I鈥檓 A Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here runner-up Emily Atack has spoken about how therapy has helped her get through mental health struggles.
The 29-year-old Inbetweeners actress, who finished second in the ITV survival game show, told The Sun on Sunday that
She also revealed that she had a panic attack just days before she went into the jungle camp.
Emily said:聽鈥淚鈥檓 not afraid to admit I have therapy. It鈥檚 nothing to be ashamed of and it really does help.
鈥淚 have struggled in the past. I have been through a lot in my life, my parents divorced when I was 16 and it was a very difficult time.
鈥淚 am a very emotional person so, for me, it鈥檚 about someone listening to your feelings and giving their professional opinion.
I've got through it with therapy
鈥淚鈥檓 naturally a very happy person but I鈥檝e had times with depression and have got through it with therapy.鈥�
She told the newspaper that she had a panic attack days before the ITV show began, and聽said there was a psychiatrist on stand-by during the filming of the programme.
鈥淚鈥檝e only had one panic attack in my whole life and that was just before I left for the jungle. It was so, so horrible, totally out of the blue and really weird," she said.
鈥淚鈥檇 had a really stressful few weeks in the build-up to doing the show. I was lying there and it just crept up.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know what was happening. I was sweating, my heart rate was creeping up and I felt like I couldn鈥檛 breathe. It was awful.鈥澛�
Emily Atack. Credit: ITV.
Emily admitted she was nervous going in to the camp and said she did have a low day or two.
But she added there were mental health experts on hand to help anyone who was having a problem during filming.
鈥淭here were a lot of down days in the jungle that weren鈥檛 aired. We all struggled at times. But we pulled each other through it, plus the show psychiatrist helped. ITV were so protective of us all.
鈥淚 saw the psychiatrist before and after the show, and they鈥檙e still checking in to make sure I鈥檓 OK.鈥�
She added:聽鈥淚 am so proud of myself for getting through it and having such an amazing experience.鈥�
It's hard to admit
Talking about her mental health struggles in the past, she said:
鈥淪ometimes it鈥檚 hard to admit though, especially if you鈥檙e known as a happy person, because you feel you鈥檙e letting people down if you鈥檙e not being happy 24 hours a day.
鈥淚 have a great life, amazing family and friends, so it鈥檚 easy for people to be like, 鈥榃hat have you got to be sad about?鈥�
鈥淏ut it鈥檚 not that, it鈥檚 a chemical imbalance in your brain that sometimes needs to be treated.
鈥淚鈥檝e never spoken about this publicly before but it goes with this whole honesty thing that I got from the jungle. I guess I just want to be honest now and say I鈥檝e had depression spells.鈥�
To speak to a 香港六合彩精准资料 counsellor or psychotherapist, visit our聽Find a Therapist Directory.