Stephanie Davis has shared her relief at finally getting a diagnosis after years of trying to self-medicate her crippling anxiety with alcohol. The former Hollyoaks star has now told a stint in rehab led to her being diagnosed with high functioning autism at the age of 26.
In the last few years the actress, now 29, who is best recongised for playing Sinead O’Connor in the Channel 4 soap, has turned her life around. Now sober, Steph is able to understand her behaviour and symptoms of HFA which include a deep fear of social sitautions and a need for rigid routine.
Prior to her diagnosis, the mum-of-one self-medicated heavily with alcohol in an attempt to mask her crippling anxiety. "Before I was diagnosed with high-functioning autism, drinking was the only thing I knew," she told OK! Magazine. "I needed to drink a bottle of wine before a night out because of my severe anxiety in social settings. I also needed to know the layouts of places. So when I’d walk into somewhere new I'd go, 'Right, the toilets are there, the bar is there."
