FRANKIE TALKS MENTAL HEALTH
Frankie Bridge on why she’s backing our Where’s Your Head At? campaign
In 2011, at the height of her career as one fifth of top girlband The Saturdays, Frankie Bridge was hospitalised with depression and anxiety. On the face of it, Frankie had it all – a glittering pop career, a hot footballer boyfriend and invitations to all the best parties. But after years of struggling to manage her symptoms, she had hit rock bottom.
Now, she has shared her story in her book Open: Why Asking For Help Can Save Your Life (Cassell, £18.99, out now). It’s not the story of a celebrity burnout, rather Frankie’s raw and personal account of a girl who was described by her nan as “sunshine and showers”, and who even today has to work hard to keep on top of her symptoms.
By sharing her story, the 31 year old hopes to help others who are battling with their own mental ill health…
This is not just a selfhelp book, is it? It’s very personal… It’s called Open and the reason I didn’t use a ghost writer was that it needed to be personal, otherwise what’s the point? I wanted this book to be about my life surrounding my mental health. I’m glad it was raw. But from the outside looking in, people might have assumed that your life was perfect… In the past, people have said to me, “What have you got to be sad about?” But that’s not how it works. I feel guilty, as I’ve got everything I could have wished for and I’m still sad. But anyone can suffer from mental illness. Unfortunately, it doesn’t matter what job you have or what life you lead, it can still affect you. Often mental illness can manifest itself in physical symptoms, which you talk about in the book. Was it frightening to be out of control? It is scary, and something like a panic attack is so hard to understand if you’ve never suffered from one. It takes over your whole body and you have no control over it. You end up having a panic attack about the fact you’re having a panic attack. Now, I know that I just have to give in to it and I will come out the other end. But back then, I had no idea what was going on or why it was happening, and it was really scary.
In hospital, you were able to speak to other people who were going through the same thing. How helpful was that? It was a massive weight off my shoulders, just to be able to sit and talk about our medication or how we were feeling that day. It felt lovely that no one was pretending to be anything other than what they were. I’d spent so long pretending that everything was fine. We fall into the trap of assuming that what people project on the outside is exactly how they are on the inside, too. I still do it. Even when I was in hospital, there was this beautiful young girl and she looked really cool and I thought, “Why is she here, because she’s great?” But there I was, from a girlband, and she must have been thinking the same thing about me. Do you think you would have had a breakdown had you not been in The Saturdays? I was an anxious person before I was even in S Club Jrs [which she joined when she was 12] – it’s just the way I am. Maybe I wouldn’t have had an actual breakdown, but I do think I would have reached the point I did at some stage in my life – even if I was a florist. On the flipside, I’m really lucky that I was
in the position to have the funds to get the help I did. And now I get to share that and help other people in similar situations. Your psychologist and psychiatrist Mike and Mal were really involved in the book. How important was it for you to find the right people to help you? I think everyone should have a therapist! Everyone is different and you have to find what works for you. I tried different therapists and medication. Everyone goes on about mindfulness and meditation, but that just doesn’t work for me. It’s the same with exercise. When I was at rock bottom, if someone had told me to go to the gym, it would have been impossible. It does work and it helps me, but I have to be at a certain level of happiness to be able to do that. I’m still working on myself and I’m by no means fixed.
How important do you think heat’s Where’s Your Head At? campaign – calling for mental health support in every workplace – would be to someone suffering like you have? I think it would be amazing. Anything that means help is easily accessible for people – especially if it’s at work. People are really scared to talk about their mental health struggles at work, as they worry that people will assume they can’t be relied on to do their job, which is completely untrue, as I managed to hold down a job for 17 years! I still like to do things that scare me. Climbing the Himalayas for charity Coppafeel ticked every anxiety box of mine, but it was for a good cause and I loved it. It was genuinely life-changing. How has your husband Wayne coped? I’m sure sometimes it’s really hard for Wayne to understand, or to not take it personally. But he does a great job. I find it easier to tell him if I’m having a crap day, and he knows now that I don’t want him to fix it, I just need him to be there. We’ve been together nearly ten years now and it’s taken a lot of time for us to be able to get to that point. ■
‘I am an anxious person – it’s just the way I am’