Oscar-winning actress Kim Basinger sat down with Jada Pinkett-Smith this week to reveal the agoraphobia which left her housebound for the past few years.
Basinger, 68, appeared on Pinkett-Smith’s award-winning chat show, Red Table Talk, to share her experience of the condition, which she says left her nervous, anxious, and unable to remember how to perform simple tasks.
“I wouldn’t leave the house. I would no longer go to dinner,” Basinger said. Adding of her experience with the condition, she said that it was “like something just completely shuts down within you and you have to relearn everything.”
Appearing on the show alongside her daughter Ireland, who she shares with ex-husband Alec Baldwin, the LA Confidential actress said she had “a dry mouth all the time” and was “very shaky.”
“You’re just so exhausted all the time,” she said.
What is agoraphobia?
According to the NHS website: “Agoraphobia is a fear of being in situations where escape might be difficult or that help wouldn't be available if things go wrong.”
Revealing that those who suffer from the condition can become afraid of leaving their home or visiting a mall, the website states: "Many people assume agoraphobia is simply a fear of open spaces, but it’s actually a more complex condition. If someone with agoraphobia finds themselves in a stressful situation, they'll usually experience the symptoms of a panic attack.”
‘I had to learn to drive again’
Calling the symptoms of the condition “really horrible”, Basinger revealed that she became nervous of being out in public.
“Everything used to make me nervous, like the glass [sliding] to open the door or ‘Where do I step to open the door?’” she said. “Everything became a big job to figure out how to do it.”
She added: “I had to relearn to drive, and for many years I would not go through the tunnels at Malibu.”
It’s not the first time the star has spoken about the life-changing disorder. In the 2001 HBO documentary Panic, the 8 Mile actress shared insights into how agoraphobia and anxiety have affected her life.
"Fear has been something I’ve lived with my entire life; the fear of being in public places — which led to anxiety or panic attacks,” she said. “I stayed in my house and literally cried every day.”
Here are 5 more stars who have talked about living with agoraphobia…
1. Emma Stone
The Oscar-winning actress has been candid about her struggle with anxiety growing up.
“I had massive anxiety as a child,” she told Glamour. “I was in therapy. From eight to 10, I was borderline agoraphobic. I could not leave my mom's side. I don't really have panic attacks anymore, but I had really bad anxiety.”
2. Brian Wilson
The co-founder of The Beach Boys has suffered from an array of mental health issues, including agoraphobia, which saw him endure bad stage fright and become a recluse for many years.
3. Macaulay Culkin
“I’m a self-diagnosed agoraphobic,” the actor told New York Magazine.
Revealing that becoming famous at such a young age fed into his anxiety, he said: “You get scared of everything out there because they’re all trying to get in here.”
4. Barbra Streisand
The multi-Grammy-winning artist’s issues stemmed from her forgetting the lyrics to one of her songs on stage when she was younger. Internalising the mistake developed into an array of social anxieties, including agoraphobia.
5. Carly Simon
The songwriter has spoken about her battle with the anxiety disorder, which once left her paralysed with fright onstage in front of 10,000 fans.
“I think the whole experience of being in front of people, exposing yourself and your talent, is so unnatural,” she said.
UAE%20ILT20
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Teams
Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Sahibzada Farhan, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan Shanwari, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Faheem Ashraf.
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (captain), Corey Anderson, Mark Chapman, Lockie Ferguson, Colin de Grandhomme, Adam Milne, Colin Munro, Ajaz Patel, Glenn Phillips, Seth Rance, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor.
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
MATCH INFO
Liverpool 2 (Van Dijk 18', 24')
Brighton 1 (Dunk 79')
Red card: Alisson (Liverpool)
Vikram%20Vedha
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Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20M3%20MACBOOK%20AIR%20(13%22)
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Company Fact Box
Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
UAE tour of the Netherlands
UAE squad: Rohan Mustafa (captain), Shaiman Anwar, Ghulam Shabber, Mohammed Qasim, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Chirag Suri, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Mohammed Naveed, Amjad Javed, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
Fixtures:
Monday, 1st 50-over match
Wednesday, 2nd 50-over match
Thursday, 3rd 50-over match
How to donate
Text the following numbers:
2289 - Dh10
6025 - Dh 20
2252 - Dh 50
2208 - Dh 100
6020 - Dh 200
*numbers work for both Etisalat and du
Contracted list
Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Aaron Finch, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Shaun Marsh, Mitchell Marsh, Tim Paine, Matt Renshaw, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Other must-tries
Tomato and walnut salad
A lesson in simple, seasonal eating. Wedges of tomato, chunks of cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, coriander or parsley leaves, and perhaps some fresh dill are drizzled with a crushed walnut and garlic dressing. Do consider yourself warned: if you eat this salad in Georgia during the summer months, the tomatoes will be so ripe and flavourful that every tomato you eat from that day forth will taste lacklustre in comparison.
Badrijani nigvzit
A delicious vegetarian snack or starter. It consists of thinly sliced, fried then cooled aubergine smothered with a thick and creamy walnut sauce and folded or rolled. Take note, even though it seems like you should be able to pick these morsels up with your hands, they’re not as durable as they look. A knife and fork is the way to go.
Pkhali
This healthy little dish (a nice antidote to the khachapuri) is usually made with steamed then chopped cabbage, spinach, beetroot or green beans, combined with walnuts, garlic and herbs to make a vegetable pâté or paste. The mix is then often formed into rounds, chilled in the fridge and topped with pomegranate seeds before being served.
MATCH INFO
Hoffenheim v Liverpool
Uefa Champions League play-off, first leg
Location: Rhein-Neckar-Arena, Sinsheim
Kick-off: Tuesday, 10.45pm (UAE)
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The specs: 2017 Lotus Evora Sport 410
Price, base / as tested Dh395,000 / Dh420,000
Engine 3.5L V6
Transmission Six-speed manual
Power 410hp @ 7,000rpm
Torque 420Nm @ 3,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined 9.7L / 100km
Opening Rugby Championship fixtures:Games can be watched on OSN Sports
Saturday: Australia v New Zealand, Sydney, 1pm (UAE)
Sunday: South Africa v Argentina, Port Elizabeth, 11pm (UAE)
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
The%20Genius%20of%20Their%20Age
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Schedule:
Pakistan v Sri Lanka:
28 Sep-2 Oct, 1st Test, Abu Dhabi
6-10 Oct, 2nd Test (day-night), Dubai
13 Oct, 1st ODI, Dubai
16 Oct, 2nd ODI, Abu Dhabi
18 Oct, 3rd ODI, Abu Dhabi
20 Oct, 4th ODI, Sharjah
23 Oct, 5th ODI, Sharjah
26 Oct, 1st T20I, Abu Dhabi
27 Oct, 2nd T20I, Abu Dhabi
29 Oct, 3rd T20I, Lahore
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Intercontinental Cup
Namibia v UAE Saturday Sep 16-Tuesday Sep 19
Table 1 Ireland, 89 points; 2 Afghanistan, 81; 3 Netherlands, 52; 4 Papua New Guinea, 40; 5 Hong Kong, 39; 6 Scotland, 37; 7 UAE, 27; 8 Namibia, 27
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