Anxiety In The Spotlight

Anxiety disorders can affect anyone, including some of our favourite A-listers. Here, five famous faces speak out to break the stigma surrounding this mental illness. 

- Lindyl Crabb

Anxiety is the most common mental health condition in Australia and it doesn’t discriminate. On average, one in four people will suffer from an anxiety disorder at some point and another 25 per cent of the population will experience less severe symptoms. Sufferers often experience more than one type of disorder including panic attacks, obsessive compulsive disorder and social phobias. To help shed light on these conditions, more celebrities are starting to talk about their own anxiety. Here we take a look at their experiences.

"I still TAKE STEP to avoid panic attacks"

REBECCA GIBNEY,

actress, experienced panic attacks until her late 30s.

Panic disorder is characterised by recurring and unexpected panic attacks that happen several times a day or once every few years. They often involve feelings of overwhelming panic or fear, thoughts of losing control or dying, difficulty breathing, excessive sweating, increased heart rate and dizziness. For Rebecca Gibney, who experienced her first panic attack at 14, these symptoms are very familiar.

“I can feel my heart rate start to quicken and I start to feel physically sick. It’s a feeling that you are losing control and sometimes it can be so bad you feel like you’re having a heart attack,” she explains.

After an emotional collapse, Gibney sought the help of a psychiatrist and uses breathing techniques and meditation to deal with potential attacks and minor stresses. “I haven’t had one for eight or nine years, but I wouldn’t say I’m cured.”