The Rôle That Killed The TV Star

A few days ago I watched a TV documentary about a British actor called Richard Beckinsale. The comedy shows he starred in are still shown often on TV (there was one on just this weekend), so I'm quite familiar with his work, though I was unaware that he was branching out into films and was regarded as a seriously up-and-coming talent... till one morning he was found dead in bed, after suffering a massive heart attack. He was 31.

The shows I've seen him in (Rising Damp and Porridge) give the impression of a pleasant, laid-back kind of guy – the very last person you'd expect would ever have a heart attack. Some of his friends were interviewed, and said that's very much the way he really was.

His wife, though, told another story altogether. She admitted that his confident, relaxed demeanor was an act – the hardest rôle he'd ever hard to play, and one that ultimately killed him.

The truth was that his nerves were strained so badly that he couldn't bear to stay in the house alone, and he suffered such serious panic attacks that he couldn't sleep without the light on, and often stayed up all night because he didn't feel safe enough to let himself fall asleep before full daylight.

In other words, he suffered from a stress level so intense and painful that it killed him.

Tragic though it is (his two young daughters had barely even got to know him), the story has two lessons that anyone who's stressed out needs to learn.

1. Many people will do, or suffer, absolutely anything to keep their friends and colleagues from knowing just how stressed they are.

Often, they're afraid that they'll be laughed at, or passed over for promotion – and both those things do sometimes happen; and

2. Stress that isn't dealt with can be lethal.

That's because stress causes the body to produce chemicals, like adrenalin, that are meant to deal with an immediate, short-term emergency. If you're stressed, then you're producing these chemicals all the time... and you aren't getting rid of them.

That means you're literally poisoning yourself.

Fortunately, much more's now known about stress and how to deal with it. Although if you have any kind of health anxieties it's always wise to talk things over with your doctor, you can check out an easy way to free your life from stress at the Supreme Success website – and if, like Richard Beckinsale, you suffer from panic attacks, there's a book available at the Resources area of the site.

Stress can make your life, and the lives of everyone you love, a misery. Isn't it worth a mouse-click to get rid of it... for ever?