Loose Women’s Denise Welch has opened up about her recent struggles with mental health.
On Wednesday’s show, ITV’s Kaye Adams told viewers that Denise has been grappling with her ‘unwelcome visitor,’ a term she uses to describe her depression, which has been particularly persistent of late.
Denise shared: “Yeah, so I had a really rough two weeks, which I’m still in a bit. I just did a podcast and a big article saying how I’ve been free for five years of clinical depression.
“Sadly, the unwelcome visitor paid me another visit, so I’ve not been well for a couple of weeks.”
She added: “I just wanted to come on here because what I need when I’m poorly, I need for my friends to just know that I need time to get well.”
Explaining her recent absence from Loose Women, Denise told her fellow panellists that she needs to be able to choose when to return to work based on her emotional state, much like Janet did after her hip surgery,reports the Mirror.
The TV personality continued: “When Janet returned it was up to Janet to say, ‘I’ve had hip surgery I feel well enough to come back’. It’s up to me to know when I’m well enough to come back.”
Highlighting the unpredictable nature of depression, Denise said: “The only thing that people will relate to if they have depression is, I’ve been free of the morning fear for a long time. I can be ok today, but then tomorrow, I can be absolutely terrible, and it’s isolating.”
To give further insight, Denise mentioned that the NHS differentiates between depression and sadness, stating: Sadness is something that you have as a result of something making you sad, it’s a healthy emotion.
Denise added: “Depression does exactly what it says on the tin, it depresses every single emotion. So you feel a flatness to things you usually get emotional or have feelings about, it robs you of that.”
Before wrapping up the conversation, Denise expressed her gratitude to her Loose Women colleagues for their support, revealing that going to work helps her cope during this challenging time.
As the audience erupted into applause for her bravery, Janet Street-Porter rose from her seat to give Denise a warm hug. Kaye Adams, visibly moved by Janet’s kind gesture, exclaimed, “Oh my god!”
On a more serious note, the ITV presenter added: “You know it’s so amazing for you to share that side of yourself, Denise, I know a lot of people watching will be very, very grateful for that. We love every version of you.”
The response on social media was swift, with many viewers sharing their thoughts on Denise’s candid revelation.
One commenter wrote: “Love her, dislike her, mental health is s**t. Hope Denise gets through this quickly.”
Another user posted: “How terribly brave of you Denise, you could have always stayed at home for a few months to get well.”
A third person commented: “I hope @RealDeniseWelch is feeling better soon. It’s important mental health is spoken about, no one minds when we speak about our physical health. The taboo about mental health needs to go.”
“@RealDeniseWelch @loosewomen well done for sharing with us and for describing depression so well. Thinking of you as you continue to recover,” wrote another supporter.
Someone else commented: “Thank you, Denise, for your powerful words today.”
Loose Women continues weekdays on ITV from 12:30pm