"What have you got to worry about? You have a great life!"

An assumption made about people suffering from a mental health condition is that their lives aren't great, or that they sustained some sort of psychical or psychological trauma at some point in their life, and for some people this is true. For others this isn't the case and people like me are constantly attacked  with sentences like 'what have you got to worry about?' 'your life is great, why are you making problems for yourself?' and the like. I personally have had an amazing life. I am lucky to have had a fantastic childhood, was brought up around family and friends who loved me and cared for me. Even now, despite my problems and everyday annoyances that most people come across in their day to day lives, I have such a good life, amazing family, a loving and loyal boyfriend and supportive friends so I understand why people do question my disorder. After speaking to my psychotherapist, I did find out what brought on my anxiety but I will leave that for another post, but trust me, you don't need a massive life changing event to trigger a disorder like anxiety. (Update: you can now read my story here)

The point i'm trying to make is anybody in this world, young, old, English, Asian, fat, thin, rich or poor can suffer from this and to prove it, here are some celebrities, constantly in the spotlight, famous and successful who suffer from anxiety and/or panic disorder:

1. Ellie Goulding

In 2013, Ellie spoke to the Metro about the therapy she was undergoing for her panic disorder. She first experienced it while on a train on her way to a funeral and had to tell a stranger next to her that she thought she was dying due to her fast heart rate. Her friend picked her up off the train and took her straight to A&E for her to be told it was just a panic attack.This experience sounds a lot like my one that I talk about in this post in that you genuinely think you're about to die which ultimately makes things a whole lot worse. Since then, Ellie struggles with her horrible thoughts that come with her anxiety on a regular basis but uses therapy and medication to ease her symptoms.

2. Johnny Depp

Johnny Depp is famous for over 40 films and a well known (and lusted over) actor. However, Johnny suffers with severe social anxiety to the point where film premieres and public events show to be too much and the public and media often comment on this as rude. Imagine suffering from the symptoms i've spoke about in previous posts while at your film premier with people screaming your name and cameras at all angles. I personally would hate it. Johnny claims he uses relaxation techniques and medication to cope with his social anxiety.

3. Kate Moss

Kate has suffered from panic attacks from a young age and was initially trigger by relationship break downs and more surprisingly, having to pose intimately with other models for photo shoots. She speaks in the interview in Vanity Fair about not being about to get out of bed for weeks after a particularly uneasy shoot for Calvin Klein and eventually had to see her doctor for some anti-anxiety medication to calm her down. 

4. Adele

Like Johnny Depp, Grammy Award winning Adele suffers with social anxiety and extreme stage fright(!). She has revealed that her anxiety and panic attacks prevent her from playing to large arenas or music festival as it is too daunting for her. She claims her anxiety was triggered when her music career began to grow and she felt the pressures of having to perform and deliver perfectly. She has even been known to sneak out the fire escape of venues to avoid having to sing in front of a crowd. To help with her anxiety, she claims she has created an 'alter-ego' who is the performer, a bit like Beyonce and Sasha-Fierce  

5. Zoe Sugg (Zoella)

I know what some of you are thinking, "She's not famous". Maybe so, but she is a massive inspiration to so many people and has a huge social media fan base due to her YouTube channel. I personally have always watched Zoe on YouTube and she really inspired me and helped me when she uploaded her 'Dealing with Panic Attacks and Anxiety' video back in 2012. She has become a successful YouTube Vlogger, with over 9 million subscribers, who is constantly in the spotlight for her videos and blog, but in this video, she opens up about her struggle with anxiety and panic attacks. They were first triggered at a party when she was younger and horrifically ended up experiencing multiple panic attacks in a row. Since then she finds social gatherings, crowds, parties and other day to day things she has to deal with as a YouTuber very difficult. She is currently the digital ambassador for the charity, Mind which helps those suffering from mental health conditions.

Other celebrities who suffer from anxiety and panic disorder include Emma Stone, Drew Barrymore, Oprah Winfrey, and many more. Your life and your background doesn't reason for why you suffer with anxiety and/or panic disorder. As I've just shown, you can be the richest, most famous, most beautiful, talented person on the planet and still suffer from this condition. It also does not define who you are. 

Love Luce xo