Mental Health and illness

Subterms

    More stories

    • 325 Shares159 Views

      in Motorsport

      I was an F1 heiress with a jet in back garden but lost it all… I ended up on £60 benefits & got rejected from McDonald’s

      by

      AS the daughter of a British Formula 1 legend, Christianne Ireland lived a life few could imagine.With a private plane in the back garden of her mansion home, she was driven around in Aston Martin and Rolls-Royce cars, attended a private boarding school, had her hair cut by Vidal Sassoon and had a wardrobe of designer clothes.
      Christianne Ireland is an F1 heiress but lost everythingCredit: Chris Balcombe
      Dad Innes Ireland won the US Grand Prix in 1961Credit: SUPPLIED/CHRISTIANNE IRELAND
      Her dad Innes Ireland won the US Grand Prix in 1961 and counted racing icons Stirling Moss, Graham Hill and F1 team founder Frank Williams as his closest friends.
      Her incredible upbringing should have been the springboard for a life of success.
      But Christianne’s world came crashing down after she became an alcoholic, went through two divorces and her dad failed to leave her money in his will. 
      By 2016, she was on benefits of around £60 a week, living in a homeless hostel and was even turned down for a cleaning job at McDonald’s.
      Read More Features
      She describes her astonishing riches-to-rags story as “like falling out of an ivory tower”.
      Christianne, now 65, says her life was saved when she started volunteering at an allotment and she has rebuilt a future as a support manager at a charity called Unity which helps the most vulnerable in society.
      She said: “When I think back on the life I had it seems crazy.  
      “My childhood was bizarre, bonkers. We lived in a Grade One-listed Georgian mansion house with its own stream-fed lake and a miles messenger plane parked out the back.
      Most read in Motorsport
      She grew up in a Georgian mansion house with its own private lakeCredit: SUPPLIED/CHRISTIANNE IRELAND
      Innes was pals with F1 legends like Stirling Moss, Graham Hill and team founder Frank WilliamsCredit: SUPPLIED/CHRISTIANNE IRELAND
      “They were very heady days. I got a pony and trap as a Christmas present aged five and I remember Frank Williams and F1 racer Charlie Crichton-Stuart coming to paint it one weekend.
      “We always had wonderful exotic cars parked outside and we used to go to the village in the 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO built for Stirling Moss, which later sold for £27million.
      “He never got to race it after his terrible accident that ended his racing career but I used to get into the passenger seat, my mum would shove the chocolate Labrador in the footwell and we’d go shopping.
      “When I fell out of the ivory tower years later and had to clean up my drinking, I’d look at beggars on the street and think ‘do I want to be one of them, because I have that option, or do I want to get off my backside and do something to get myself sorted?’”
      Cursed by fame
      Christianne’s story is full of twists and turns and a long battle with the bottle which left her homeless with just a suitcase full of expensive clothes – remnants of her past life.
      Her dad Innes was a former paratrooper and apprentice engineer with Rolls-Royce who started racing in an old three-litre Bentley when he was 22 after being left the car by a dead relative.
      After winning the Motor Sports Brooklyn Memorial Trophy in 1957 he joined the Lotus team, taking part in 50 Grand Prixs.
      He was a larger-than-life character who, according to a rival team boss, “lived without sense, without an analyst, and provoked astonishment and affection from everyone”.
      He married Christianne’s mum Norma Thomas, a Scarborough school teacher, three years before his career took off but the trappings of fame cost Innes his marriage.
      An exhausted Innes trying to push his Lotus 18 up the Sainte Devote hill at the Monaco Grand Prix, 1960Credit: Getty
      Step mother Eddie, step brother Jamie, Innes and and Christianne around age 16 at the backCredit: SUPPLIED/CHRISTIANNE IRELAND
      Christianne said: “My father’s success was a double-edged sword.
      “He was travelling to a lot of races which took him away from my mother and the family and it elevated him into a jet-set world. 
      “ My mother wasn’t really kitted out for that life. I think she was quite happy with the little life they had, it was very suburban and nothing flash and I think she would have preferred that.
      “When the money came on board we had a big mansion house called Downton in Powys, Wales, with an airstrip out the back. Dad got a private plane and really enjoyed the lifestyle but mum was often left rambling around alone in this big home.”
      Christianne says her mum struggled to cope and she was sent to a convent  boarding school just before her fifth birthday which she “hated” because “we weren’t from a strict Catholic family, dad was becoming famous and I was the oddball there”.
      When she next returned home, Christianne’s mother had gone and they never really reconciled.
      She said: “My dad got custody of me and I didn’t dare ask what had happened. I remember saying Goodbye when I went to boarding school and that was the last I saw of her at that time.
      “Dad wasn’t the type to sit you down and talk about what happened and a lot was shoved under the carpet.
      “There was a lot of hurt and I would later use that as a ‘poor me’ excuse to drink.”
      Battle with the bottle
      By the time her dad retired in 1967 to become a journalist for Autocar magazine, he had remarried and the family moved to London where Christianne would have her hair cut by Vidal Sasoon.
      She said: “I would go home from school whenever dad was around and we did have some wonderful times. I watched him race at Le Mans for one of my birthdays and I was taken to designer shops where I was allowed to buy lots of beautiful French clothes.
      “In London we shopped in Harrods and Fortnum and Mason. I had lovely things, but in hindsight I’d have swapped it to spend more quality time with my father.”
