Countryfile presenter Anita Rani ‘teary’ as she reveals ‘crippling’ health problem

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Countryfile presenter Anita Rani has opened up about her “crippling” health problem in a candid video.

The broadcaster, who has been a regular face on the BBC nature show since 2015, said she feels “teary” and “overwhelmed” and has been wondering “what the hell is going on”.

Filming herself walking in a park, the 48-year-old said: “I wanted to share something deeply personal with you, which I don’t often do, so this in itself is weird. I have been experiencing something that I’ve never in my life experienced before, and it has taken the wind out of my sails actually.

“I am suffering crippling anxiety. I am overwhelmed, I am unsure, and for somebody who has dealt with life with the power of a first-born Indian daughter, who bosses life, [who] also just copes, I’m great at it – this is like, what the hell is going on?”

She added: “Every mechanism I have in place to just deal with stuff that’s just come easily for way over 40 years to me is crumbling beneath my feet.

“Obviously, it’s hormones, but here’s the thing – do I take hormones or do I feel the feels? Am I supposed to feel this?”

Anita Rani opened up about her ‘crippling’ anxietyBBCRani said she has been feeling “teary”, which is something she wouldn’t normally experience, and asked fans to send in their tips on how to cope.

The Celebrity Race Across The World star added that women don’t speak up on their mental health enough.

“Not my usual kind of post – but something I really wanted to share in case anyone else is feeling similar,” the TV personality captioned the Instagram post.

“Recorded while out and about doing the thing that has always made sense for my mental health – going for a run. All tips welcome, gang!”

Fellow presenter Zoe Ball, who previously revealed she suffered panic attacks during her “horrific” menopause, was quick to share her support.

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“Oh, darling girl. It is so overwhelming when it comes. I hear you,” she wrote. “It was by far my biggest symptom with menopause and undid me quite a bit. Sending you so much love x.”

Former BBC presenter and therapist Kate Silverton urged her to embrace the emotions and not try to “suppress” them.

The presenter has been feeling ‘teary’ and ‘overwhelmed’PA“Babe – you’re going to sit right in it… if we change ‘coping’ and ‘bossing’ to ‘suppressing’ and ‘keeping feelings at bay ‘… it makes total sense that one day .. our SYSTEM ( and this happens very often to women in their 40s – there’s a science to it – related to cortisol etc ) says ENOUGH!” she penned.

“And this is where life gets really interesting … not easy, but, having walked this path I can guarantee – it’s when you sit in and with everything that arises .. along with good and safe company … that life can truly be lived in glorious technicolour and liberation.

“We’re all here for you gorgeous – great post snd hoping you take great comfort from knowing so many people care.”

Rani, who grew up in Yorkshire and now lives in Hackney in London, previously said the countryside is “fundamental” to her wellbeing.

“I grew up in a city, and I live in a city now, but as we only live on a tiny island, it doesn’t take long to drive out to the countryside,” she told Health & Wellbeing.

“Certainly in Bradford, where I grew up, within 15-20 minutes, I was in the countryside, and we used to go every weekend to play around in the moors and get that sense of space and openness, and see a horizon and not see any concrete. I think it’s really good for your mental health.

“It’s good to get away from work, and destress by going for long walks and seeing nature. It’s in all us, going back however many generations, none of us were born in a city, we’re all from a field somewhere and I think that’s never left us.”