Meshel Laurie has always suffered from anxiety, but the past year has been the worst for her.

“It was tipping my anxiety into the red zone… I started drinking to self medicate,” she told Rob McKnight in his podcast McKnight Tonight.

After her father nearly died she built a granny flat in her back yard and found herself looking after her parents.

The demands of media jobs on radio and on The Project, combined with the pressure of worry about her parents tipped her over the edge.

“I hit a wall, I just had to stop.”

“I was sitting in my bath, drinking red wine and tweeting obscenities at the Prime Minister.”

After hitting rock bottom Meshel has pulled back from her commitments and turned her back on social media.

In the podcast Meshel talks about the bad times, including how she turned to alcohol and contemplated suicide.