      Christianne was sent to private girls boarding school Oxenfoord Castle in Midlothian where she says she developed into a “rebellious teenager”. By now her dad had remarried.
      “I would do anything to shock my father and, looking back, I think I must have been angry.
      “I’d wear dreadful make-up, hippy afghan coats smelling of patchouli oil and bring home unsuitable boyfriends. I had a best friend whose father had also been a driving racer and we used to go to Annabel’s nightclub with our fathers’ cards and dance on the tables.”
      Christianne has taken up racing herself nowCredit: SUPPLIED/CHRISTIANNE IRELAND
      Innes in Monaco in 1960Credit: Getty
      When she was 20, Christianne married farmer John Gee and had three children Charles, now 45, Sasha, 43, and Jeffrey, 41.
      The couple married at Welford Park in Newbury, the home of C4’s Bake Off, in a lavish ceremony where she says dad Innes told her: “Right darling, that’s the last big thing I do for you.”
      Christianne says she started drinking copious bottles of wine throughout her marriage, adding: “My poor husband didn’t know how to cope with it, none of it was his fault.
      “I had no instruction manual and my marriage failed.”
      When her dad died of cancer at a rented cottage near Welford, Newbury, in 1993, Christianne was left out of his will.
      Eventually her relationship with her father’s third wife, ex-model Jean Haworth, became estranged.
      Christianne went on to meet Tristram, her second husband, who she wed in 1995, at an AA meeting in what she describes as a “typical cliche.”
      “He was very smartly dressed and I thought ‘oh he’s got money’ while I think he probably thought I had. Neither of us had a pot to p*** in,” she laughs.
      Christianne volunteered with the local AA and went on to speak to prisoners in Broadmoor, the psychiatric hospital which has housed lags like Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe and four-times killer Robert Maudsley.
      She said: “I wasn’t allowed near people like that but I spoke to people with mental health issues who had issues with drinking or drugs.
      “I was terrified going in there for the first time but came across people who had committed terrible crimes when they’d been on drink or drugs and blacked out, and I thought ‘there by the grace of God go I.’
      “One 6ft 4in man murdered his mother with an axe and a woman who set her house on fire with her family in it. Neither of them had any recollection of what had happened.” 
      Rock bottom
      Nine years into her marriage, Christianne said she started secretly drinking again after moving to Gloucestershire and becoming unhappy.
      She said: “I’d do a bit of social drinking but most of it was in secret.
      “I was socially a bit anxious and I needed to drink before we went anywhere. If it wasn’t vodka it would be half a bottle of wine before stepping out the door and the tolerance started to go up.
      “At its worst I’d secretly down half a bottle of brandy.”
      She and husband Simon, who Christianne says “didn’t know how to help me”, broke up after nine years of marriage and he moved to New Zealand.
      She said: “Over the next five years I went through all my savings, sold some jewellery to live off and tried to find jobs, but I wasn’t in the right headspace.
      “I even tried for a cleaning job at McDonald’s but was turned down.  My children weren’t able to help me financially or put me up.
      “They never actually asked me to stop drinking, because nobody should ever ask anyone to stop. Instead they distanced themselves from me.
      “Eventually I moved to Camberley in Surrey when I got a job in a clothes shop for a couple of years, but then the drinking caught up with me.”
      Christianne found working at an allotment helped her turn her life aroundCredit: Chris Balcombe
      In 2015, Christianne went to live in London to help support a distant relative but it didn’t work out and her daughter advised her to make herself homeless to get a flat.
      She said: “By this time I was on benefits of about £60 a week. I thought maybe I should try the Southampton area because I’d lived there for a little while when I was younger.
      “From there the local authority sent me to Romsey and then to Andover where I was given a crash room in a hostel.”
      Christianne spent eight weeks in a hostel where she had to sleep in a single bed in the dining room.
      She said: “All I had was my suitcase. It was quite large with some of my best clothes in it but that was it.
      “You had to be out of the hostel most of the day so it was quite hard. There were quite a few drug addicts there and I’m not very streetwise.
      “The local authority eventually got me a flat but I had no furniture for three weeks and just slept on the floor.”
      Brighter future
      Christianne started to volunteer at a charity called Unity, and a locally-run allotment – a move she credits with saving her life.
      She said: “When I started digging, clearing, growing, pruning it felt like I was getting rid of debris, not just from the allotment but from my life.
      “On the days I wanted to drink I’d go there instead and I slowly started feeling better.
      “I found my local drug and rehabilitation services and signed up with them. I did a course called smart recovery for three months and it gave me strategies to cope with my drinking.
      “I realised it was an ability to cope with life on life’s terms and I was given a toolbox of strategies to help me cope.”
      Now Christianne works as a voluntary sector support manager for Unity and helps oversee a food pantry project.
      She has also taken up racing herself after joining the Brighton and Hove Moto Sports Club, taking part in speed trials and hill climbs.
      READ MORE SUN STORIES
      She said: “I don’t regret all those things that happened because they brought me to where I am now. I’m like a snake shedding its skin.
      “I’ve had an amazing, crazy life.” More

