Beloved Australian radio and television star Carrie Bickmore has broken down in tears after revealing a private 20-year struggle with anxiety and panic attacks.
The heartbreaking admission from the blonde radio star, 43, came during a candid conversation with Tommy Little, 39, on his Carrie and Tommy Successful program of the chain.
“I’ve suffered from anxiety and panic attacks since I was about 20,” Carrie admitted to her co-host.
Tommy stepped in and told Carrie that he thought many people listening would be as surprised as he was to learn of Carrie’s struggle, considering her apparent comfort in the public eye.
“I often feel very uncomfortable,” Carrie replied.
“It’s hard to describe what I felt, actually. I think it was like shame, like embarrassment.”
“I don’t think he fully understood what was going through my head. I think talking about it almost made me more anxious, so I kept it to myself,” she added.
Carrie was then moved to tears as she recounted watching old footage of herself on Rove McManus’ Rove Live and admitted she was in a “permanent state of panic” during her time on the hit Network Ten show from 2006 to 2009.
Beloved Australian radio and television star Carrie Bickmore broke down in tears after revealing a private 20-year struggle with panic attacks and anxiety.
“I just saw the vision of myself on Rove Live, all I could see was anxiety and I was constantly in a state of panic on that show,” Carrie revealed through tears.
“I saw that girl in the vision and I just wanted to reach out for the phone and hug her because I thought, ‘Oh my God, that was terrifying. ‘ But I also remember it as being an amazing part of my life. And that’s the thing about anxiety.”
Carrie later admitted that every time she appeared on her popular Carrie at the News Desk segment on the show, as well as any radio or television appearance for “a good decade,” she was on the verge of a full-blown panic attack.
“Sometimes I would have panic attacks while on air reading the news and I would disguise it as shortness of breath or my shaky voice with coughs or laughter or technical difficulties,” she said.
Carrie later admitted that every time she appeared on her popular Carrie at the News Desk segment on Rove Live, as well as any radio or television appearance for “a good decade,” she was on the verge of a full-blown panic attack.
“It was all I could think about.”
Carrie later revealed that her first panic attack occurred when she was reading the news on Perth radio station 92.9 when she was 20 years old.
“I had to partially stop reading the newsletter and just pretend I was having an asthma attack because I didn’t really know what to say; I didn’t really understand what had happened.”
Carrie also admitted that she initially wanted to turn down her hosting role on The Project because of her panic attacks.
“I almost said no to the Project because I was too afraid to do something new,” she said.
“I have suffered from anxiety and panic attacks since I was in my early 20s,” Carrie admitted.
‘There were a lot of jobs I said no to and I look back now and think, “Oh my God, where would that have taken me?” Incredible opportunities because I was worried that something would make me angry and I would be humiliated forever.’
Carrie later revealed that it was the desire to “not let anxiety win” that helped her begin to overcome it.
“Sometimes I wanted to take on the challenge and my brain was like, ‘No, don’t let anxiety win, you can do it. ‘ So I said yes to the Project and ended up doing it for 14 years,” she said.
Carrie revealed that what helped her overcome anxiety was a desire to “not let anxiety win.” Pictured: Carrie Bickmore and Rove McManus in 2012