Anxiety Is Normal. It's Hiding It That's Dangerous

To mark World Mental Health Day, Annabel Jones reveals how shes learned to embrace her own panic attacks...

LAST WEEK, SUPERMODEL

Gisele Bündchen revealed that she suffered from panic attacks that were so crippling, she considered taking her own life. ‘I felt powerless,’ she said. ‘Your world becomes smaller and smaller, and you can’t breathe, which is the worst feeling I’ve ever had. I actually had the feeling of, “If I just jump off my balcony, this is going to end, and I never have to worry about this feeling of my world closing in.”

I know this feeling all too well. Having always been mildly claustrophobic, the older I became, the more it took hold. Lifts, aeroplanes, crowds and enclosed spaces all made me feel anxious, though I could hide it well.

Then, a couple of years ago, out of the blue, I had a full-blown panic attack. It began with pins and needles in my left hand. Quickly, the sensation spread up my arm. As I stood up to shake it off, I felt a sudden rush of blood to my head and the dizziness set in. My heart was racing. I couldn’t catch my breath. I thought I was dying. Eventually, I felt myself black out. As I’d never fainted before, the sensation of losing consciousness was terrifying. What I thought was a heart attack, was, it turns out, a panic attack; my body’s way of shutting down and pressing the reset button.