Linda Robson emotionally opens up about horrific OCD battle as she makes Loose Women return
10 January 2020, 15:34 | Updated: 10 January 2020, 15:37
The Loose Women star revealed that police had to intervene after her mental illness went into overdrive.
Linda Robson, 61, made a return to Loose Women this week after a year break from the hit daytime show.
Holding back tears, Linda returned to the panel during Friday's show to candidly talk about her secret battle with OCD, or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
Linda explained that she had a "meltdown" after a change of medication in her routine.
After the TV star stopped drinking, she increased her medication to help her sleep, which left her concerned.
When she went to the doctor she was put on another pill which she says she had a "really bad reaction to".
She explained: "I had really bad anxiety, really bad depression, and my OCD kicked in to overdrive."
Linda explained that at one point she was having four baths a day, and was washing her bedding once a day, explaining "I couldn't clean everything enough".
Speaking of the stigma around the mental health illness, Linda said: "People joke when they hear someone saying something about OCD, but it's not a joke, it took over my life."
She went on to tell the panel and audience: “Every cup had to be spotless, everything had to be in order.
"The recycling couldn’t even be in the recycling bin, they had to go outside. The rubbish in the bin… there would be two teabags in it and I’d have to take it out and put it into the bin.”
Her fellow Loose Women panelists said they began to worry about their friend during a trip to Ibiza, where Nadia Sawalha admits she thought dementia was the reason for Linda's behaviour.
Speaking of Linda, Nadia said: "It was like the dimmer switch was being turned down, and our fear was that you might have dementia."
Following the trip, Linda flew home early with Stacey Solomon where she went to a formal treatment centre.
Linda admitted that the Christmas of 2018, after the trip to Ibiza, was hard for her and her family as she began to turn to alcohol.
"I was waking up every day and thinking I’m not going to make it through the day, how am I going to make it through the day?", she explained.
"The medication was making me hyper, instead of it calming me down. Then I started drinking again, and not wine, I was drinking anything just to black out because I just didn’t want to be to facing the day… I didn’t want to face getting through the day.”
At one point, the police were called to Linda's house after they thought she had been kidnapped.
Linda said to the panel: "Because I was drinking, they [the family] were locking me in, so I couldn’t get out and then I was shouting through the door, ‘Someone let me out!’ And then the police were called because they thought I’d been kidnapped. That was my family trying to keep myself. Now, touch wood, I’m off the alcohol completely.”
Raising awareness of the importance of mental health, Linda told the audience: "If you’re unwell and you’ve got a bad leg, people can see you but when it’s a mental illness, you can’t see it."
However, she added: "It’s been a long, long time and touch wood I’m finally there. I’m good, I’ve got a few jobs and a few things in the pipeline."
If you are struggling with OCD or want more information on the illness, visit ocdaction.org.uk for support.
