baking blues
I was on GBBO, suffered from panic disorder and was petrified during filming
A FORMER Great British Bake Off winner has opened up on the "crippling" effects of her mental health - anxieties that reached a peak during her time on the show.
Cookbook author Nadiya Hussain, 37, has candidly detailed her panic disorder and struggles while filming the Channel 4 series.
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The Bake Off favourite, who won round the judges back in 2015, told that her time in the iconic tent was "the most anxiety-inducing thing I’ve ever done in my life."
Nadiya explained to the : "I was petrified. But now when I meet people just like me, who haven’t had the confidence to do something, and they say, ‘Well, if you can do it, so can I.’
"I know what I do means something. That’s what keeps me going. It makes me so happy."
Talking of her dislike at being the centre of attention, the cake ace referred to her struggles on ITV talk show Loose Women, where she admitted: “I have days when I can't get up, and can't get out of bed.
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“I just want to stay in bed, it's crippling.”
When probed by panelist Nadia Sawalha as to why, she said: “I'm scared.
“When you suffer with something like a panic disorder, there is no answer.
“It's scary when you think you don't want to listen to your kids' voices.
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“I get through it with my husband.”
Nadia quipped how her other half, Abdal, tried to take her on runs to cheer her up.
Back in 2017, she told the panel she believed her mental illness started from as young as aged seven.
Giving a very candid glimpse into how it affects her everyday life, the Nadiya Bakes author opened up on how she wasn't able to change from her pyjamas to her regular clothes when things took hold.
She described how when her disorder is at its worst, her husband will simply knock on the closed bedroom door and leave a cup of tea outside.
In 2019, Nadiya supported The Sun's Books For Schools campaign as she told how reading helped her mental health.
She said: "Today when I read, it’s just me and that book. It’s liberating.
“Reading became the escape I needed.”
She also talked honestly about her battles with anxiety in her recent memoir Finding My Voice.
The mum of three said: “Without doubt, books have helped my mental health. It’s the biggest form of escapism.
“I read every night before I go to bed, and when my kids were young I read with them as well.
“As an adult, a book is a great way to relax, and as a kid a book is also a fantastic tool to talk together about something tricky.
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“That’s why I was so keen to write My Monster And Me. All children are anxious sometimes, and I wanted to create a story that normalised that and gave parents an opportunity to discuss worries with them.
“If we start helping children with their mental health early, we can hopefully avoid problems later.”
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