Rita Simons has opened up about suffering from obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) – admitting she used to fear “everyone is going to die”.
The former EastEnders actress used to perform “rituals” to try to stop her friends and family from suddenly passing away, and would carry her grandparents’ address around in her back pocket “at all times” in case they died.
She said: “From the age of probably three I was a worrier. I used to have obsessive, compulsive behaviours but I didn’t realise that’s what it was until I was older.
“A lot of people with OCD have a thing they worry about – mine was, ‘Everyone is going to die.’
“I would walk around with my grandparents’ address in my back pocket at all times in case everybody died.
“I would do rituals and all sorts of things in order to stop them dying.”
Rita admits she had numerous conversations about mental health with The Chase star Anne Hegerty – who has autism – while they were both on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! last year.
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She said: “I was just 14 years old when I was diagnosed with OCD and sometimes being a little OCD isn’t really what you might think it is.
“For me it certainly isn’t an obsession with being clean and tidy.
“This is the first time I’ve spoken in depth about having OCD. It wasn’t until I was in the jungle that it kind of had a light shone on it.
“I’m fully diagnosed OCD. With Anne and her autism we spoke a lot about mental health.”
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Rita – who played Roxy Mitchell on the BBC One soap – sought help when she was 14 years old when her mum found her “in a heap hyperventilating” after she had been checking a mirror.
Speaking on Lorraine, she added: “By the time I got to 14 I was checking taps, I was switching light switches and I got stuck checking the mirror for I don’t know how long.
“My mum found me in a heap hyperventilating, because I just wanted to get out of this mirror. I went and saw a professor of psychology who to this day I still speak to regularly.”
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