Anxiety’s no joke but a good laugh really helps
Ihave lived with anxiety since I can remember. I vividly recall sitting in the childminder’s house after school, waiting for my mum to pick me up, my skin prickling with panic as the minutes ticked by, and thinking – what if something bad has happened to her?
My fears have always been the irrational kind that pop into your head when a loved one is late home or you see the blue lights of an ambulance heading in the general direction of a friend’s house.
I’ve learned to quiet the voice of doom but when I became a mum myself, anxiety tightened its grip. I wouldn’t – no, couldn’t – let my baby boy out of my sight and I checked on him obsessively through the night (I even bought a head torch!). I should have asked for help, but the shame of admitting I wasn’t coping stopped me.
Thankfully, there’s been a huge shift in attitudes towards mental health in recent years and it’s no longer the taboo subject it once was.
In this week’s big interview (pages 6&7) comedian Jenny Eclair talks frankly about the impact anxiety has had on her as a performer, parent and partner. Jenny jokingly calls herself a “smother mother” and admits she still frets about her daughter Phoebe, now 31 (pictured with Jenny above).
Like Jenny, I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I’ll always be “a worrier”. Anxiety hasn’t stopped me from living life to the full but it has been my backseat driver, pointing out every pothole along the way. It’s not always easy to dismiss that nagging voice but it’s thanks to women like Jenny who are willing to talk – and yes, even laugh about it – that helps you to keep on trucking.