Frankie Bridge has opened up about how crippling depression is impacting her daily life in a candid new video shared with fans on social media.
The former Saturdays singer, 36, often speaks about her mental health struggles online and was praised for detailing her battle with “severe” depression on I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! In 2021.
Bridge, who was hospitalised in 2011 as a result of the condition, admitted depression is “absolutely kicking my a***” and revealed it had taken her a “whole day” to get to the gym.
Speaking in a video posted to Instagram, Bridge said: “I am so over it…You know when you just feel like you do all the things you’re told to do and then it just always comes back.”
She continued: “I’m just so bored of myself. It is so boring. You know, I just think everyone around me must just be so bored of it as well.”
Despite feeling exhausted by the condition, Frankie made it to her home gym to exercise. “I am here. I’m gonna try and do as much as I can in the gym, because I know it will make me feel better,” she said.
“Sitting around, eating s***, which is what I’ve been doing all day, only makes it worse.”
Bridge then shared her gym playlist for her down days, which included “Medicine” and multiple other songs by the pop rock band Paramore. Following the workout, the Loose Women panelist said she was “so pleased” she had managed to exercise.
“I definitely feel a lot better than if I hadn’t come in,” she reflected.
“I’d have just berated myself even more that I had the whole day that I was able to come to the gym and I just didn’t, and I just sat around and just wallowed in self pity.”
However, Bridge added she wished she’d made it to the gym earlier in the day so she could have experienced the benefits earlier.
“It is what it is. I should just be pleased that I’ve done it,” she said. “It’s just a little reminder we have bad days. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better one.”
“Exercise has a direct effect on reducing rates of depression across the population,” Rachael Mackenzie, neurological physiotherapist and director at Workathlete, said, revealing that a workout session “reduces the amount of stress hormones circulating and increases the amount of dopamine – the happy hormone – in the brain”.
Back in 2020, Bridge revealed she suffered a mental health breakdown during the height of her fame as part of The Saturdays.
In her memoir, Open: Why Asking For Help Can Save Your Life, the singer said she began to feel as though she was “spiraling out of control” despite having a “beautiful life”.
“I had uncontrollable panic attacks and paralysing negative thoughts about anything and everything. I had trouble sleeping, lacked energy and had lost my appetite and my libido,” Bridge wrote.
“I couldn’t do anything without help and was unable to function in everyday life. Fundamentally, I couldn’t see the point of living any more.”
After hitting “rock bottom” while filming the music video for “My Heart Takes Over” in Iceland, Bridge decided to get help at London’s Nightingale Hospital where she stayed for one month.
After leaving the hospital, Bridge said she slowly returned to work and was told by her doctor that she suffers from “treatment-resistant depression”, which means any medication she takes becomes less effective over time.
Despite this, the star says she continues to take medication and attend therapy sessions to help “keep her afloat”.
“It took me reaching what could have been my breaking point to begin to get to grips with my illness,” Bridge shared. “That has been a hugely empowering journey, and my biggest breakthrough has been realising I will get through it.”
If you have been affected by this article, you can contact the following organisations for support: actiononaddiction.org.uk, mind.org.uk, nhs.uk/livewell/mentalhealth, mentalhealth.org.uk.
