Gordon Ramsay’s 21-year-old daughter Holly, has bravely opened up about her mental health problems, including anxiety, depression and PTSD, which is a result of two sexual assault experiences which she suffered at 18-years-old.
Speaking on the first official episode of her mental health podcast, 21 & Over, which came out on Tuesday, Holly opened up about her own mental health struggles which started from when she was just 13-years-old
“My mental health journey probably began when I was in secondary school. I remember having prolonged feelings of being quite sad and generally feeling quite empty, as if I was just going through it day by day and not feeling much joy,” Holly explained.
Going on to open up about her journey with her mental health, Holly discussed that it was during the second half of her first year at university where she was studying fashion design, when things started to escalate.
“I loved it. It was a very intense course, but by the second half of the first year I was being affected by my PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome) and I had no idea that this was happening.”
“I was going out a lot. I was missing class because I had been out. I was going clubbing way too much. I wasn’t enjoying myself at all. I was struggling a lot more but didn’t notice because I just thought it was a hangover or too much work”.
“I then left university after my first year, because I was admitted to the Nightingale Hospital (a psychiatric hospital in London) as an In-Patient for three months,” Holly continued.
“That was where I was diagnosed with PTSD, anxiety and depression. Since then I have been in therapy up to three times a week. I now have these diagnoses that I carry around with me. And it’s confusing and I’m trying to channel that and take control of my narrative and use that to make something good.”
Holly went on to share that her PTSD “was a result of two sexual assaults when I was 18.” Holly also admitted that she never told anyone about these experiences until a year afterwards.
Talking about how she has managed to go on after her diagnoses, Holly said, “it’s a work in progress,” before going on to explain that her family “has been an amazing support. Having three siblings, and now an extra one, has been great. It’s brought me closer to them in many ways and the same with my parents.”
Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay and his wife Tana share five children together, including 23-year-old Meghan, 21-year-old twins Jack and Holly, 19-year-old Matilda and their two-year-old son Oscar.
Discussing her brave decision to share her story, Holly, said “It’s definitely a journey, but I hope by speaking out it can help other people to speak out or ask for help or even just talk to their friends and try to normalise the conversation around mental health.”
