Jodie Kidd has opened up about her catwalk days, revealing that she used to suffer from panic attacks. Her anxiety was so severe at one point that she was forced to quit her modelling career and retreat to the countryside.
Looking back, Jodie, 38, says she had no idea what was going on, and thought she was "going mad".
"I didn't know what was going on because I was a late teenager," Jodie told HELLO! Online. "It was when people didn't really know about anxiety so I thought I was going mad, I thought I was going to have a heart attack.
"Nowadays it's not a taboo subject, it's a very normal thing but when I had it, it was during my modelling time and it was a terrifying experience. I had to stop my career, I had to stop modelling, I had to move to the country. It was terrifying."
Jodie, who has just been announced as the new UK ambassador for Fitbit, found that exercise was her "healing process". She had "quirky little things" like Rescue Remedy and quartz crystals but exercise was her most effective aid.
© Photo: Getty ImagesJodie Kidd said her anxiety and panic attacks were "terrifying"
The mum-of-one has always been athletic and interested in sports. She was a showjumper as a child, is a talented golfer and polo player and takes on "crazy challenges"; last year Jodie climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and this year she is set to cycle from London to Edinburgh in just 50 hours with Fitbit.
Her daily form of exercise is yoga, which helps keep her mindful and strong. She even gets her five-year-old son Indio, who she welcomed with ex partner Andrea Vianini in 2011, involved.
© Photo: Getty ImagesThe former model with her son Indio
"He was doing yoga with me the other day, I was trying to get him involved and I was doing all my postures, doing Downward Dog," said Jodie. "And he was kind of, hanging off the back of me. It wasn't the most relaxing yoga! But he's quite good at the old plank. He was there for ages. I was like, 'Come on, hold it, hold it!'
"He's an active little lad, he flies around at 300 miles an hour. I'm sure he's going to be strong and fit. He's such an outdoor kid. After having Indi, I just want to be healthy and watch him grow up. I'm a lot more conscious of eating well, doing more fitness and looking after myself much more."
Jodie, who wears the pink and gold blaze Fitbit in our Facebook Live, is the new ambassador for Fitbit UK.