    • 188 Shares159 Views

      in Motorsport

      Michael Schumacher’s family ‘waiting for science’ to bring him back, claims F1 pal Johnny Herbert

      by

      THE pal of F1 legend Michael Schumacher claims the family are “waiting for science” to bring him back to “the Michael we all knew”.Ex teammate, Johnny Herbert, revealed that he thinks that Schumacher is probably in the “similar situation” as he was after his accident – given lack of health updates.
      Johnny Herbert, left, has recently given an update on Michael Schumacher’s health
      Herbert said he hears that the star is sitting at the dinner table
      Herbert said he only heard this “second hand” and can’t be sure
      Schumacher hasn’t been seen since he was involved in a horrific skiing crash in 2013 – and information on his health has been scarce.
      However, it now appears some questions about the star’s health may have finally been answered, following years of mystery.
      Herbert told BettingSites.co.uk: “Because we haven’t heard anything from the family, it shows that unfortunately he is probably in the similar situation as he was straight after the accident.
      “It doesn’t seem they have moved much, if at all. I suppose the family is waiting for science to come up with something that will hopefully bring back the Michael we all knew.
      read more world news
      It comes as in the same interview Herbert claimed he has heard from those within F1 that Schumacher reportedly “sits at the dinner table” – but said he couldn’t be sure.
      He also said that as far as he knows only a handful of people are permitted to visit Schumacher including his family and a “very few trusted individuals”.
      He told BettingSites.co.uk: “I have heard Ross Brawn has gone, Jean Todt Gerhard Berger. That is sort of it as far as I believe.”
      Herbert also shared some of his “lovely memories” of his time spent with Schumacher – including his fondness for booze and his “party piece.”
      Most read in Motorsport
      He said: “We all know there was the massively serious side to him totally driven by getting the best out of himself.
      “But there was that end of season downtime, the relaxed moment we always had after Adelaide.
      “He would enjoy the alcohol treats that were available and we all did. We could only do it once a year. 
      He added: “He would go around the room and his party piece was to rip off everybody’s shirts. Trousers too. But it was mainly buttoned shirts which he would love to rip off.
      “That was the fun side of him. Those are the memories most people didn’t see, but they are the lovely memories I have of him.
      “He had a great sense of humour and hopefully something we will see again.”
      Last week it was revealed Schumacher’s daughter, Gina, will marry her fiance later this year.
      The 26-year-old is set to tie the knot with 27-year-old boyfriend Iain Bethke later this year, reports German magazine Bunte and Spanish publication Ultima Hora.
      This is not the only time Johnny Herbert has made headlines recently.
      Read more on The Sun
      In November he claimed he “doesn’t listen” to Christian Horner as he responded to the claim that Lewis Hamilton could join Red Bull.
      Red Bull team principal Horner claimed that a member of the Brit’s entourage had reached out to him regarding a sensational switch.
      Schumacher hasn’t been seen since he was involved in a horrific skiing crash in 2013
      Only a handful of people are permitted to visit the star
      Gina Schumacher is set to marry her fiance, Iain Bethke, this year More

    • 188 Shares119 Views

      in Motorsport

      Inside Michael Schumacher’s decade-long recovery from ‘desperately cruel’ ski crash as brother shares devastating update

