Gemma Correll recounts severe anxiety, panic attacks and alcohol reliance
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · May 3
Gemma Correll recounts severe anxiety, panic attacks and alcohol reliance
2 articles · Updated · The Guardian · May 3
In an extract from Anxietyland, Correll says her condition worsened in 2018 while living in Oakland after moving from the UK in 2015.
She describes back-to-back panic attacks, agoraphobia and dissociation, later recognising she had panic disorder and had turned to alcohol as a harmful coping mechanism.
Correll traces her mental health struggles to childhood, including a failed 2002 start at Homerton College, Cambridge, and says giving up alcohol helped, though it did not solve everything.
How did Gemma Correll’s journey reveal the hidden challenges of treating anxiety and addiction among expats, and what does her story teach about integrated care?
With expat life intensifying mental health struggles, what new strategies can bridge the treatment gap for those far from home?
Could creative outlets like illustration truly transform mental health recovery, or do they risk masking deeper issues needing professional intervention?