TV Shirley: My secret battle with anxiety
Stricty star reveals that she uses meditation to control TV nerves
STRICTLY star Shirley Ballas has spoken about her secret battle with anxiety – and how she uses meditation to combat stress.
The 57-year-old said: “I’ve had anxiety in the past and two years ago I wasn’t in a great place.”
Ballas joined Strictly as a judge last year after Len Goodman quit.
She revealed that she was beset with nerves ahead of starting work on the hit BBC1 show.
The star added: “Without a stable mind, it’s difficult for anything else to function. I meditate and take time for controlled breathing.
“And this was especially useful when I started Strictly – my first TV job – because I was as nervous as the celebrities.”
Ballas said her brother’s suicide meant it was important to her to talk openly about health issues.
In a chat with Top Santé magazine, she added: “My brother took his own life so raising awareness of mental health is very important to me.
“People get embarrassed about admitting they feel low but you can’t help the way you feel, which is why exercise, taking vitamins and having time out for meditation are so important.”
Ball as was devastated when brother David Rich, 44, hanged himself in 2003 after suffering depression. The pair had grown up together in Wallasey, Merseyside.
The star and her son Mark set up charity The Ballas Foundation to erase the stigma of mental illness and to raise awareness about how to prevent suicide.
In the interview, Ballas also chatted about her ongoing insecurities about her body.
She said: “People used to say that my bottom was too big and that I looked overweight.
“Back when I danced with Corky (Shirley’s ex-husband Corky Ballas), people were always pushing me to go on a diet.
“I’ve had issues in the past with the way I look and I’m still working through them.
“But as I get older, I’m learning that you just have to be comfortable in your own skin.”
Nicknamed the Queen of Latin, Shirley is one of the world’s most decorated professional dancers.