Love Island star Siânnise Fudge has bravely opened up about her mental health struggles in a brutally honest social media post that aimed to break the taboo surrounding anxiety.
The 27 year old star shot to fame after appearing on series 6 of the popular ITV2 dating show back in 2020, where she quickly won over fans at home with her stunning looks and charming personality.
However being catapulted into the limelight also came with its drawbacks, as public scrutiny meant facing criticism as well as compliments, and negative comments from fans soon began to eat away at Siânnise’s confidence, and contributed to her feelings of insecurity, anxiety and depression.
Opening up about her mental health journey on social media, the former beauty counter worker explained how now she felt ready to speak publicly about her feelings in the hope that it could help someone else out there that may be struggling.
Alongside an image that featured photos of her both today and one year ago, she wrote: “To my amazing family. I have been waiting for the right time to speak about something that I had been living with and couldn't find the courage to share it, but thankfully now I feel ready.
“ I feel I have a responsibility to share this because somehow it might help one of you and that's all I want from this.
“To give anyone suffering the belief that you can overcome your obstacles in life.”
The Love Island bombshell then went on to describe the symptoms she had experienced in the past year, as she offered a further insight into her mindset.
“This time last year I was suffering with anxiety & depression behind closed doors. This resulted in me having insomnia, extreme mood swings & losing two stone in weight,” she explained.
“I was insecure, lost all my confidence & I lacked love within myself. I couldn’t bare to look at myself in the mirror because I didn’t recognise myself both physically & mentally.
“I completely lost myself and I wasn’t sure who I was as a person anymore.”
Having outlined her symptoms, Siânnise continued to describe how they had affected her personally as she revealed she'd been impacted in every aspect of her life, from friendships to work.
She went on: “It affected my everyday life, my work & my relationships with friends and family. I felt like I wasn’t in control of my body, I lost interest in things I loved the most and I found it impossible to socialise.”
It was made all the harder by cruel comments on social media, which further contributed to her feelings of poor self worth.
Describing a few of the situations she had experienced, the reality star said: “ I would receive messages on social media saying I’m too skinny, I need to eat some burgers and I’ve had to unfollow you because looking at you makes me uncomfortable which was extremely triggering for me.”
Concerned for the state of her health, Siânnise sought medical advice twice and underwent a number of tests at a local hospital even despite having a serious fear of needles.
“I begged them to take my blood and help me,” she admitted. However after a full examination, the doctors revealed there was nothing physically wrong with the star as they assured her all her tests had come back normal.
They did however diagnose her with severe anxiety, a condition which left unchecked can have a debilitating affect on sufferers' lives.
Rather than be defeated by her anxiety, Siânnise worked hard to overcome the condition and now feels as though she is in a better place because of it.
She wrote: “I was lost, depressed and unhealthy, but somehow I developed the strength to work on myself. I turned every negative comment into fuel and motivation to get better and today I stand here, healed with a healthy mind & a happy heart.”
One year on from first experiencing the horrible symptoms, the Love Islander proudly told her fans that today she feels beautiful and confident, and even admitted she loves her body now more than ever.
The journey to self love was also a huge eye-opener for the bombshell, as she admitted she didn’t really understand mental health struggles until she had experienced them herself.
“I never understood mental health until I experienced it myself and how important it is,” she added.
“I urge everybody to be kind because you never know what someone is going through, everyone has a story.”
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