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Fifteen years ago, while spending time on a beach in Australia, Izzy Judd suddenly experienced an intense panic attack that left her struggling to breathe. At the time, her future husband, Harry Judd—the drummer from the band McFly—had gone surfing, leaving Izzy alone on the shore. She recalls, “Him leaving me on the beach sparked a panic attack. It just came over me like a tidal wave. It felt like an out-of-body experience.” This moment marked one of many challenges she has faced living with severe anxiety.
Izzy, a professional violinist and mother of three, is among the millions grappling with anxiety severe enough to disrupt daily life. In England alone, nearly 250,000 patients were referred for counselling related to generalized anxiety disorder last year, a significant increase from 190,000 four years earlier. This condition affects around 7.5% of adults in England and is characterized by constant fear, overwhelming feelings, and excessive worry about routine matters. Izzy traces her anxiety back to her early years growing up in a musical household in Harpenden, Hertfordshire, with three brothers. She recalls the distress she felt as a child: “I dreaded bedtime because I didn’t want to be alone in my bedroom. My heart was racing and my legs would shake.”
A significant turning point in her life came after a family tragedy. One of her brothers suffered a serious brain injury and was in a coma for two months, showing no signs of recovery until the family brought his French horn to his bedside, eliciting a response through the music. He continues to require round-the-clock care at a facility in Buckinghamshire. Izzy reflects on how this incident deepened her anxiety: “I think the accident affirmed what I was always worried about, knowing life can just change in an instant and things aren’t always in your control.” The trauma left her nervous system trapped in a continuous “fight or flight” mode, reducing her sense of safety.
Despite her struggles, Izzy pursued a career in music, studying at the Royal Academy of Music in London and performing with the electric violin quartet Escala, which reached the finals of Britain’s Got Talent in 2008. She also toured with McFly’s string section, where she met Harry, who has provided her steady emotional support. She shares, “One of my triggers for panic attacks was if I felt like I couldn’t get to him or call him.” Becoming a mother further influenced her approach to anxiety, encouraging her to build resilience. Following a panic attack triggered by her son Kit’s hospitalization, she began practicing mindfulness and meditation. She explains, “I thought it meant ’emptying your mind’ but realised it was more about noticing your thoughts and ‘letting them pass’.” Izzy has found breathwork particularly helpful and advocates for teaching it in schools, noting, “It is the quickest way to calm the nervous system.”
Izzy also hosts a podcast that blends music and meditation to help listeners manage anxiety and stress. The show features guided meditations on topics such as improving sleep and reframing anxious thoughts, supported by original compositions from the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and the BBC Singers. She describes the podcast’s structure: “The way it flows is that we give a thought around a topic, then we move into breathing with classical music, then a guest comes on and they do their meditation.” Though she still experiences panic attacks occasionally, she now feels more in control, recognizing early signs of overwhelm. As she observes, “We live in such a fast-paced world and so many people are burnt out, overwhelmed and fatigued. We just need to learn to slow down and be still and remember that everything is going to be OK.”
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More
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