Content warning: This article mentions suicide and mental health struggles. Help is always available. If you, or someone you know needs support, you can call Lifeline on 13 11 14, or go to their website. You can also contact Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636, or visit their website.
Rebecca Gibney is known for warmth and honesty, and she has now shared an update about her mental health.
The Packed to the Rafters Star took to Instagram on November 24 to share more about her mental health journey over the years.
She took to Instagram to say that she was reflecting on her own struggles because two people told her they lost close friends to suicide and were attending funerals. Even though she didn’t know it, she said it “really affected” her.
“As some of you know, I struggled with severe anxiety and panic attacks for most of my life,” she wrote.
She continued to say she was “often erratic, prone to rages and bored easily” as a teenager, and dropped out of high school when she was 15. Then, she “fell into acting”, which she said gave her an “extraordinary career” and “purpose”.
The actor and Logie Hall of Fame inductee said she had “everything” in her early thirties – her career, family, and friendships, but she was struggling.
“But deep down I was spiralling,” she continued. “The weekly panic attacks became daily then hourly. The self loathing was constant and my pain was so deep I didn’t know how to deal with it. I just knew I wanted it over.”
She then got help, after she was in the process of writing a letter to her mother.
While her panic attacks went away after her son, Zachary, was born, she said things changed earlier this year. She explained that her “optimistic bubble burst”.
“Suddenly the panic returned, the stress, the sadness – and I found myself back in the pit of self doubt, fear and anxiety,” she continued.
“So I picked up the phone and made a call that would change my life. I got help and treatment and I am back doing what I love.
“But there have been struggles. Not everything is what it may seem on the surface. I guess what I’m trying to say is – we ALL mask our pain but we all also feel it. You’re not alone.”
Help is always available. If you, or someone you know needs support, you can call Lifeline on 13 11 14, or go to their website. You can also contact Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636, or visit their website.
