Inside Frankie Bridge's mental health battles – OCD, eating disorder suicidal thoughts

I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! star Frankie Bridge is currently doing amazing in the Welsh castle on ITV, however, she hasn’t always had it this way.

The Saturdays beauty has suffered from mental health issues for as long as she can remember and described herself as an “anxious” child.

The mum-of-two, who is married to former footballer Wayne Bridge, has opened up about her past and present struggles with her own mind inside her book, titled Open.

Throughout the book, she tells her mental health story from start to finish and ends on how far she has come now, and pens that having her children probably “saved” her life.

So, let’s look deeper into some of it…

Obsessive traits

The 32-year-old mental health advocate wrote the self-help book to help fans deal with their own demons, by somewhat relating to hers.

She’s very aware that her life may appear perfect from a glimpse but she sure wants her fanbase to know that this is very far from the truth.

In her book, she revealed that she battles with obsessive compulsive disorder which has plagued her during daily life and special occasions.

Frankie wrote: “I still have it today. My latest form of OCD involves cleanliness and worrying about germs. I don’t clean excessively, but I can’t relax in certain public places. It started while I was in The Saturdays when I went through a phase of carrying plastic cutlery everywhere we went.

“Public toilets are an obvious problem, too.”

She added: “These anxieties mean that I spent a lot of my time on holiday or out in certain public places tense and unable to relax – literally cringing inside.”

Eating issues

Frankie confessed to using her eating habits as a form of control, which she felt she lacked in other areas of her life.

She revealed that she loved the feeling of looking thin and was actually pleased when people would tell her she was too small.

Over the years, she has come to understand her condition and has been able to cope with it better since having her two boys Parker, eight, and Carter, six.

She continued: “It seems eating disorders are yet another symptom of my depression and anxiety, a fact that I have only recently come to accept and understand. When I am up, I eat. When I am down, I don’t.

“My starving technique was a coping mechanism and equally another way to escape my sadness – the less I ate, the less I could mentally be totally all there,” she explained.

Suicidal thoughts

Recalling one of her toughest moments, Frankie explained that she was stuck in traffic on the M25 which meant she was late for a house viewing appointment where she was meeting Wayne.

This mishap propelled drastic thoughts into her brain which urged her to drive into a brick wall.

Frankie said: “I felt furious with myself. Although it was such a minor thing, it was also another example of how useless I was. I felt as though I couldn’t do anything right.

“I was such a failure and a letdown that I couldn’t even make it home on time. I just sat in traffic and cried my eyes out. Hard, loud, uncontrollable sobs came out of me, like an out-of-body experience.

“What was the point of carrying on with life? Wayne was amazing and he deserved someone so much better than me.

“I was completely engulfed by a sudden urge to drive my car into the nearest wall, but as I was stuck bump-to-bumper I couldn’t do it.

“The face I couldn’t even hurt myself made me angry.”

Later in the book, the star also revealed how she is still woken up by suicidal and intrusive thoughts during the night but doesn’t believe she will ever act on them, and she doesn’t want to either.

I’m A Celeb continues tonight at 9pm on ITV

For emotional support you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org, visit a Samaritans branch in person or go to the Samaritans website.

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk