Rachel Platten was too scared to go out in public "a couple of years ago" due to chronic pain and anxiety

She told PEOPLE of previous Thanksgivings: "I remember feeling so scared that my chronic pain would act up or that I wouldn't make it through the night because of anxiety or something. It was a very, very dark time."

Rachel continued: "A couple years ago, I couldn't imagine being out in public, let alone on a float in front of millions of people on national TV.

"But look at me now. I was able to make it out of all that pain and instead, I get to shine and be in front of millions of people on Thanksgiving."

The 43-year-old singer still has "waves" of anxiety, but she can cope better thanks to therapy and other self-care practices.

She said: "It's quite a miracle that I made it through it and that I am here and that I'm so strong.

"The same emotional waves take me like they always did, but I have all these tools like therapy and journaling and meditation in my tool chest now that I know how to work with them and let them move through. It's not necessarily that I changed, but I have learned how to accept all of me and love all of me, and that is what I'm most grateful for these days."