Ben Fogle has opened up about suffering from a “complete breakdown”, which left him with “nausea, crippling anxiety and paranoia”.
The wildlife presenter, 51, went through a bout of depression in 2023, an experience which caught him “completely off-guard”.
Speaking to the Telegraph, the TV star says he hopes sharing his experiences will help other men going through similar experiences.
“It was a complete breakdown; I suffered from nausea, crippling anxiety and paranoia,” he told the paper.
“I'm better now, but I felt it important to share things when young men in particular tend to bottle them up,” the dad-of-two, who has been married to his wife Marina since 2006, said.
“There's no need for shame or stigma; it's just part of being human.”
Fogle - who was speaking ahead of the next series of Ben Fogle: New Lives In The Wild - added that he thinks “anxiety, PTSD and depression have become part and parcel of mainstream life”.
The presenter was diagnosed with attention hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) the same year as experiencing the breakdown, at the time saying his diagnosis made him “not fragile, but vulnerable”.
“I hate labels. I always have,” he wrote on Instagram.
“The idea that a single word defines us is too binary and lacks the nuances that distinguish us.
“We are more than a sweeping binary word. I am privileged but I am also compassionate. I am a public figure but I am also quite shy.
“I am dyslexic and an award winning writer. You get the message. The same can be said of our unique neurological differences.”
He continued: “I admit to my own cynicism but the reality is that I have changed neurologically.
“A recent mental health storm was the catalyst for my diagnosis. I feel different and have done for some time.
“Some aspects of life had become more of a struggle, but with a diagnosis comes understanding and reason.
“Maybe it is my age or perhaps a symptom of something more complex in wider society. I have ADHD but I am still me.
“It is not an excuse for me nor a reason to be cautious around me for others. It does not make me fragile, just vulnerable.”
