22 Kids and Counting's Sue and Noel Radford reveal causes of son Josh's anxiety after special episode
Josh has hoped his story will 'help others'Channel 5‘s 22 Kids and Counting featured a special episode last night that focused on Sue and Noel Radford’s son Josh.
Called Josh’s Story, the ‘film’ was made to highlight the teenager’s battle with his mental health.
The cameras followed Josh and the Radfords for 12 months before he was finally diagnosed with agoraphobia.
Josh willingly let the cameras in on his difficult journey in a bid to “help others”.
His parents, Sue and Noel, have now appeared in a new TV interview to explain more about the triggers behind his condition.
Sue and Noel Radford on Storm & Alexis
On Monday morning, Sue and Noel were interviewed on Channel 5’s Storm & Alexis. The show is hosted by Storm Huntley and Alexis Conran and the pair asked them about Josh.
In last night’s 22 kids and Counting, Josh’s psychiatrist kept the reasons behind his diagnosis “confidential”. But the couple have now shed light on the triggers behind his mental health condition.
Noel compared their current teenage children to how their eldest, 36-year-old Christopher and Sophie, 32, navigated their teens.
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Looking back to the early noughties, Noel said: “Teenagers were outdoors then. There was none of this stay in and stare at a screen.”
He also spoke about his worries surrounding social media, which neither Christopher or Sophie experienced as teens.
“These days, teenagers feel like that have to impress,” Noel added.
Sue, meanwhile, went on to describe Josh’s condition as “debilitating”.
She explained: “Having anxiety is really debilitating and seeing what effect it has on Josh has been really hard to deal with. You try your best to get them through it, but it can’t be rushed.”
Sue then highlighted another potential trigger for his anxiety: “Josh has been having counselling. She’s mentioned he needs to spend less time on the computer,” she said.
“From watching from when we started filming to now, he’s definitely a lot better. But he’s still got a long way to go.”
22 Kids and Counting: Josh’s Story
At the start of Josh’s Story, Josh bravely opens up about why he has decided to film his struggles.
He says: “No one would have guess I’d have the problems that I have now. It’s hard to say I’m struggling.
“I’m doing this to try and help other people. I do hope that me doing this does give people courage to also open up and ask for help.”
Josh’s Story begins on his 18th birthday. The family are concerned when Josh seems unwilling to join in any of the celebrations.
Sue and Noel gift him with 10 driving lessons, but Josh nervously says: “I don’t know if I can. I would probably have to feel confident. It’s probably waste of money knowing you’re going to fail.”
Josh shocks them further by failing to attend his own party with his older siblings at a local go-karting centre.
“Josh has always been the life and soul of the party, so him not wanting to socialise, it’s not Josh,” Sue says.
Noel initially dismisses Josh as “lazy”, before realising there is far more to his behaviour.
Viewers will see Sue taking Josh for an eye test after he complains they are “feeling funny”. He says: “I’m not sure how to describe it. I don’t see as well as I used to. The only explanation I have is like I’m in a dream.”
As he struggles with his eye test, he tells the optometrist: “I’m not sure what’s wrong with them. It’s like I’m going blind.”
Josh is diagnosed with a stigmatism and is given glasses. But he is not happy.
Panic attacks and hospital dash
Later in Josh’s Story, Josh suffers a big panic attack while in a busy shopping centre. “I’m not sure what happened, it was all the noise. Out of nowhere, I randomly felt it coming. It just hit me,” he admits.
Josh had told his dad his vision had “gone funny” and he wasn’t able to breathe. The family left the shopping centre.
But, when the same thing happens a week later, Sue admits the shopping centre incident “was just beginning.”
Josh’s brother James recalls how he was woken at 3am by him pacing around the room. Sue says: “I could see the panic on his face. I said, ‘Right, come on’. We got dressed, I got him in the car and got him up to hospital.”
Noel was left at home frantically waiting for hours for news. Thankfully, Sue and Josh returned home 7 hours later with the all-clear from doctors.
But Josh was left shaken, admitting; “You feel like you’re dying. It’s impacted me every day, thinking about my health. I can’t see me without this anymore. Or if I will even be here in the future. ”
Josh’s diagnosis
A few months later, Josh visits his GP to find out what is wrong with him. But Sue struggled to get him out of the house. Again, he was given the all-clear when it came to his physical health.
His mental health is on a downward spiral, though. Josh is soon unable to leave the house all together. Sue describes it as “heartbreaking”, while Noel visits a men’s mental health charity for advice and support.
Determined to help their son, the couple invite a clinical psychiatrist called Sarah to the house. By this point, Josh hasn’t left the house for two months.
“It’s definitely over our heads and not something we have ever dealt with in the past,” Sue admits.
Sarah believes Josh’s anxiety and agoraphobia has been subconsciously building up over the years. She suggests he has therapy to try and overcome his mental battles, which he begins regularly.
Sarah is keen to keep the reasons for Josh’s anxiety and agoraphobia confidential. But she keeps plugging away and even manages to help him get to the barbers for a haircut.
Josh finishes the special episode by encouraging anyone who is struggling with their mental health to speak out.
He adds: “There’s still a long road ahead but I hope there’s a time in the future when I can look back and see this is when I turned my life around.”
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