Speaking about the impact jail has had on her, Paris Hilton described her first three days behind bars as “terrifying” and said she had spent them “basically in the fetal position, basically in hysterics ... and having severe anxiety and panic attacks.”

However, Paris managed to get over the traumatic first hours in her cell by talking to herself.

“I was obviously very upset. I was just talking to myself, saying 'Paris, be strong, you can do this',” the socialite said of being returned to her cell after she was released into house arrest.

Paris Hilton was released from jail earlier this week after serving three and a half weeks behind bars for breaking the terms of her probation for drunk driving. She was briefly released into house arrest after Sheriff Lee Baca feared for her life but the same judge who sentenced her in the first place, disagreed and Paris was sent back to her cell.

While a guest on CNN’s “Larry King Show,” Paris explained that even though she hated the experience she’s glad it happened.

“It was a very traumatic experience, but I feel like God does make everything happen for a reason. And it gave me a time-out in life just to really find out what was important and what I want to do and find out who I am. I have a new outlook on life.

“The beginning was really hard, really hard for me, it’s a bit of a blur it was so traumatic. But after being there for a while I had to accept I could either make the best of it or the worst of it, so I lived by the motto, ‘Don’t serve the time, let the time serve you’.”

“It was a journey to figure out who I am and what I want to do. There’s so much more to me than what people think,” she added.

Paris’ first post-jail interview which aired Wednesday night drew about 3.2 million viewers for the network, nearly triple the show's average audience.