Coronation Street actress Samia Longchambon on her severe panic attacks

"I wouldn’t wish them on anyone, they are horrible.”

Coronation Street star Samia Longchambon has opened up on her panic attacks - telling how they're so bad she feels she's going to die. The 35-year-old actress - who plays Maria Connor in the soap - first suffered from anxiety when she was 11. Explaining her panic attacks, Samia said:

"You feel like you are going to die, you can’t breathe. "You feel like you are going to faint or die. I wouldn’t wish them on anyone, they are horrible.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BjM6OtwjNSd/?taken-by=samia_longchambon And Samia told the Daily Mirror about how she has found ways of dealing with her anxiety. She also praised husband Sylvain for helped her to cope, saying he "knows how to calm me down". She said:

"I didn’t have any therapy or counselling, but now I have found ways of dealing with it. “Sometimes I wake up and my heart will be racing for some reason. I won’t know why, but I won’t be able to get my breath. “Anxiety is like a fear. I read somewhere that depression means you are looking at the past too much, whereas anxiety is worrying about the future too much. That makes sense to me because I do worry about everything. "It is like I get a sense of doom and go through so many different scenarios in my head. There are a million reasons for my anxiety.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BgbFKGXBi9R/?taken-by=samia_longchambon

“It can be anything from a health anxiety obsession, to my self-confidence, my confidence in my work, how I am with my friends. "I care a lot what people think and sometimes if I have a conversation with someone it will stay with me for weeks that I might have offended them or I might not have said hello in the right way. “I overthink everything. You need constant reassurance.”

Last week, Samia opened up on Instagram about her struggles in a post for Mental Health Awareness Week. She told the Mirror that she spoke out in the hopes it might encourage other sufferers to reach out and get help. https://www.instagram.com/p/Biwgi32jn5f She said:

"I love that the stigma of mental health is finally being broken and people are opening up, talking and realising that you’re not alone.. in fact it is pretty common."