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Reese Witherspoon Underwent Hypnosis to Treat Panic Attacks Before Filming Wild: 'I Was So Scared'

Anne Marie Fox Reese Witherspoon

Reese Witherspoon earned an Oscar nomination for her emotive performance as author Cheryl Strayed in the 2014 movie Wild - but transforming into the role was no easy feat.

Witherspoon suffered from severe panic attacks before filming began, she revealed in a conversation with Tracee Ellis Ross for Interview magazine published Tuesday and underwent hypnosis to treat them.

"Probably Wild," Witherspoon, 45, answered when asked by Ross which of her roles "changed" her the most.

"I was so scared to do that, Tracee. I had hypnosis, I was so scared. I was having panic attacks for three weeks before I started," the Morning Show star said.

Chris Pizzello-Pool/Getty Reese Witherspoon

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"There was the nudity, sexuality, and drug-use aspect, but also being alone on camera with no other actors. I hadn't ever been alone in scenes for days and days," Witherspoon added. "There were probably 25 days of the shoot where I had no other actor opposite me. It was just me and a camera and a backpack. I was like, 'Is this going to be so boring?'"

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Wild starred Witherspoon as Strayed as she hiked alone through 1,100 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail in an attempt to recover from a series of personal tragedies. The movie, written by Strayed and Nick Hornby, was directed by Jean-Marc Vallée and earned Witherspoon and costar Laura Dern Oscar nominations.

RELATED: Behind the Scenes of Wild with Reese Witherspoon: 'It's a Very Unorthodox System of Filmmaking' (VIDEO)

Witherspoon told Ross that Strayed's memoir, which inspired the film, had a huge impact on her.

"And Cheryl Strayed's book was so beautiful and sacred to me because it spoke to me so deeply about how we as women have to save ourselves," Witherspoon said. "There's no mother or father coming to save us. There's no spouse. I thought it was radical that at the end of the film, she ends up with no family, no money, no job, no partner, and she's happy."

"I don't know if I'll ever work that hard again, but it changed me on a cellular level," she said.