Jodie Kidd has bravely shared her experience with crippling panic attacks that hit her during her modelling career.
The 46-year-old began modelling after being discovered by photographer Terry O’Neill while on holiday in Barbados as a teenager. She went on to work with major designers including Karl Lagerfeld and Yves Saint Laurent.
Jodie however says criticism of her weight, and that she was “too skinny” began to grate at her. It led to a moment where a woman confronted her in a shop, suggesting she was “killing her daughter”, triggering her first panic attack.
Speaking on Olivia Attwood’s So Wrong It’s Right podcast, Jodie explained: “I started getting anxiety, I thought everyone was staring at me, I had a point where I came back home, I went shopping to get some food, and this woman came up to me in the supermarket and said, ‘you’re killing my daughter, people like you are killing my daughter.’
“That was the first time I had a real panic and I was just going, ‘What is going on’. Then I started really suffering quietly and no one knew what anxiety was.
“I went to the doctor and I was like, ‘Look, I can’t sleep, I’m finding it hard to eat, I’m in this state and I don’t know what’s going on’, and they said, ‘Well just take some beta blockers’.”
Jodie explained she began taking the pills but found herself having “the biggest panic attack” while walking down a catwalk in Milan. She continued: “Everyone was just staring at me, I thought they were criticising me, looking at everything.
“I didn’t know where to put anything and I just turned around halfway down the catwalk and went straight to the airport. That was pretty much the last catwalk I did and I had a complete meltdown.”
Reflecting on her past, Jodie now understands that she was experiencing a serious “flight or fight stage”. She recalls being in high demand workwise, hauntingly slim yet flooded with offers—a dynamic she dubs as “really not great” in hindsight, reports Leicestershire Live.
After leaving modelling aged 21, Jodie tried her hand at motor racing, even taking part in the legendary Gumball 3000 rally. She has since appeared in a host of television shows, including Strictly Come Dancing, where she came sixth with professional dancer Ian Waite in 2008.
Jodie’s current ventures steer her into vlogging territory with a motoring YouTube channel titled Kidd in a Sweet Shop, while also managing the Half Moon pub in Kirdford, West Sussex. Steering this ship hasn’t been smooth sailing; she portrays managing during the trying times of COVID-19 and Brexit complications as “really tough”.
The NHS says panic attacks can present a host of physical and mental symptoms. They can come on quickly and for no apparent reason.
Symptoms can include:
Most panic attacks last between five and 20 minutes, although some people say they can last up to an hour. Some experience attacks once or twice a month, while others can have them several times a day.
While panic attacks can be frightening, the NHS says they are not dangerous. Although they do share symptoms with other conditions.
The NHS says people experiencing symptoms of panic disorder should contact their GP. It says: “They’ll ask you to describe your symptoms, how often you get them, and how long you have had them.
“They may also carry out a physical examination to rule out other conditions that could be causing your symptoms. It can sometimes be difficult to talk about your feelings, emotions and personal life, but try not to feel anxious or embarrassed.”
For more information about panic attacks, visit the NHS website . Or contact your GP if you experience the condition.
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