Loose Women star Andrea McLean has revealed her battle with anxiety brought her to the absolute brink.
Andrea, 50, said it once got so bad that it led to her contemplating taking her own life.
The presenter made the emotional statement in excerpts from her upcoming book, This Girl Is On Fire.
In it, she says her anxiety got so bad that she broke in tears down at home, at work and in public.
Loose Women star Andrea on anxiety battle
Andrea remembers leaving the National Television Awards early after posing for a few pictures.
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She didn’t stay for the ceremony or even join her Loose Women co-hosts. Instead, she revealed, she went home and sobbed.
In an extract published by the Daily Mail, she writes: “The stress became physical. I was throwing up. Not sleeping. Consumed with anxiety. At my lowest point, I was suicidal. This is the first time I’ve admitted that.”
‘Ashamed’ to tell her family
Andrea went on to say she was “ashamed” to tell her husband Nick Feeney.
I thought they would be ashamed that I’d been so weak. Then the next day I got up, went to work, put on a smile and knocked it out of the park at a meeting.
She also revealed she was too embarrassed to let her children, Finlay, 18, and Amy, 13, know how much she was suffering.
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Andrea continued: “I thought they would be ashamed that I’d been so weak. I lay on the floor of my room and sobbed. Then the next day I got up, went to work, put on a smile and knocked it out of the park at a meeting. No one would ever have known.”
Andrea revealed she now sees a psychotherapist and has been on anti-anxiety medication since 2018.
Andrea’s ‘imposter syndrome’
Back in July, Andrea admitted she suffers from “imposter syndrome”.
Speaking on Nick Ede’s ImPODster Syndrome podcast, she said she’s felt like an imposter in the showbiz world for years.
She explained: “Nick, my husband, can walk up to anybody and leave as their best friend. I can’t get over the nerves.
“I grab the first drink I’m offered just to have something to hold, I stand against a wall and I end up talking to the waitress.
“To walk in normally and just talk to everybody? I can’t do it. Even thinking about it brings me out in hives.”
She even said she’d love to find out what it would be like to have loud, bubbly personality.
Andrea continued: “I would love to swap personalities for a day.
“I’d be interested to see what it’s like to be the one dancing on the table shouting: ‘More tequila!'” she said.
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