Simon Gregson admitted ‘I didn’t think I could come here today’ as he openly discussed his struggle with anxiety attacks live on Loose Women. 

During Thursday’s instalment of the ITV show, the Coronation Street actor, 50, appeared on the panel to discuss his journey and coping strategies, hoping to provide support for others experiencing similar struggles.

Opening up about his mental health struggles, Simon said: ‘Yeah, with me it all came to a head in about 2015.

‘I kept having anxiety attacks, panic attacks. Which is so bizarre because I’ve been having them all day today. I was like there’s no way I can go on.

‘It just hits you like a ton of bricks and it just makes you completely incapacitated.’

Loose Women panellist Sunetra Sarker, 51, proceeded to ask the star when he first started experiencing symptoms.

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Simon Gregson admitted ‘I didn’t think I could come here today’ as he openly discussed his struggle with anxiety attacks live on Loose Women

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During Thursday’s instalment of the ITV show, the Coronation Street actor, 50, appeared on the panel to discuss his journey and coping strategies, hoping to provide support for others experiencing similar struggles

To which he candidly replied: ‘I’ve been having them since about 1990, but I just kind of got on with it.

‘But then when I had children, and they were noticing it and they started talking that they’re getting anxious, I thought “Oh I’ve passed it on, it’s like a cold I’ve given them.”

Back In 2015 Simon realised he needed to make a change and took time off from acting to seek help, eventually receiving a diagnosis of anxiety disorder.

Revealing how he sought help, Simon said: ‘I had private health luckily, so I had every kind of test known to man.’

‘They were doing brain scans, ECTs, I saw an ear nose and throat guy because he thought I had a dislodged crystal in my inner ear, I kept going dizzy, I was having heart monitors, I was going through great big massive machines because I was just constantly ill and they couldn’t get to the bottom of it.’

He also admitted that he self-medicated at the time with alcohol as it sometimes helped ease his anxiety.

He confessed: ‘Yeah there was self-medication, I mean you know It’s an unfortunate thing but It’s a true thing, alcohol is a very good short-term crutch. But unfortunately, it can be a long-term problem.’

Simon continued: ‘Unfortunately, it can become a habit and luckily it wasn’t a massive habit for me, but it was a good crutch, it was a useful tool.’

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Opening up about his mental health struggles, Simon said: ‘Yeah, with me it all came to a head in about 2015’

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He added: ‘I kept having anxiety attacks, panic attacks. Which is so bizarre because I’ve been having them all day today. I was like there’s no way I can go on’

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Revealing how his panic attacks leave him feeling ‘completely incapacitated’, Simon said: ‘It just hits you like a ton of bricks and it just makes you completely incapacitated’

Simon also admitted to the scary moment he doubted his ability to go on-air after experiencing a panic attack just minutes before Loose Women was set to broadcast.

He said: ‘I didn’t think I could come on here today, but I thought I’ve got to and I had to be completely open with everybody and say look I’m having an anxiety attack,’ earning him a round of encouraging cheers from the panel.

The Coronation Street actor has previously been open about his struggle with anxiety while filming the popular ITV soap.

Simon, who has portrayed Steve McDonald since he was just 15, admitted that his early rise to fame led to problems later in life, including alcohol issues which eventually resulted in his anxiety disorder.

His drinking nearly cost him his relationship with his wife Emma Gleave, leading to a point where she had to give him an ultimatum.

It was then that Simon decided to quit alcohol, but the decision left him battling severe anxiety, forcing him to take a six-month break from work.

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The Coronation Street actor has previously been open about his struggle with anxiety while filming the popular ITV soap (pictured on the soap)

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Simon, who has portrayed Steve McDonald since he was just 15, admitted that his early rise to fame led to problems later in life, including alcohol issues which eventually resulted in his anxiety disorder (pictured 1991)

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His drinking nearly cost him his relationship with his wife Emma Gleave, leading to a point where she had to give him an ultimatum (both pictured 2010)

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It was then that Simon decided to quit alcohol, but the decision left him battling severe anxiety, forcing him to take a six-month break from work (pictured 2021)

Previously speaking on the YouTube channel Deep, Simon recollected the point when things just became too much for him.

He confessed: ‘I remember ringing my boss, and he said, “You okay?”, I went, “No”. I said, “I’m in my car, ready to go work, I can’t get off the drive. I physically can’t drive the car off the drive. I can’t do it”.’

The actor faced pressure to return to the set, but his doctor intervened, insisting on a minimum six-month break from filming.

He shared: ‘Initially they said, well, ideally we could do with you back at this point, and it was like being given a goal post to get mentally better for, and that didn’t work for me.’

‘Luckily for me, the doctor was like, “No, this cannot be that. It has to be six months at least”.’