      by

      IT was a sunny Alpine morning as Michael Schumacher and his son Mick emerged, ten years ago this week, from their luxury chalet ready to take on the mountains.For a man who had been the king of speed in Formula One, the ski slopes offered the greatest racing driver of his generation another chance of an exhilarating adrenaline rush.
      It’s been 10 years since Formula One champion Michael Schumacher’s devastating skiing accidentCredit: AFP
      Michael was left in a coma for 250 days after the accidentCredit: AFP
      An accomplished skier, the retired seven-times world champion, 44, and his 14-year-old son set off on the Combe de Saulire ski run in the exclusive French  resort of Meribel.
      Footage from the German driver’s helmet camera revealed he was not travelling at excessive speed for his abilities yet, moments later, his skis struck a rock partly concealed beneath fresh snow and catapulted him 3.5 metres (11.5ft) head first on to a second boulder.
      The impact of the collision, shortly after 11am on December 29, 2013 was so intense that it split his helmet in two and left him in a coma for 250 days.
      Now his younger brother Ralf has admitted the F1 legend may never completely recover, despite receiving advanced medical treatment.
      read more on Schumacher
      He said: ““Nothing is like it used to be.”
      Ralf, who also raced and won six F1 Grands Prix, told German outlet Bild this week: “Life is unfair at times.
      “That day held a lot of bad luck. This fate has changed our family.”
      He added: “Michael wasn’t only my brother.
      Most read in Motorsport
      “When we were kids he was also my coach and mentor. He taught me every- thing about kart racing.
      “There may be an age gap of seven years but he was always by my side.”
      Yesterday Michael’s F1 pal Perry McCarthy, the man behind Top Gear’s original mystery character The Stig, said his fate was “desperately cruel”, adding: “It’s incredible that someone so special can be so badly hurt while skiing.
      “It’s so cruel that Michael happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
      Perry told sports betting website OLBG: “Nobody knows exactly what Michael would have gone on to do, but my feeling is that he’d have done something for humanity.
      “I feel he had that capacity, and I think he would have retained his love for F1, but he would have realised that there are much bigger things in life and he had the opportunity to change things.”
      Airlifted to hospital, Michael had two life-saving operations to remove blood clots from his brain.
      Doctors later said if it had not been for his headgear, he would have died instantly.
      Michael, who is married to Corinna, 54, was placed in a medically induced coma to try to reduce the swelling.
      In the decade that has followed, the F1 superstar has not been seen in public and  health updates have been irregular.
      Into this void has come un-founded rumour and conjecture.
      His family has remained largely silent about his condition and access is given only to those closest to him.
      Michael’s for- mer Ferrari colleague Luca Badoer, one of those allow-ed regular visits, revealed: “Only a few people are allowed to visit.
      “Corinna decides who is allowed to see him.
      “The family wants to maintain a sort of secrecy about this and I respect their will.
      “They do all this for the good of Michael.”
      Mick, now 24 and the spit-ting image of his dad, has described his father as his “idol” and “role model”.
      He, too, is a racing driver, who competed in F1 for Haas before losing his seat for the 2023 season to Nico Hulkenberg.
      In 2024 he will move to the World Endurance Championship, where his dad competed with Sauber-Mercedes before making his grand prix debut in 1991, to race for Alpine.
      In July fans were reduced to tears when Mick drove Michael’s Mercedes at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in West Sussex while wearing his dad’s iconic red helmet and race suit.
      Mick said at the time: “It’s going to be spectacular to run, in my dad’s 2011 car, the W02 — even if it is only a short run.”
      Cashing in on the public sympathy for Michael, in April, a German magazine ran a tasteless  AI-generated “interview” with the stricken driver.
      Die Aktuelle’s front cover showed a photo of him smiling, with a headline promising,  “Michael Schumacher, the first interview”.
      But in fact the chat was written with an artificial intelligence tool.
      The family threatened legal action and Die Aktuelle’s editor was sacked.
      Named sport’s first billionaire by Euro-business magazine, Michael revolut-ionised the pinnacle of motor racing.
      Born with seemingly superhuman co-ordination and spatial awareness, he honed his physique to handle the G-force stress on his body in races.
      When cornering and braking, a driver’s head, plus helmet, effectively weighs almost half as much as their entire body.
      So Michael designed a cockpit-shaped exercise machine that attached to his helmet, which he used for hour after hour.
      At the time of his retirement in 2012 he held records for the most F1 wins (91), pole positions (68) and podium finishes (155).
      Born to working-class parents in Hurth, West Germany, he won his first karting championship aged six.
      Making his F1 debut in 1991, he went on to land seven drivers’ titles, a record equalled by Sir Lewis Hamilton in 2020.
      Away from the track — where he was described as a “perfectionist” — Michael was, according to manager Sabine Kehm, “devoted to his family”.
      In 1995 he wed champion equestrian and animal rights activist Corinna Betsch.
      They had children Gina-Maria in 1997 and son Mick in 1999.
      Shunning the celebrity limelight, the family lived in a newly built mansion with a private beach on Lake Geneva in Switzerland.
      They also own a horse ranch in Switzerland and another in Texas.
      Michael once described his marriage as “total harmony”, adding: “We have the same vision of how we want to spend our lives.”
      In April 2014, three months after Michael was placed in a coma, manager Sabine revealed he was showing “moments of consciousness and awakening”.
      Though still being treated in intensive care at Grenoble Hospital, he was said to be “making progress”.
      Michael made his F1 debut in 1991 and went on to land seven drivers’ titlesCredit: Reuters
      Michael’s wife Corinna has been by his side through his recoveryCredit: Rex
      Michael’s son Mick is a racing driver who competed in F1 for HaasCredit: AP
      There followed another period of silence about Michael’s condition, then a fresh statement in June 2014 revealed he was no longer in a coma.
      His “long phase of rehabilitation” continued at the University Hospital of Lausanne in Switzerland.
      In September that year it emerged Michael had been transferred to his home beside Lake Geneva.
      Manager Sabine said: “Henceforth, Michael’s rehabilitation will take place at his home.
      “Considering the severe injuries that he suffered, progress has been made in the past weeks and months.”
      And she pleaded for speculation about his health to be “avoided”.
      Two months later a friend of Michael’s offered a glimpse into his condition.
      Wheelchair user and former racing driver Philippe Streiff, who had visited Michael in hospital, said: “He is getting better but everything is relative.
      “It’s very difficult.
      “He can’t speak. Like me, he is in a wheelchair, paralysed.
      “He has memory problems and speech problems.”
      Further updates were not forth-coming and the family dealt with their anguish privately, while strongly protecting his privacy.
      Then in May 2015 Sabine provided an update, revealing Michael’s con-dition was improving “considering the severeness of the injury he had”.
      That Christmas, German magazine Bunte reported that he could manage some steps with the help of therapists and could now raise an arm.
      It proved a false hope for his fans. The family sued Bunte, their lawyer telling a court Michael “cannot walk”.
      Then, in 2017, his former long-term manager Willi Weber made an extraordinary intervention, tell-ing a German newspaper: “I find it very unfortunate that Michael’s fans do not know about his health.
      “Why are they not being told the truth?”
      Two years later Jean Todt, Michael’s former boss at Ferrari and one of his closest confidantes, gave a rare update, revealing that they watched F1 races together on television.
      “Michael is in the best hands and is well looked after in his house,” Jean said.
      “He does not give up and keeps fighting.”
      Yet his precise physical and mental state remained shrouded in secrecy.
      In 2021, Corinna broke her silence to talk about her husband in a TV documentary.
      She revealed during an emotional interview: “I miss Michael every day. It’s not just me who misses him, everybody misses Michael.
      “But Michael is here — different, but here.
      “He still shows me how strong he is, every day.”
      During the Netflix documentary, called simply Schumacher, she added: “We are trying to carry on as a family, the way Michael liked it and still does.
      “We live together at home. We do therapy.
      “We do everything we can to make Michael better and to make sure he’s comfortable.”
      Like his mother, Mick has main-tained a steadfast silence over precise details of his father’s health.
      In that 2021 documentary, Corinna provided an emotional rebuff to those who had accused the family of unnecessary secrecy.
      Read more on The Sun
      Corinna revealed of her husband: “We are getting on with our lives — ‘Private is private’, as he always said.
      “Michael always protected us, now we are protecting Michael.”
      Michael’s brother Ralf has admitted the F1 legend may never completely recoverCredit: Getty
      Corinna has chosen to keep Michael’s recovery privateCredit: Rex
      German mag Die Aktuelle ran an AI generate interview with MichaelCredit: Die AktuelleTIMELINE OF SLOW HEALING

