Sheridan Smith has spoken publicly about her struggle with anxiety and depression, which she has described as being 'out of control' during the past year. The 36-year-old actress was forced to withdraw from her role in the West End production of Funny Girl for several months due to stress and exhaustion.
In an interview with Culture magazine, Smith revealed that her father's cancer diagnosis acted as a trigger for her mental health difficulties. Her father died in December 2016, and she explained that the ensuing grief compounded her existing feelings of insecurity.
Smith told the magazine that her anxiety led to a profound sense of self-doubt. 'So you think, "That's it, this is me. I'm unlovable, I'm inauthentic,"' she said. 'You're constantly worrying you're not going to be as good as people think you should be. When you have that degree of anxiety, you can't just pull yourself together and you can't explain it. It just snowballs until it's out of control.'
The actress said she had never previously suffered from nerves, but that this changed after her award-winning performance in the stage show Legally Blonde, for which she won an Olivier Award. She recalled feeling terrified that she would 'become unstuck' and that she could no longer contain her insecurity.
Smith has now pledged to adopt a more measured approach to her career, taking on one job at a time. 'I'm not going to run myself into the ground again,' she added.
