Lauren Goodger breaks down in tears as she details her first therapy session and anxiety battle

Lauren Goodger broke down in tears as she detailed her first therapy session in a candid Instagram video shared on Monday evening.

The former TOWIE star, 33, became emotional as she reflected on ‘digging into my past’ and her anxiety battle with her followers.

Declaring she wants to be ‘the best version’ of herself, the model insisted she’ll share her experience with at-home counselling with her fans every week in a bid for them to discover ‘the real Lauren’.

The media personality, who appeared on Channel 5’s Celebrity: In Therapy back in 2017, started off the lengthy clip by describing her first session with Deshara Pariag as ‘something I’ve never done properly before’.  

Revealing she was approached by the therapist because of her status in the public eye, Lauren explained: ‘I have just had my first session. It’s something that I’ve never done properly before. 

‘I’ve been asked to have therapy before and this lady contacted me and wanted to have a session because I’m in the public eye and I have been doing TV since I was 21/22 and I’ve grown up in the mad media.’

The TV star went on to suggest she was initially apprehensive about the meeting due to the stigma attached to therapy.

She went on: ‘You know the ones who have come into it now? They’ve had a head start, we were the first. I was one of the first reality girls on TV. 

‘I always thought, ”therapy? you’re crazy! There’s something wrong with you”, but it’s not like that. In this time in my life, it’s needed for certain things and I’m happy to share that with you guys. 

‘I’ve always been this girl on Instagram who shows a side to who Lauren is. If you read my book and seen certain things, you probably do know me as a person. It’s my friends who know me the best and there’s so much more to me than the Instagram pictures. 

‘Having these sessions and making it public is going to be nothing but a good thing.’

The former Celebs Go Dating star confessed she wants to improve her decisions and help with ‘things I’ve struggled with in the past’.

Lauren admitted: ‘I’m going to be blogging my at-home therapy and sharing my thoughts and views. To put it in a nutshell, I need to make better choices in my life, nothing has happened but I mentally deal with so much and I want to be the best version of me. 

‘I recognise and know that. On an outsiders’ view and for my sanity, I just want to have a little bit of help with things I’ve struggled with, if you’ve read my book, you’d know about my upbringing.’

Shedding light on her issues with mental health, the online influencer bravely said: ‘I have a lack of support and I’m very independent. 

‘It’s not all bad, I have a lot of things I’m grateful for, I’m successful and I’m good person etc, but a big thing is that I suffer so bad with anxiety. I need a bit of help figuring out a few things that will help that. 

‘[Deshara] is so lovely and really sweet. You see your friends and talk, but this is a different time, we’re digging into me as a person.’

The beautician wiped away her tears as she added: ‘I’m actually getting emotional as nothing has actually happened, but it’s just a build-up of things I deal with. 

‘I’ve just cried my eyes out, it takes me a lot to cry and I’m letting things out that I’ve bottled up for so long. I need to start making better choices for me and I deal with so much behind closed doors. 

‘I want people to know I’m a real girl, even though I’m in the media. I support me, I don’t have anyone to fall back on, I don’t have a strong relationship, I don’t have my mum and dad around. 

‘I’m not going to spend the whole of Monday night waffling and crying, but I just want to let whatever I’m going through change. I don’t speak about the past but it’s a lot.’

Expressing her gratitude towards her fans, Lauren ended her message: ‘Thanks for all your messages and I’ll be having another session next week. If anyone is feeling whatever they’re feeling, she’s a good person to talk to.’

The brunette recently vowed to take a month off drinking following her boozy outing with a mystery man at Cirque le Soir in Soho on Saturday. 

This isn’t the first time Lauren claimed she’s giving up alcohol as she toyed with the idea in March after feeling ‘anxious’, with the hangover bringing back memories of her nightmare Boxing Day hospitalisation caused by antidepressant withdrawal.

The brunette claimed the unfortunate after-effects of her night out were not unlike the symptoms that led to her needing medical attention in December. 

If you need help with anxiety, you can contact Charity UK on 03444 775 774 (Monday to Friday, 9.30am to 5.30pm).