facing intense internal turmoil. Smells, sounds, thoughts and feelings can trigger a state she compared to hell. She identified sleep as one of the hardest parts, saying some people sleep for no more than an hour because nightmares return whenever they do.

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People who have seen or experienced levels of horror, terror and violence cannot escape their traumas, but they must be recognized as heroes.

In a second video, posted around National Grief Awareness Day, Beckinsale recalled caring for her mother, actress Judy Loe, during stage-four cancer. She spoke about people who quietly care for loved ones as their health deteriorates in frightening ways, often without medical training and without support.

“Try to become people who can provide safety for those who are struggling,” she told her followers, saying such support could make a difference. Beckinsale has spoken about her grief before. In July 2025, she said her mother died in her arms and wrote that she felt paralyzed after losing “the compass of my life, the love.”

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Try to become people who can provide safety for those who are struggling, because you could make a difference to someone.