Hollywood Star Opens Up About Devastating Losses and the Lingering Impact on Her Mental Health
Los Angeles, CA – Actress and singer Dove Cameron, known for her roles in Disney’s *Descendants* and Apple TV’s *Schmigadoon!*, recently revealed a deeply personal struggle with “major phone anxiety,” a condition she attributes to a series of profound losses, most notably the death of her father by suicide when she was just 15 years old. The candid admission came during a Wednesday, February 4th episode of Alex Cooper’s popular *Call Her Daddy* podcast, where the now 30-year-old artist shared the harrowing details of receiving the life-altering news.
Cameron recounted the day her world shifted. Months after her father, Philip Alan Hosterman, had visited her in Los Angeles, she received an unsettling message from a family friend. The friend inquired about her mother’s whereabouts and, upon learning she was out, urged Cameron to have her mother contact a family member immediately. “I just knew,” Cameron confessed on the podcast, describing an intuitive certainty that something was terribly wrong, an interaction far from normal. This premonition was soon tragically confirmed.
Upon her mother’s return, a phone call to a family member delivered the devastating news: her father, Phil, “is no longer with us.” The shock triggered an intense panic attack for the then-teenager. “It’s the most out of control feeling you can have,” Cameron explained, describing how she fled the room, unable to breathe, entering a primal “animal mode” characterized by the fight, flight, or freeze response. She vividly expressed the sensation of feeling as though she would “vomit your soul.”
This heartbreaking experience was not an isolated incident in shaping her phone aversion. Cameron disclosed that “all three of my big losses have come via phone call.” While the podcast didn’t elaborate on the other two, Cameron has publicly spoken about the loss of two close friends, including her *Descendants* co-star Cameron Boyce in 2019, suggesting these events collectively cemented her deep-seated phone anxiety.
The profound impact of these traumas has been a significant part of Cameron’s journey. In a 2023 interview with PEOPLE, coinciding with the release of her debut album, *Alchemical Vol. 1*, she reflected on confronting her past. She revealed that, as a young Capricorn, she “dove into work so hard at such a young age,” often prioritizing her career over building a personal community or life outside her job. Her 20s, she explained, became a period of “emotional spring-cleaning,” where she was compelled to revisit and process ignored traumas.
“I had to go into the attic of all of the stuff I hadn’t dealt with and go through them and look at them and put it down on paper,” Cameron shared with PEOPLE, emphasizing the therapeutic nature of this process for her personal growth. By openly sharing her vulnerabilities, Dove Cameron continues to shed light on the complex interplay between personal tragedy, mental health, and the journey toward healing, offering solace and understanding to those facing similar struggles.
