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."
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Steph added: "In the end, my anxiety got so bad I couldn’t leave the house without a drink. If something went wrong, I’d drink. I saw that as my medicine, it was my best friend, but in the end it destroyed me to the point I wanted to take my own life."
Discussing the time before her HFA diagnosis in 2019, the Celebrity Big Brother star said: "I was so low after that I was drinking myself to death. I got dragged to rehab by my parents and they said, ‘Please help her because she’s going to die’. My mental health was so bad, it wasn’t just addiction. That’s when a consultant psychiatrist recognised my traits and told me I had high-functioning autism, as well as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
"When I got the diagnosis, I didn’t really understand what it meant, but as soon as I did my research I was like, ‘Whoa, that is me.’ Everything jumped out and it made me feel more at ease because I felt, ‘It’s not just me.’ It made me accept myself for the first time and start to look forward. It was the biggest relief."
One person she credits for helping her is her boyfriend Joe McKalroy, 25. The pair met at one of her support meetings last December after he lost his brother to suicide. "When we get into bed at night we always say, ‘What are we doing tomorrow?’ We talk through everything, from the time we’ll wake up to when I’ll take Caben to school, do the shop, get a haircut and go to the gym. We plan it all out meticulously just so I know what we’re doing, then I say, ‘Night, love ya,'" Steph told the publication.
Praising her beau and their relationship: "Joe's the most beautiful person. He’s calm and peaceful, which is good for me as I’m erratic and panicky. He also doesn’t drink, which helps."
Last month Steph opened up about suffering a painful condition which left her skin sore and flaky. Posting on social media, she explained that about a year ago, her skin was particularly bad and claimed doctors "palmed me off" with topical steroids. She told how her body had become "basically addicted" to the cream before showing the splits to her skin on her face.
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