Jamie Laing admits he was in “too much pain” during his ultra marathon challenge as he opened up about his mental health struggles and a stark warning from his doctor. The former Made in Chslea star ran five ultra marathons across five days as he raised more than £2 million for Comic Relief.
However, in his late twenties, Jamie feared he would be sacked from the reality TV show as he battled a devastating health problem. The 36-year-old revealed he suffered from crippling anxiety during his late twenties.
Jamie says he felt “isolated” and feared he would be cut from the show if he admitted how he felt. However, Jamie says he found himself opening up to his doctor.
He told The Times: “I was meant to be this outgoing, confident individual, and inside I was crippled with this … I didn’t even know what it was. I went to a doctor and said, ‘Something’s wrong with me. I don’t know what’s going on.'”
It was then that his doctor told him he thought he had generalised anxiety disorder – known as GAD, reports OK!. According to the NHS, GAD is when you feel anxious about “lots of different things”.
Symptoms can include difficulty sleeping, feeling restless, irritable or finding it difficult to concentrate, feeling lightheaded or dizzy, or having a low mood and depression. Jamie says he asked his doctor “how he gets rid of it” only to be told he had to live with his anxiety.
He explained: “I went, ‘How do I get rid of it?’ He said, ‘You can’t.’ I went, ‘Come on, tell me what I need to do. I need to get rid of it.’ They told me, ‘You can’t. You have to accept it.'”
Throughout Jamie’s gruelling five-day challenge, viewers were gripped as they saw him pushed to his limits both physically and mentally, yet he persevered with each new day of the arduous journey. Jamie reflected: “So the main thing about the run for me was, I truly think mental health is like lava running through villages and towns throughout the UK.”
The nation rallied behind Jamie during his intense endeavour, with the Radio One star becoming a sensation online as support and donations poured in. His wife Sophie Habboo, also known from Made in Chelsea, shared how she witnessed him “really struggling”.
But the 30-year-old says the experience was “really upsetting”, especially whenever Jamie called on the verge of giving up, but admits it was “overwhelming with love”. Sophie says that was something the public echoed as well.
When asked if he felt the country behind him during his run, Jamie responded: “I was in too much pain.” Sophie explained that she kept asking Jamie if he knew that “everyone was waiting” for him to finish.
After finishing the run, from London to Salford, Jamie told Radio One colleagues he had “never cried as much in his life”. Jamie described being open about your struggles as “the coolest thing in the world” after completing the challenge.
He expressed: “This week has made me realise that talking about things is the coolest thing in the world, being vulnerable is the greatest thing in the world. Sing it from a rooftop, because that makes you brave, and hiding it makes you weak”.
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