A beauty queen has revealed she entered Miss Ireland to help combat her social anxiety and now she’s got her confidence back.
Miss Tipperary South, Shannon Brennan, explained how her anxiety got worse during the coronavirus lockdown.
Shannon, 21, told the Irish Mirror: “With Covid, the whole idea of public speaking was starting to scare me.
“I remember there being nine weeks on the trot where I saw nobody, I went into a shop and I had a panic attack.”
Describing how debilitating her anxiety was, she said: “I would feel like I’m getting a heart attack, the way I’d describe it, it’s as if someone is putting a brick on my chest and I couldn’t breathe.
“It comes from me being overwhelmed and not allowing myself to sit and meditate and gather my thoughts.
Over the years Shannon has developed tools to help her cope.
She said: “Gratitude journaling and visualisation I really find helped me, I feel if I don’t tap into these tools I’m not putting myself into a good position.
“I can go through a bad patch and then I’m stuck and I can’t breathe. It was pure social anxiety.
“Sometimes when I get overwhelmed I can feel it creeping in, especially because of Covid.”
Channeling her energy into Miss Ireland is helping.
"I’m all or nothing, I thought let's do the contest to get rid of this feeling," Shannon said.
And former Miss Tipperary Niamh Kennedy was an inspiration.
Shannon explained: “Niamh came to my school when I had really bad acne.
“I remember saying I’d love that sort of kindness and thought one day if I could be like that.”
Now the beauty is giving back through the power of the Miss Ireland franchise.
She said: “As part of my Beauty With A Purpose project, I’m doing Cinderella workshops.
“They’re based on the idea that Cinderella said ‘have courage and be kind’.
“I know that sounds a bit cringey, but it was a quote my baby cousins taught me.
“Over lockdown I saw people like me going through social anxiety, seeing people getting caught up in their phones.
“Not knowing basic self-care and not looking out for themselves.
“So I had the girls aged 14 to 15 - teaching them basic self-care and how to be confident in your own skin.
“If someone is being nasty to you online, move away, it’s about you being kind to yourself and putting yourself first.”
For more information see miss-ireland.ie.
