Before returning to the stage the actress decided that it was time for her to have hypnotherapy this year.

She is currently appearing in  'A Streetcar Named Desire' at London's Young Vic theatre but before getting back on the stage she had to seek specialist help before her run started after suffering panic attacks brought on by a fear of forgetting her lines.

She said: "I was terrified because I've had panic attacks on stage before so deciding to do this was a lot of pressure. I went to a couple of different hypnotists to deal with the anxiety because about six months before I started I was already projecting the fear of the future onto really small moments and struggling to even give a thank you speech. I think the combination of hypnotherapy and working my a*s off so that I was comfortable with the material meant that it hasn't been an issue."

Gillian has previously suffered from panic attacks which affected her so badly that she talked about how she "hallucinated".

"There was a period of time when I was pregnant with my daughter where I started having panic attacks and they pretty much happened every day for well over a year. And it was absolute hell - like hallucinatory - really bad."

It's interesting to read about how she already understood that thinking ahead and imagining that she would panic and forget her lines was the worst thing that she could do. Once you start to mentally rehearse something going badly you are already half way there. Learning to let go and end panic attacks is actually much easier than many people think it will be. I work with clients both young and old to help explain why panic attacks happen and how you can stop them from happening. Some people may tell you that you can learn to live with them but that isn't an approach you need to follow when you can emilinate them instead and learn to let go of your stress. Doesn't that sound like a better idea?

You can find a free download in my store on "How to Stop a Panic Attack" if you would like to learn more.

If you are looking for help and support just email me on [email protected]