Peter Zwegat
TV star was afraid of being alone
Peter Zwegat had to struggle with anxiety and panic attacks for a long time.
© imago images / Eventpress
Peter Zwegat is known as a tough debt advisor. However, prior to his television career, he struggled with himself for years.
“I fought and also often lost,” says TV star Peter Zwegat (71). The former RTL debt adviser suffered from fears for years. In an interview with the magazine “Bunte” he speaks of a “vicious circle”. The beginning: At the age of 30 he had to experience bullying in the workplace. Over time, this affected his health in the form of back pain and restlessness. The dismissal followed the incapacity for work. “But the disease manifested itself,” recalls Zwegat.
“There were also depressive moods, contact disorders with loss of drive, extreme sciatica attacks, the fear of being alone, but also a panic of going out of the house.” Private strokes of fate would only have made things worse. For seven years, Zwegat had been treated on an outpatient and inpatient basis. The diagnosis: conversion neurosis. “For me, traumatic experiences and stress manifest themselves physically in the form of illnesses and fears,” explains the debt counselor.
“I was allowed to start all over again”
The now 71-year-old fought. Such a history of illness cannot be overcome “overnight”, he says and is almost a little grateful. “When you experience something like this and survive it, you know again why life is worth living. I was allowed to start all over again.” Zwegat used his own crisis as an inspiration to help other people. From 2007 to 2015 he was the face of the TV show “Get Out of Debt”.