      Dec 29, 2013: Michael suffers traumatic brain injury in a skiing accident in Méribel, France, and is airlifted to hospital in critical condition. Transported to CHU Grenoble hospital, where he remains for six months.
      Dec 30, 2013: Doctors place him in a medically induced coma.
      Jan 31, 2014: Michael is gradually woken. Not fully awake until June 6.
      Feb 7, 2014: Reports he has died denied.
      Mar 12, 2014: Family say he is showing “small, encouraging signs” and believe he will “pull through and will wake up”.
      April 4, 2014: Manager Sabine Kehm reveals he is showing “moments of consciousness and awakening”.
      June 16, 2014: Transferred to University Hospital of Lausanne, Switzerland, for rehab.
      September 9, 2014: Michael returns to his home next to Lake Geneva.
      His family say: “Progress has been made . . . There is still a long and difficult road ahead.”
      November 19, 2014: Former racing driver Philippe Streiff says after a visit: “He is getting better. It’s very difficult.
      “He can’t speak. He is in a wheelchair, paralysed. He has memory and speech problems.”
      September 2016: Michael’s lawyer, Felix Damm, says the F1 legend “cannot walk”.
      October 2017: Ex long-term manager Willi Weber says: “I find it very unfortunate that Michael’s fans do not know about his health.
      “Why are they not being told the truth?”
      November 2018: Wife Corinna gives the rare update: “It is good to receive so many kind wishes . . .  We all know Michael is a fighter and will not give up.”
      September 2021: In the Netflix documentary Schumacher, Corinna says: “Everybody misses Michael, but Michael is here – different, but here.
      “He still shows me how strong he is every day.” More

