Dame Sheila Hancock's fears over 'last few years of life' after health battle

Veteran actress Dame Sheila Hancock has confessed to a health struggle that's made her seek help. At 91, Dame Sheila disclosed her battle with anxiety, which has rendered her "obsessive" about punctuality, routinely turning up excessively early to engagements to prevent lateness.

She revealed: "I'm always desperately worried about being late. Obsessive even. I'll arrive so early that I sit for an hour in the car waiting, rather than risk being tardy or stuck in traffic." Recognising the irrationality of her concerns, Hancock wondered: "It's absurd. Everybody is late now; nobody is on time. Why am I the only person worrying?"

Her anxiety recently erupted when a booked taxi failed to turn up punctually, triggering a panicked reaction.

Describing the episode, she said: "I called: 'Where the hell are you?' He'd missed my turning. 'Look,' I said, 'I'll come to you.' I powered along the street, in the freezing cold."

She told the Guardian the experience left her rattled, with her possessions tumbling from her handbag and accidentally shutting herself out of her home in her urgency.

Despite turning up 10 minutes early, she acknowledged the ridiculousness of her behaviour, confessing: "Things dropped from my bag. I locked myself out of the house in my rush. After all that, I arrived 10 minutes early! It's madness.

"I'd like to spend the last few years of my life being less anxious, if I could. That would be a gift."

Seeking support through a National Health Service programme, Dame Sheila hopes to build coping mechanisms for everyday pressures, wanting to live with less anxiety. "[I have decided] to sign up for an anti-anxiety course. You can get it on the National Health. It's practical. None of this 'Did you have an unhappy childhood?' rubbish. More, 'What are you going to do about it?'"

Sheila concluded: "My anxiety is not an illness, just fear, for all sorts of reasons. I'm bored of normal emotions being categorised as sickness, honestly."

According to the NHS, anxiety can trigger various physical symptoms, including an accelerated heartbeat, dizziness, chest pains, sweating, appetite loss, and feeling overheated.

Individuals may also experience psychological symptoms, such as tension, excessive worry, restlessness, sleep difficulties, catastrophic thinking and intrusive thoughts.