Nadiya Hussain has said her anxiety means it can be a “struggle to get out of bed” during the lockdown.
The TV star, who won The Great British Bake Off in 2015, told BBC Radio 5 Live that managing her mental health has been a challenge during the coronavirus pandemic.
One of her children is asthmatic and so her family have been in isolation for seven weeks, according to the BBC.
She said there have been days when she has “struggled to get out of bed, days where I don’t even want to get dressed and I know there’s loads of people who feel exactly the same way whether they have mental health issues or not”.
‘Some days I’ve struggled to get out of bed’ #GBBO winner @BegumNadiya tells @TherealNihal how the lockdown has impacted on her anxiety.
🎧@BBCSounds – https://t.co/4SnxX44AQs pic.twitter.com/aRnszpfjPJ
— BBC Radio 5 Live (@bbc5live) April 29, 2020
Hussain, 35, told presenter Nihal Arthanayake: “Now it’s completely counterintuitive, doing things I’d normally do if I was anxious, now they’re making me more anxious and I know there are hundreds of thousands of people who suffer with mental health issues who will know exactly what I’m saying.
“We have to all be kind to ourselves, that’s what gets me up sometimes, knowing that I don’t have to be productive every single day.
“If I brush my teeth and put some fresh clothes on, that’s OK, that can be a goal I’ve met and that’s OK.
“It’s OK to be busy, but you don’t have to be productive all the time and that’s what keeps me going.
“I’m so used to constantly doing things, I’m scared I’m not productive enough or doing enough.”
She added that her children have been “wonderful”, adding: “They will know when I’m having a bit of a bad day and they’ll deliberately shove the cat in my face or bring the budgie over.”