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Tara Palmer-Tomkinson became a 'recluse' following anxiety and drugs battle

The former socialite opens up to television Rottweiler Jeremy Kyle

Ella Alexander
Tuesday 10 June 2014 08:16 EDT
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Tara Palmer-Tomkinson says that her battle with anxiety has made her become a “recluse”.

Talking on The Jeremy Kyle Show this morning (Tuesday 10 June), the former socialite said she has put an end to her well-documented drug addiction but is still struggling with mental health issues.

“I get terribly anxious going out, I’ve only been out three times this year,” she said.

“I don’t go out to public events. For the last two years I haven’t worked.

"I've seen a therapist every single week for the last nine, 10 years of my life."

She says that her relationship with drugs meant that that she developed “psychosis” and became "devious and deceptive and deceitful".

Tomkinson – the goddaughter of Prince Charles - also revealed that she once nearly died after taking a cocaine overdose.

"I remember timing my heart because I knew it was going to stop,” she said tearfully.

“I remember my telephone was there and I remember crawling on my hands and knees to pick up the phone and call, and then I woke up in hospital.

“I remember saying my prayers. I knew my heart was stopping.”

Her family sent her to rehabilitation in Arizona, where she decided to “change her life”.

“When I came out, I felt healthier, happier, I'd gained weight,” she said. “It was during that time in rehab that I thought: 'I really want to change my life, I don't want to live in the chaos anymore.'”

The interview is part of a series of celebrity interviews conducted by television Rottweiler Jeremy Kyle, which will take up part of his ITV show this week.

Michael Barrymore was the first to be grilled by the famously unfriendly host, discussing his suicide attempt four years ago in the interview.

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