TV presenter and ChildLine ambassador Anna Williamson tells Gabrielle Fagan about the battle to overcome the anxiety which threatened her career, and how it inspired her to work with the children’s charity

CHILDREN’S TV presenter Anna Williamson rushes into the cafe and exudes confidence and charm as, barely pausing to draw breath, she sits down and launches into an entertaining potted history of her life.

With her blonde hair and bubbly personality, the 31-year-old, who is entertainment correspondent on ITV’s Daybreak and presents on children’s channel Nickelodeon, seems a natural performer.

But five years ago, she reveals she suffered such crippling, inexplicable panic attacks that she thought she’d have to abandon her career.

“I was with a friend when I had my first attack,” she says, recalling the moment in 2007 when she was working as a co-presenter on GMTV children’s shows Toonattik and Action Stations.

“Without warning, a wave of cold washed over my body, my chest felt as though a weight was pressing on it and I thought I was having a heart attack and was going to die. When it was over I remember thinking, “I never want to feel like that again’.”

But the attacks continued, preventing her from sleeping, until eventually they regularly affected her just before she was due to start filming.

“Having a panic attack is the most frightening and lonely feeling you can have,” Anna says.

“You feel so isolated as though you are the only person in the world suffering from this and you just want to run away and be anywhere rather than the place you are in.”

One in ten of us will experience panic attacks at some point, according to the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

They can be a symptom of anxiety, which is a normal response to stressful situations, but can become a problem if people begin reacting with disproportionately high levels of anxiety in ordinary situations.

The symptoms of a panic attack can include an increased heart rate, dizziness, shaking and feeling faint and emotionally overwhelmed.

Anna says: “One day I got to work, after not sleeping all night because I’d had an attack and I just burst into tears. My bosses were wonderfully supportive and simply told me to take some time off and get the help I needed.”

Williamson was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder by her GP. She took a short course of medication and was referred to a consultant psychiatrist.

“I was so worried that I would lose my job. I told him I had to get back to work within three weeks – and I was,” she says.

OVER 18 months, she had a combination of cognitive behavioural therapy and hypnotherapy sessions.

“Although my job can be stressful, it turned out that was not my problem.

Instead it probably stemmed from the fact that at that time I was in a difficult personal relationship and under a lot of emotional pressure.

“I realised the fear of the panic attacks was causing me even more anxiety and making the panic attacks more likely,” says Williamson, who lives in Stevenage, Hertfordshire.

“Once you recognise the attacks for what they are, and realise they are not going to kill you, the fear of them can start to subside, the attacks lessen, and with treatment the whole horrible vicious cycle can stop.

“I want to remove the taboo about talking about this and help people realise they are not going mad and aren’t weird if they suffer from this.”

Experiencing that episode of vulnerability and benefiting from talking therapy inspired her to help troubled youngsters.

She took a year’s diploma course in counselling in 2009 and then underwent a training course at ChildLine, where she now works once a week as a volunteer counsellor and for whom she is also an ambassador.

“I realise how powerful talking therapy can be. It sounds dramatic but it saved my career and afterwards I was determined to give something back,” she says.

“It can be very tough emotionally and there are some stories that have brought me to tears. You hear a whole range of problems, from sexual abuse through to bullying, parental or friendship problems, self harm, or just general adolescent difficulties.

“It’s incredibly fulfilling to offer an ear to a youngster and feel that you may have helped make their life a little more bearable or helped connect them with an agency who can support them and potentially change their life for the better.”

  •  ChildLine can be contacted on 0800-1111 or at childline.org.uk