Lady Gaga says she still suffers from PTSD after her sexual assault incident

Singer and actor Lady Gaga has opened up about the effects of rape trauma, saying it took her "years" to come to terms with it.

In an interview with Vogue, the "Poker Face" star, who has spoken about being raped at the age of 19 in the past, said she still suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

"No one else knew. It was almost like I tried to erase it from my brain. And when it finally came out, it was like a big, ugly monster. And you have to face the monster to heal," Gaga said.

"For me, with my mental-health issues, half of the battle in the beginning was, I felt like I was lying to the world because I was feeling so much pain but nobody knew. So that's why I came out and said that I have PTSD, because I don't want to hide, any more than I already have to," she added.

Describing the effects, Gaga said she feels "stunned" or "stunted" all the time and often starts crying when she has trouble in breathing.

"You know that feeling when you're on a roller coaster and you're just about to go down the really steep slope? That fear and the drop in your stomach? My diaphragm seizes up.

"Then I have a hard time breathing, and my whole body goes into a spasm. And I begin to cry. That's what it feels like for trauma victims every day, and it's... miserable. I always say that trauma has a brain. And it works its way into everything that you do," Gaga said.

The 32-year-old singer-actor has been praised for her first major Hollywood role in Bradley Cooper's directorial debut "A Star Is Born".