    • 188 Shares139 Views

      in Soccer

      England legend ‘very concerned’ by controversial drug sweeping football with stars seeking help for addiction

      by

      DAVID JAMES is adamant football’s epidemic of Snus — a smokeless tobacco product —  has a “detrimental” effect on players’ performances.The PFA revealed in March a number of stars receive help for addiction to the oral pouches amid increasing use among professional squads.
      David James is worried by how many players he saw using SnusCredit: Getty
      Michail Antonio said stars use it due to ‘pressures of football and life’Credit: Alamy
      Former England and Liverpool keeper James, 53, said: “Snus has been around forever.
      “I was very concerned about its use when I was playing, seeing the amount of players using it.
      “I’m not a scientist but it has a detrimental effect on performance, similar to me smoking when I was actually capable of doing a lot more.”
      West Ham forward Michail Antonio, 33, has tried Snus twice.
      READ MORE TOP STORIES
      The former Nottingham Forest ace said: “Players do it because of the pressures of football and life.
      “It really starts to get to people, so they need that stimulus.
      “Clubs want players to be able to deal with things in any way they can.
      “I haven’t seen any club be against it because they see players doing it and it’s not illegal, it’s not a banned substance.”
      Most read in Football
      The PFA has said it can “monitor emerging health concerns for our players, including the growing prevalence of Snus use” due to its “close relationship” with clubs’ medical staff.
      The organisation added it gained “insights” into the taking of Snus after players were surveyed at workshops.
      There is a ‘growing prevalence’ of using Snus amongst footballersCredit: Alamy More

    • 213 Shares99 Views

      in Boxing

      Boxer Jordan Gill emotionally fights back tears after revealing mental health battle before victory over Michael Conlan

      by

      BOXER Jordan Gill emotionally opened up about his mental health battle before beating Michael Conlan. Gill moved up to super-featherweight and stopped Northern Ireland’s Conlan in round seven of their Belfast bout.
      Jordan Gill opened up about his mental health battle before beating Michael Conlan

      It was his first fight since losing the European featherweight title to Kiko Martinez in October 2022.
      That defeat sparked a battle with depression while Gill’s personal life also suffered.
      And the brave boxer revealed he contemplated suicide before being saved.
      Gill, 29, said: “Not many people know what I’ve been through this year. You know, after the Kiko loss, I sort of, lost touch with myself.
      READ MORE IN BOXING
      “I broke up with my wife. In the 30th of June, I was in a field, I drank a litre of vodka and I was gonna kill myself, and somebody saved me.
      “Somebody came and saved me that day, and you know, I went to Dave, I went to Ben Davison’s gym, I worked with Barry.
      “Barry’s put so much effort in with me. My dad’s been by my side. My friends and my family have been there supporting me.
      “All my friends, I can’t thank them enough. I’ve just changed my life. I’ve got my own gym opening next week with my friend Damian.
      Most read in BoxingHow to get help

      NHS talking therapies can help if you’re struggling to cope with feelings of anxiety or depression. 
      Your GP can refer you or, in England, you can refer yourself online via nhs.uk/talk.
      If you need help for a mental health crisis, emergency or breakdown, NHS urgent mental health helplines offer 24-hour advice and support for people of all ages. 
      Find a local NHS urgent mental health helpline via nhs.uk/urgentmentalhealth (England only). 
      The charity Mind also provides support to those that need it. Call 0300 123 3393.
      If someone’s life is at risk or they cannot be kept safe, call 999.

      “I’ve turned my life around this year in the last four months and it’s just because of that (mindset).
      “So if you’re thinking, ‘What am I doing with my life?’ You can do it, you can make a change.
      “Just get up and have that belief in yourself and just go and do it because nobody believed that I can do this. But I did and that’s all that matters.”
      Michael Conlan was knocked down by Jordan GillCredit: Getty
      Gill celebrating his victoryCredit: Sportsfile More

    • 238 Shares139 Views

      in Soccer

      Soccer Saturday legend Chris Kamara set to bravely sing live on TV show after being diagnosed with speech apraxia

