Fresh Meat star Kimberley Nixon has shared an emotional video explaining the mental health condition that she deals with every day.
The 39-year-old actress and writer appeared alongside The Inbetweeners' Joe Thomas and comedian Jack Whitehall in Fresh Meat, the university inspired comedy which aired on Channel 4 between 2011 and 2016.
Nixon is also well known for her roles in iconic 2000s films Wild Child and Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging. In the latter film, Nixon's character dates 18-year-old Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who is now being eyed up to play the next James Bond - the handsome devil.
On a new video on TikTok, Nixon speaks about the mental health condition she has struggled with all her life, and how it came to the fore in a major episode lasting for over two years following the birth of her son in 2020.
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She said: "What you might not know is I have OCD - Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. I've had two major episodes in my life, once in my third year of drama school, just before I turned 21, and the second when I had a traumatic birth with my little boy, triggering an episode that lasted about two-and-a-half years. I still deal with it every day.
"Perinatal health awareness month is coming up and I just wanted to say out loud that 'it's ok, you're not a bad mum.' You're not well, that's all it is. Your brain is glitching.
"It's more normal and more common than you could possibly think, one in five people will have some kind of mental health condition during or after pregnancy, and I want to take the stigma out of it.
"I want to be honest, my symptoms have largely revolved around truly horrifying distressing thoughts about harm coming to my baby."
There is a lot of misinformation surrounding OCD, with many suggesting that they 'are OCD' for any minor personality quirks such as turning off switches but in reality, OCD is a serious and often debilitating mental health disorder that affects people of all ages.
Thankfully, Nixon goes on to suggest that after receiving the medication she needed, she is now on a more positive path.
She added: "I finally got the right treatment, and I'm better. I'm doing great. I just wrapped up on a big job, which I can't wait for you to see.
"I have a mental health disorder but I'm better and I'm not just surviving, I'm thriving."
Topics: Mental Health, TikTok, Celebrity, UK News
James Moorhouse