Irish actress Charlene McKenna has opened up about suffering from anxiety in her early career.
The 33-year-old, who is originally from Co. Monaghan, moved to London at a young age to pursue her acting career.
As she gears up to star as Daisy Buchanan in The Gate Theatre stage production of The Great Gatsby, Charlene spoke about how anxiety affected when she was starting out.
“The anxiety was in my body and I was wondering ‘What is wrong with me?'” She told the Sunday Independent.
“I couldn’t figure it out. I went back up to Monaghan and I went home for a month; I saw nobody. I look back at them times now as a blessing.
The Whistleblower actress also opened up about finding it hard to adjust to life in London, after growing up in a small town in Ulster.
“I thought I had to say yes to everybody, and I was breaking. I wasn’t taking care of myself. I went job to job to job- not taking into account that I was a rural girl, planted into London. This is before iPhones; this was with maps and a book.
Charlene says that even though anxiety never really goes away, things have gotten better for her as she has gotten older.
“As I’ve got older, I’ve got a bit better a sticking up for myself and at saying no. But anxiety, it never goes away. It ebbs and flows.”
We’re sending our best wishes to Charlene!
