Lily Allen has shed light on her personal battle with anxiety, amid rumours surrounding the demise of her four-year marriage. The Smile singer has not confirmed her split from actor, David Harbour, but opened up about the recent panic attacks she’d been experiencing.
“I’m just so… I’m really not in a good place,” she said yesterday on her BBC podcast Miss Me? “I know I’ve been talking about it for months, but I’ve been spiralling and spiralling and spiralling and it’s got out of control.
“I tried, I mean, I came to the Christmas lunch, the Miss Me? Christmas lunch, and I had a panic attack and had to go home. I went to see something at the theatre the other night with my [friends] Carlo and Claire, and I had to leave at halftime. I just can’t concentrate on anything except the pain that I’m going through.”
In another podcast episode before Christmas, Lily revealed that eating had also ‘become an issue’ amidst her mental health struggles, while stressing that she felt ‘so disconnected’ from her body.
“I’ve been going through a tough time over the last few months, and my eating has become an issue,” the 39-year-old said at the time, according to the Mirror. “My therapist and I talk about it, and she says, ‘How long has this been going on?’ And I said, ‘Well, about three years really’. And she’s like, ‘Okay, why haven’t you mentioned it before?’
“And it’s not because I’m lying about it. It’s just because it’s not seemed at the top of the list of important things that I need to talk about, but obviously, it is. I’m not really good at talking about the bigger picture.
Later, she also added: “I’m really not in a great place mentally at the moment, and I’m not eating. I’m not hungry. I obviously am hungry, but my body and brain are so disconnected from each other that my body… the messages of hunger are not going through my body to my brain. I’m not avoiding food, I’m just not thinking about it because I’m so in my head. My body’s, like, a few steps behind me.”
Lily’s concerns about food come more than 10 years after she first revealed her battle with the eating disorder bulimia nervosa during a chat with Channel 4. Generally, those affected by bulimia experience cycles of binge-eating before ‘purging’ to rid the body of excess food.
The NHS explains that purging can take many forms but often involves vomiting on purpose, taking laxatives, avoiding food, over-exercising or a combination of these. Beyond a negative sense of self, this can give rise to numerous harmful symptoms including dizziness, bloating or stomach pain, stopped periods and malnutrition.
Advice from the healthcare authority explains: “If you see a GP about symptoms of bulimia, they’ll ask you about your eating habits, how you’re feeling and your physical symptoms. It can be very hard to talk about what you’re going through, but getting help gives you the best chance of recovery.
“Your GP may ask to weigh you. You can tell your GP if you do not want to know how much you weigh. If they think you have bulimia or another eating disorder, they will refer you to an eating disorder specialist or team of specialists.
“It may make things easier if you bring someone you trust with you to your appointment.” Lily Allen’s team has been approached for comment
If you are suffering with disordered eating, help is available. Contact your GP, or call Beat Eating Disorders – open Monday-Friday, 3:00pm-8:00pm. For urgent mental health help, click here