A BLOGGER from Bolton is using the power of the written word in the fight against severe anxiety.

Claire Eastham battled the condition for almost 15 years but is now sharing her experience in the hope of helping others.

Following a nervous breakdown, the 25-year-old decided to write about her experiences.

Her award-winning blog — We’re All Mad Here — has now been turned into a book of the same name, dubbed a no-nonsense guide to living with social anxiety.

She said: “You can be physically ill in your body so why can’t your mental health also be affected by illness?

“Everyone has a brain, everyone has mental health in some form, so I never understand the stigma when you become ill. People can go through hard times when your brain isn’t well. You shouldn’t be embarrassed by it. I didn’t talk about it for 10 years and it made me very ill.

“You’re not crazy, you are just not well.

“To say it doesn’t exist or you don’t know anyone who has it, then that’s like saying you’ve never known someone who has been affected by cancer.”

Claire, who lives in London but comes from Smithills, first started suffering from anxiety in secondary school but never recognised it as something which could be treated.

From the age of 11 she spent nights lying awake with worry, thinking over her actions during the day, questioning her ability to make friends, fearing what the next day would bring.

The terrible cycle continued into her young adulthood without her really understanding the cause of the pain.

She explained: “I always had social anxiety but I basically endured it and hoped it would go away.”

After university, it looked to the outside world like Claire’s life was on the up; she secured a dream job at a publishing company in London and started dating the man who later became her husband.

But on the inside she was still fighting, leading her to dread work meetings and avoid social situations.

Then in January, 2013 she had an interview for a promotion at work and that day experienced her first panic attack, leading to a nervous breakdown.

“It was one of the hardest things I went through but I’ve come out the other side being able to talk about it and feeling much better,”she said.

“I jumped in the deep end and didn’t think it through. I was offered my dream job and thought if I left Bolton behind it wouldn’t and couldn’t follow me but, of course, it did.”

She returned to Bolton and her mother, Ann, took her to see a GP where she was diagnosed with acute anxiety disorder - which Claire describes as “one of the best things that happened” as she finally had a name for illness that plagued her and a way to tackle it.

Following the diagnosis she signed off work for a month and started cognitive behavioural and exposure therapy which began her path to recovery.

A month later she returned to work and was supported along the way by her boyfriend Dan.

She now also had another goal in her battle after Dan popped the question and she overcame the fear of being centre of attention to walk down the aisle at Fetcham Park House in Surrey.

Following the diagnosis, Claire also tried to search for advice online but could not find anything the average person could relate to, so decided to do it herself.

“Everything out there is so clinical I thought I would write something without all the jargon,” she explained.

“There was lots of medical talk, or forums which were full of misery. It was really depressing.

“I thought of other people going through this and how something needed to be written in plain English, and decided that’s what I’m going to do.

“I didn’t think anyone was going to read it, it was just therapeutic. It was a very slow process over the past 18 months. The blog kind of took off and it’s getting more coverage, which is great.”

We’re All Mad Here charts her experiences with social anxiety and panic attacks in Claire’s own words and and has attracted more than 20,000 followers and various awards and nominations.

And now her work has been published in a book giving ‘honest personal insights, humour and practical advice’ as well as offering an explanation of what anxiety is, why it happens and how to survive it.

The publication has picked up a lot of attention, including an appearance for Claire on ITV’s This Morning. to chat to presenters Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby.

Claire added: “That was very hard, I’m quite an introvert, but I wanted to take the opportunity to get my message out there and I can’t believe the feedback I’m getting from everyone.

“I thought about the publishing offer a lot but wasn’t sure. In the end I want to help change view of anxiety and offer something which can help everyone, from people who are ill to those who know them.

“I’m not sure what I’m going to do next. I really want to work in mental health and make as big a difference as I can for the better.

“I’m a writer full time, and I’m going to see what happens, it’s all very new.”

To find out more about Claire’s journey visit weallmadhere.com.