      by

      CHRIS KARAMA will make an appearance on ITV show Get Britain Singing.The Soccer Saturday legend revealed last year he was suffering with a condition known as speech apraxia.
      Chris Kamara will be appearing on ITV Show Get Britain SingingCredit: Splash
      Kamara revealed in 2022 that he was suffering with a condition called speech apraxiaCredit: PA
      The condition is a neurological disorder that affects the body’s ability to perform natural motor functions.
      One symptom is making talking difficult, with sufferers knowing what they’d like to say, but having trouble communicating their words.
      But brave Kammy will take up the microphone and sing on the ITV programme.
      The broadcaster confirmed his appearance as part of their “Christmas TV extravaganza” in its Get Britain Singing campaign where celebrities will sing a host of classic tunes.
      READ MORE IN FOOTBALL
      The campaign is one part of the Get Britain Talking initiative, which sees stars discussing their own experiences with mental health.
      Kamara, who will play the role of Ghost, will be joined by The Masked Singer favourites Russell Watson (Cockroach) and Aled Jones (Traffic Cone) on the show.
      They will be up against four other teams to be crowned champions.
      Good Morning Britain stars Kate Garraway, Charlotte Hawkins, Alex Beresford, Laura Tobin and Dr Amir Khan will be one of the five groups.
      Most read in Football
      FREE BETS – BEST BETTING OFFERS & NEW CUSTOMER BONUSES
      Other stars from some of TV’s biggest shows including Love Island, EastEnders and Coronation Street will also be competing.
      Kamara, 65, worked on Sky Sports between 1992 and 2022.
      He broke down while appearing on Good Morning Britain last month to talk about his condition.
      In the emotional interview, he said: “I get upset talking about it.
      “I was in denial. I was ashamed I couldn’t speak.”
      As tears filled his eyes, GMB host Susanna Reid, 52, leant over the the desk to hold his hand.
      He continued: “I didn’t want to be a burden, that’s the thing.
      “I have spent so long looking after my family and I didn’t want them to be in a position where they were looking after me.”
      In an interview last December, Chris told The Sun: “The doctor said if I’d gone in those first two or three months and had my thyroid checked then I might have been okay.

      “But because I left it, everything happening in the body — the balance, the muscle weakening — came from the fact I didn’t tell anybody.
      “I feel I’ve let my wife and family down by being a dinosaur and not getting checked out.” More

    • 275 Shares179 Views

      in Soccer

      I played for Newcastle United & Nottingham Forest but I gave up on my football dreams… and now I’m a qualified doctor

      by

      A FOOTBALLER who played for Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest gave up on his dreams but is now a qualified psychologist.David Blakelock, 40, was scouted by the Magpies at the age of nine, and spent four years in the youth ranks as a forward.
      David Blakelock was scouted at the age of nineCredit: Twitter/@drdjb_
      He spent four years in the youth ranks at Newcastle before moving to Nottingham ForestCredit: Getty
      David fell foul of a change by then Newcastle United manager Kevin KeeganCredit: AFP
      But Kevin Keegan’s infamous decision to scrap reserve-team fixtures led the future psychologist to question his pathway and ultimately leave Newcastle United.
      He was later on the books at Nottingham Forest before ultimately falling out of love with the sport.
      But Dr Blakelock turned his focus to education and ended up becoming a qualified psychologist after years of hard graft.
      And his current research touches on his sporting past, looking into furthering the understanding of how footballers handle the transition to life after the sport.
      Read More in Football
      Dr Blakelock, who described his time at Newcastle as a “great experience”, told ChronicleLive: “I was quite a good student but I’d prioritised football for a lot of years. That was my main focus.
      “There was a sense then that everything was focusing on the first team.
      “I enjoyed my time at Newcastle, the training, the coaching and the team were all very good. We had the opportunity to be ball boys at Euro 96 and I remember Peter Beardsley came to train with us once.
      “I probably would have stayed at Newcastle. If I’d stayed there, who knows? I might have progressed through the age groups. You just can’t say.”
      Most read in Football
      Instead, at 14, he chose to sign a four-year agreement at Forest that would allow the aspiring footballer to continue his studies through to his A-Levels.
      However, it was a move that did not pan out as expected and led Blakelock to perhaps prematurely give up on his dream of making it as a professional.
      He said: “When I signed for Forest, I was quite well thought of by the coaching staff. I had a sense that the club and the coaches were the right fit for me and had a sense of belonging.
      “It wasn’t long after I signed, and there was a big change in the youth coaching staff. The new academy director had an intimidating and aggressive disposition.
      “I don’t think I was his type of player and he wasn’t my type of coach. I don’t think I’d have signed for Forest if he and some of the other coaches had been there from the start and they might not have signed me.”
      Dr Blakelock added that the club had also changed their stance on the education side and they said I wouldn’t be able to do A Levels.
      Describing himself as a “decent student”, he said that continuing with school was important and one of main reasons why he signed for Forest.
      “From there, although I had my contract, that initial sense of this being the right club and the feeling of belonging wasn’t there. I wasn’t enjoying playing and kind of fell out of love with football at an important time,” Dr Blakelock added.
      The amended agreement which allowed David to study in the North East and travel down to train on weekends and during school holidays furthered this “disconnect”, and in the end the attacker was all too willing to give up on football.
      He added: “I had the opportunity to go to Durham University and I didn’t really have a strong desire to get back into professional football.
      “I probably gave up a little too soon looking back. I possibly could have tried to really get back in training, get fit and play more to give myself another chance.
      “A few regrets maybe as I don’t think I fulfilled my potential but you can’t change what’s happened. I didn’t really know what I wanted to do.”
      I wasn’t enjoying playing and kind of fell out of love with football at an important time.”Dr David Blakelock, 40
      Psychology provided a pathway for the former player to explore new interests, and it was while studying for his doctorate that he began to explore the mental toll life after football can take.
      Dr Blakelock has since juggled full-time work with his research, saying: “Research has also shown that not every player experiences mental health difficulties.
      “Some players can be happy and actually relieved that they don’t have to maintain high standards of performance and perform under pressure all the time. They can relax a bit, it’s very hard training, playing and being under scrutiny all the time.
      “Some might experience difficulties straight after their careers end and for others, difficulties can come a bit later. For some, difficulties might not last long, but it can persist for others.”
      The ex-footy player wants to help develop a greater understanding for footballers adjusting to life after the sport.
      It comes after a Prem star who was raking it in on £40,000 a week during his playing days now can’t even afford a phone.
      He was a footballing hero as captain of West Ham and played in the 2006 World Cup.
      Meanwhile, a former Premier League player who made his England debut when replacing Harry Kane has had a very different career path.
      Read More on The Sun
      And he now plies his trade as a semi-pro after turning 30 in October. More

