Coronation Street actress Samia Longchambon has bravely opened up to her online followers about her ongoing battle with anxiety, to help raise awareness for Mental Health Awareness week.
Samia, who plays the role of Maria Connor in the hit ITV soap, posted a candid message on her Instagram page, revealing she's suffered from anxiety since the age of 11. The quote read, 'Anxiety isn't something that goes away. It's something you learn to control'.
Bravely opening up to her fans further, Samia wrote, '#mentalhealthawarenessweek I thought I’d post this. I’ve suffered with anxiety since I was 11 (and possibly before that, but that was the first time I saw my doctor about my inability to ‘get a deep breath’). It is something that comes and goes with me, but when it’s there it’s awful and all consuming.'
The actress then went on to write, 'I love that the stigma of mental health is finally being broken and people are opening up, talking and realising that you’re not alone.. in fact it is pretty common. I’m not gonna patronise but just wanted to send love out to all people having a daily struggle... #thistooshallpass #gethelp #talk #breathe ❤️🙌' [sic]
Mental Health Awareness Week runs from 14-20th May 2018 in the UK and is hosted by the Mental Health Foundation.
Yesterday, to help raise awareness, heat, the BBC and other commercial radio stations all came together for the first time to broadcast a one-minute message about mental health. The message aired at 10.59am and had the support of many famous faces including the likes of Lady Gaga, Dame Judi Dench and Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill along with special guests The Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry.
It comes after Coronation Street bosses and actors did an amazing job to raise awareness of mental health with Aidan Connor's (Shayne Ward) suicide storyline last week.
Aidan's final scenes aired on the soap as he broke down and prepared to take his own life in heartbreaking scenes. Despite the hard-hitting storyline, Corrie bosses wanted to help tackle the issue of male suicide as it was recently announced that 84 men a week take their own lives in the UK alone.
33-year-old Shayne, who himself lost a relative to suicide, has since revealed that even in the last couple of days since the episodes were aired, he has received messages from people who were planning to take their own lives.
Shayne revealed to a publication that many people who were considering suicide have now called the appropriate charities to get help.
If you, or someone you know, are affected by the issues raised in this story you are encouraged to contact the Samaritans on 116 123 or CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably).