Tanya Bardsley reveals she has given up alcohol after it left her ‘crippled with anxiety’

Tanya Bardsley has revealed that she has given up alcohol after drinking left her ‘crippled with anxiety’ and feeling depressed.

The former Real Housewives of Cheshire star, 40, admitted she decided to go teetotal in the new year as hangovers would leave her mental health in a ‘dark place’.

She told Closer magazine that although she didn’t drink often, when she did she would go on 10-hour binges, which left her feeling depressed for a week.

Teetotal: Tanya Bardsley has revealed that she has given up alcohol after it left her ‘crippled with anxiety’ and feeling depressed 

Speaking about her hangovers, she admitted she would end up feeling bad about herself and ‘snap’ at her children – Rocco, 12, Renz, eight, Ralphi, five, and Gabby, 19 – and her footballer husband Phil Bardsley as she was short tempered.

She told the publication: ‘The next morning, I’d be crippled with anxiety, which would go on for about a week. My poor husband would have to drag me out of bed, and you just lose all motivation for life.’

Tanya, who has been open in the past about her struggles with depression, said drinking alcohol would make her mental health even worse.  

‘If you’re feeling low or have any kind of mental health problem, it’s [alcohol] like pouring ethanol on to an open fire,’ she added.

The former Real Housewives of Cheshire star, 40, said her hangovers would leave her in a ‘dark place’ and her footballer husband Phil Bardsley would have to ‘drag’ her out of bed

The model, who recently revealed her ADHD diagnosis, said she felt she was stuck in a ‘vicious cycle’ of drinking alcohol, eating rubbish food, having a ‘pot belly’ and running out of money. 

She revealed that after she felt like she ‘didn’t want to live anymore’ following one night of drinking, she decided to send videos of herself to her friends so they could encourage her to go teetotal.

Tanya said she turned to her friend DJ Fat Tony, a former alcohol and drug addict, for help and he would call her in the mornings to ask her if the aftereffects were worth the night out of drinking.

She said he taught her coping strategies, including drinking zero-alcohol beer alternatives so she can avoid people asking her why she isn’t drinking, as she said people don’t notice it is an alcohol-free drink.

Alcohol: Tanya, who recently revealed her ADHD diagnosis, said although she didn’t drink often, when she did she would go on 10-hour binges, which left her feeling down for a week

The TV personality said she no longer feels like she has to be the last person out partying and will go home early, admitting that every aspect of her life has improved since she went teetotal.

She said she is determined to keep a ‘clear head’ for the sake of her four children and said she doesn’t want to miss any part of their lives because of feeling hungover.

Tanya has been open about her mental health in the past and went public with her ADHD diagnosis last year, announcing she is doing a documentary about the condition with ITV.

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But navigating her diagnosis was not a simple task, as Tanya was put on medication which caused a seizure. 

Recalling that moment, she said: ‘It was really, really scary. I remember coming round and by then my mum and Phil because they thought I’d died.’

Tanya admitted that without the seizure, she would have been on Real Housewives ‘until she died’.

She believes since departing the famous franchise, she has more time for self-care, whereas before life was ‘unmanageable.’

Filming for Tanya’s documentary is underway and she hopes it will shed light on the severity of undiagnosed ADHD, after she was victim to it for 20 years.

Operation: It comes after Tanya spoke about her tummy tuck, revealing her husband Phil (both pictured) referred to her stomach as a ‘mum bum bag’ prior to her operation

Her latest comments come after Tanya opened up about her tummy tuck, revealing her husband, Burnley professional footballer Phil, referred to her stomach as a ‘mum bum bag’ prior to her operation. 

The reality TV star had long yearned to undergo the procedure before finally taking the plunge in January.  

And admitting she is ‘over the moon’ with the results, the 40-year-old reality star told new magazine how her husband of seven years responded to her surgery. 

She said: ‘Phil kept saying, “No I love your stomach as it is!”, but he did also call it my mum bum bag!’ 

Tanya explained that despite Phil being happy with the results, he was nervous ahead of surgery because of her prior ‘bad boob job’, which saw her end up with a haematoma – where trauma or injury damages your veins and arteries.  

Tummy tuck: The reality TV star had long yearned to undergo the procedure before finally taking the plunge in January (pictured before the surgery)

The star, who has also confessed to regular Botox and a brow lift, explained to OK! Magazine why she opted for surgery on her stomach. 

‘Whenever I had a wee I was sick of looking at a bulldog’s forehead, because that’s what it looked like with all the skin bunched up. I thought, I’m sick of looking of you so I’m having you off!’ she said. 

The procedure, which can start from £7,295, involved pulling Tanya’s skin up to sew her tummy muscles from top to bottom and cut away the excess skin and fat. 

The mother-of-four answered ‘massively’ when quizzed whether her confidence had been boosted post-procedure and said, even though she endured five ‘painful and awful’ days after surgery, her scarring is ‘actually amazing in the way it’s healed’.