Kim Basinger Opens Up On Past Struggle With Agoraphobia, How She Found It Difficult To Leave Her House

Academy Award winning actress Kim Basinger and her daughter Ireland Baldwin recently appeared on the “Red Table Talk” and got quite candid about some critical issues. Basinger was previously married to Alec Baldwin, but after almost eight years together, the duo split.

Their ensuing divorce and custody battle proceeded to be very public and messy, with their daughter Ireland Baldwin right in the middle of it. Alec moved on with Hilaria Baldwin, and by 2012, the couple got married and are currently raising six children.

In the latest episode of “Red Table Talk” (via People), Basinger shed some light on her previous struggle with social anxiety and agoraphobia and how she had to relearn certain things. Ireland also joined the conversation, revealing her previous struggle with alcohol and drug use and how she had a difficult time communicating with her parents.

Basinger and Ireland appeared in a Wednesday interview of “Red Table Talk” and the actress got candid about her battle with agoraphobia years before. According to the 68-year-old, the condition was “really horrible,” and while she struggled with it for years, she was never sure what it was.

She said, “I wouldn’t leave the house. I would no longer go to dinner.” Basinger added that the experience left her feeling like she was shut down and had to relearn everything that previously seemed like second nature, like driving.

Mayo Clinic defined the condition as an anxiety-related disorder “in which you fear and avoid places or situations that might cause you to panic and make you feel trapped, helpless or embarrassed.” It is described as when acts like using public transportation, being in a crowd, standing in line, and several other actions are feared.

The actress revealed that she had to learn how to drive again, and for a long time, she couldn’t go through the Malibu tunnels. She said, “I had to relearn to drive, and for many years I would not go through the tunnels at Malibu.”

Basinger added that things that seemed so simple before suddenly became complex and made her nervous. “Everything used to make me nervous, like the glass [sliding] to open the door, or, ‘Where do I step to open the door?’ Everything became a big job to figure out how to do it,” she said.

The 68-year-old said she was constantly exhausted due to the condition and “very shaky.” “You live with a dry mouth all the time,” Basinger revealed. “You’re very shaky, you’re just so exhausted all the time.”

The “Red Table Talk” wasn’t just focused on Basinger. The actress’s 26-year-old daughter also got quite honest in the interview. Ireland revealed that she previously struggled “self-medicating with Xanax” and alcohol for a period in her life.

The model also admitted that at that time, she refrained from talking to her parents for almost a year. She explained, “I saw them here and there, but I was so ashamed of what I had become and how I was living.”

The 26-year-old said, “I had a night where I went way too far with drinking and taking pills ‘cause I couldn’t even go to bed at night.” Ireland added that she became a “different person” at that time. “I was emaciated in every way; I was lifeless,” she continued.

In an interview with Net-A-Porter in 2016, Basinger talked about her constant struggle with social anxiety and how she tried to get through it for the sake of her career. She said, “I still get anxious sometimes, but I’ve worked hard on it, so it doesn’t paralyze me like it did before.”

Basinger continued, “I’ve never taken medication for anxiety, so I’ve had to white-knuckle it a few times. I’ve found that it helps if I take the focus away from me — ironic for an actress, I know! That’s why I love being a mom and advocating for animals: that’s when I really feel powerful.”

Basinger certainly took motherhood seriously, especially after her split from Alec, and she started carrying for Ireland. While the 26-year-old doesn’t seem to have the smoothest relationship with her father (Alec famously called Ireland a “thoughtless little pig” via voicemail when she was 11), she and Basinger are inseparable.