Actress Michelle Collins has overcome her personal problems by using natural therapies
Actress Michelle Collins shot to fame in the BBC soap EastEnders as Cindy Beale – a woman who plotted to kill her cuckolded husband – and as barmaid Stella Price in ITV’s Coronation Street.
Her private life has famously been almost as turbulent as those of her on-screen personas.
Now, in a deeply personal and controversial confession, the 52-year-old argues that it is natural therapies – and not medication – that have helped her overcome personal problems.
It would be wonderful if there really was a pill for every ill – a magic wand you could wave to make it all just go away. But there isn’t. And yet more than ever it feels like that’s what many of us are looking for.
Whether it’s drugs to control cholesterol or mood, or antibiotics swallowed at the first sign of the sniffles, more of us each year are taking medication – when in truth it’s our lifestyles that need looking at.
Mental health is a case in point: Last year, 50 million prescriptions for antidepressants were handed out. Of course, many of these will have been vitally necessary. But the fact that the figure rises every year makes me think many people are being given happy pills when other methods of tackling their problems might be just as effective.
Before you throw this newspaper across the room, accusing me of being utterly judgmental, let me say that I speak from personal experience. I have dealt with tougher times. And as someone who has been on antidepressants, I have strong feelings on the subject.
I know it will seem controversial to some, but I am a big advocate of using alternative therapies to overcome the stressful and upsetting elements of our lives.
That can mean exercise, or chatting it through with a supportive friend or therapist, or actually looking at complementary and alternative medicine. Personally, I am a wholehearted believer in the power of homeopathy.
I know many people don’t agree but I am pleased it’s available on the NHS and think that availability should even be extended – more information should be given to patients about alternatives to mainstream medicine.
It’s important to listen to your mind and body – and the fact that strong medicines aren’t right for me is something I’ve learned from experience.
My life has been a bit difficult at times, and I’ve always been quite open about it. Even though I don’t want to dwell on the past, I feel it’s important to share problems that are often difficult to discuss. My hope is that doing so might make it easier for others.
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Remedies: Michelle (right) gave her daughter Maia natural medicine as a young child
The crunch point for me was when I landed a job in the West End show Daddy Cool several years ago. I suffered an anxiety attack and was prescribed medication.
I was already at a low ebb and found theatre was out of my comfort zone. I’d never appeared in a musical before and, as my friends can tell you, I can be very hard on myself at times.
The thing is that, despite people often telling me that I come across as confident and extroverted, I am painfully shy.
As an actor, you can hide behind the character you’re playing, which is what I managed to do in EastEnders and Coronation Street. But the reality is that I can make myself ill with stress when I land a new role because I tend to rehearse to the point of obsession.
The night before the Daddy Cool rehearsals started, I was extremely anxious and slept terribly.
On the day itself, while getting ready to go to the theatre, I had an overwhelming desire to just run away. There was a powerful voice in my head saying: ‘You can’t do it.’
I didn’t get palpitations or pins and needles or other things people feel with panic attacks, but I did start to shake. My hands were trembling and it felt like my legs were going to give way. It passed after about 20 minutes, but I was absolutely terrified – I didn’t go to the rehearsal, and went to the doctor instead.
He suggested a course of antidepressants. Was I depressed? I don’t know. But I wasn’t offered an alternative, so I thought I should say yes. I needed a quick fix and started taking the pills immediately.
I managed to continue with the show but they just didn’t agree with me at all. I felt sick, dizzy and confused, like I was having some kind of bizarre out-of-body experience. So I stopped taking them after only a couple of weeks.
Anxiety: Michelle as Eastenders' Cindy Beale in 1998. She conquered shyness by hiding behind the character
It was then that I decided to take matters into my own hands. I sought out alternative remedies like acupuncture and reiki massage, a type of energy healing.
To reduce my stress levels I took up yoga, meditation and Pilates. And a friend suggested that I take gelsemium, a homeopathic anxiety remedy – made from a flower – that you can pick up from most chemists.
I wasn’t totally new to these things, having given my daughter Maia some natural therapies when she suffered a lot of sore throats as a child. But the gelsemium really worked and I decided to book a session with a homeopathic doctor near my home in North London. It was a revelation. A consultation will typically last an hour or longer.
After discussing your primary reason for being there, you’ll explore other areas of your life, your attitudes and even the sensations you feel at certain times – such as whether you have hot or cold feet in bed at night. It sounds bizarre, but by doing all this investigative work, a homeopath is able to build up a treatment plan targeted specifically at you. It’s not a one-size-fits-all approach.
I don’t want to say too much about what I was advised or took as it could be completely different for another person, but I can say that, from the word go, I felt cared for in a way I never had before. Along with the remedies, I was advised on diet – you can’t eat salt or use a mint toothpaste, for instance, as strong flavours can affect the homeopathic pills.
It’s just another example of the attentiveness involved.
I found that it was a turning point for me. I am now appearing in a play called The Glass Supper at the Hampstead Theatre and I make sure to take my remedies each night.
Of course I still get tetchy and stressed before I go on stage – and I am probably not nice to be around – but it’s nothing compared to how I was before.
Since going down the homeopathic route, I am much healthier than I used to be.
I take more care of my health, both mind and body, and make sure I’m eating well.
I sleep well, I have lots of energy, and the dizziness and stomach pains I once thought were part of everyday life have cleared.
Everyone has a busy lifestyle and is stressed and we are all looking for someone or something to alleviate things. But it’s important to learn to step back and have some time to yourself: we don’t do that enough.
lFor more information see findahomeopath.org.uk. Ask Michelle a question on Facebook.com/HoWFMe this Tuesday at noon..
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2698330/I-ve-ditched-happy-pills-flower-power-After-battling-depression-one-star-goes-against-doctors-advice.html#ixzz383CSjWkv
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