Fear Motivates Me Susannah's Life Makeover

Every Day, She Goes Into Battle

- Judy Kean

Susannah Constantine looks like she’s having the time of her life. The former host of What Not to Wear has been holidaying with her good friend Sir Elton John on his luxury yacht in Monaco, and she’s also enjoying a second career as a novelist.

But while life is good, she has admitted that she suffers from anxiety and wakes up every morning “consumed by fear”.

Susannah (57), who found worldwide fame alongside Trinny Woodall by telling women how to dress, says she’s battled anxiety on and off throughout her life, but it has become debilitating since menopause.

“Anxiety turns me from a confident and contented woman into a hot mess racked with insecurity,” she says.

Susannah first struggled with her mental health as a child. She had a “gilded, privileged” upbringing in a wealthy family, but her mother’s manic depression had her waking each day in a state of dread.

“There was that feeling of uncertainty. Was I going to be abandoned to her illness that day? My mother was amazing, but her illness ran through our lives like a destructive thread. As a child, I constantly felt a responsibility to watch out for her and to try to keep her safe.”