Rita Simons goes "days" without sleeping.
The former ‘EastEnders’ actress – who has 12-year-old twins Jaimee and Maiya with husband Theo Silveston – has opened up about the "torture" of suffering from insomnia, which she believes is a result of the "million" conditions she suffers from, including OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder), anxiety and depression.
She said: "I suffer with a million ‘isms’, including ADHD.
"I also have really bad insomnia. The worst is when I can’t sleep at all and I’m up all night.
"Some nights I’m awake just staring at the wall. I don’t even watch TV or listen to music. It is awful. It is like torture. Sometimes it feels like I don’t sleep for days. It’s horrible.
"Meditating really helps me but I haven’t been doing it as much lately and the insomnia has returned."
The 41-year-old actress thinks Maiya, who is partially deaf, has inherited a number of her conditions so is keen to push the youngster’s interest in drama because she thinks it’s a beneficial outlet.
She explained to the Daily Star on Sunday newspaper: "Maiya has a bit of OCD and I wouldn’t be surprised if she had some ADHD as well.
"She shows a lot of signs of being like me, which is one of the reasons why I have let her follow the drama route.
"I went to a normal school but was in trouble all the time as a kid and should have been in drama school.
"I was just in constant, constant trouble. I was mouthy, the class clown, I wouldn’t shut up and couldn’t concentrate because of mild ADHD.
"Maiya is quite similar and since she has done performing arts she has settled down and has an outlet. She is thriving and I didn’t get that opportunity until much later."
However, Rita admitted it is a "scary" prospect for her daughter to follow in her career path.
She added: "The thought of her going into the industry as a hearing child is scary, but her being deaf makes it doubly scary.
"She has already asked if she didn’t get one audition because she was deaf, which broke my heart.
"You can’t protect them from rejection. If she didn’t have any talent I would be honest with her but she’s ridiculously talented and it’s what she wants to do, so I support her fully."
Rita Simons struggles with insomnia
