McFly singer Danny Jones, 38, is heading to the jungle to face creepy crawlies, daring tasks and a diet of beans and rice. But the I’m A Celeb camp won’t be as daunting as some of the health challenges The Voice UK star has had to face.
Danny has spoken candidly about some of these struggles since shooting to fame in 2004 with McFly as well as navigating his solo career. Danny began suffering from debilitating anxiety attacks at 18, around the time his parents' marriage ended. His anxiety resurfaced when he was 20 years old. - a year after he joined the boy band. In an interview with the Belfast Telegraph, Danny recalled his experience of the “horrible” mental health issue,
“I haven't had an attack since 2013, which I'm very thankful about because at times it was so horrible,” he said. “I experienced claustrophobia, coming out in cold sweats, feeling a band tightening around my chest and worrying I was having a heart attack. It's so scary and I've felt like I was dying on occasions. You can't believe your body can do that to you."
He also confessed, “I was also plagued with dark thoughts I couldn't control. It was affecting my whole life - my work, health and sleep. I was determined to bury it and say goodbye to it. Admitting to having anxiety was the first big step and bit by bit, I put myself back together.”
Image:
Getty)Rather than taking medication, Danny took steps to improve his mindset which included altering his lifestyle and listening to inspiring podcasts, as well as reading books. He said: “Medication works for some people but I didn't want to go down that route. I wanted to hit it head on and really face the fear of it and the struggle of it as soon as I could, but everything takes time."
"I went to a little bit of therapy and the guy showed me a book he'd written about it and it seemed like it was just a pointless thing that your brain does to you, it's almost like a reaction to survival, your body wanting to panic and pass out and having those fears."
He added: “I also improved my diet and fitness. I feel so much better in my mind after I've been active."
The star also shared that while battling anxiety, he found solace in podcasts like Real Health and from MMA fighters to global business runners.
He explained that hearing others share their trauma propelled him to improve his mental health: "They all have ups and downs and they all felt the same as I did and I felt very comforted knowing that."
Danny is now panic attack free and married to former Miss England 2007, Georgia Horsley, with whom he has a six-year-old son.
English (US) ·