    • 288 Shares179 Views

      in Boxing

      I’m a pro boxer fighting on Katie Taylor’s undercard but I’m set to take on a way more dangerous day job fighting fires

      by

      LUCY WILDHEART might be the toughest boxer in Britain for chasing fights with world champions and fires.In the build-up to her Saturday night clash with 8-0 Australian ace Skye Nicolson, the Sweden-born Essex girl has taken her physical and mental tests and interviews to join the Chelmsford fire brigade.
      Lucy Wildheart wants to fight the world’s best women and Essex blazesCredit: PA
      Wildheart’s day job is as a firefighterCredit: Instagram @lucywildheart
      She is off the back of a brutal cut to a featherweight nine stoneCredit: Instagram @lucywildheart
      The boxer also trains crossfitCredit: Instagram @lucywildheart
      The fearless 30-year-old featherweight has spent the last week tapering down to 9st, sorting out her team’s fight-night kit, renovating her new home and waiting by the phone for news on her dream job.
      And she hopes a hectic week is turned into a perfect one with a win on the Katie Taylor vs Chantelle Cameron undercard and a call from the Brigade to start her new post.
      “I always wanted a job serving the community and helping people,” she told SunSport. 
      “And I have now passed the seven physical tests, had my interviews and am waiting for that phone call.
      READ MORE BOXING NEWS
      “It was a little bit embarrassing at the physical – where he did a bleep test and strength, speed and stamina tests all in the full uniform and kit – because somebody there recognised me and told the instructor that I was a professional boxer.
      “But it went well, it was tough, I can fight as low as 9st but I might have to rescue someone who weighs 16st so the tests have to be hard and I liked that and was proud to be one of the few people who passed.
      “Hopefully the call doesn’t come when I am over in Ireland, training or at a media event. But I can always call back hopefully with another big win.”
      It’s a massive month for Swedish boxing as Otto Wallin has been named as Anthony Joshua’s December 23 Saudi Arabia opponent.
      Most read in Boxing
      Wildheart at the weigh-in with Skye NiolsonCredit: Sportsfile
      The firefighter will be gunning for Nicolson’s beltCredit: Instagram @lucywildheart
      CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO WELCOME OFFERS
      Like Wildheart, Wallin left behind his home to move to a more boxing-friendly country and set up camp in New York.
      And she reckons AJ and Nicolson’s shared promoter Matchroom have made a massive mistake cherry picking two compatriots who could become the biggest exports since Abba and Ikea.
      She explained: “I met Otto many years ago at a training camp in Sweden, he told me that if I ever needed anything I could contact him straight away.
      “I have never taken him up on his offer but I have never forgotten how nice he was to me so I have always followed his career.
      “I think he can beat Joshua, it seems such a risky opponent on only six-weeks’ notice. But I think the same about them picking me for Skye.
      Essex-based Swede Lucy Wildheart is a seriously tough womanCredit: Getty
      “Otto is a southpaw, he is big, strong and a clever boxer who is in a great run of form.
      “I lost my last fight on points but I took it on 24hrs notice, two divisions above my usual weight, against a former world champion, so my confidence has never been higher.
      “I think me and Otto have both been overlooked as easy opponents, AJ and Skye are both being backed to go on to bigger fights straight after us.
      “But I really believe we can both spring big upsets and spark a massive party back in Sweden.”
      Wildheart is hoping to spark a party in SwedenCredit: Instagram @lucywildheart
      She is backing Otto Wallin to spring a surprise against JoshuaCredit: Instagram @lucywildheart
      Wildheart has shared her travels on her InstagramCredit: Instagram @lucywildheart
      And often trains while on the moveCredit: Instagram @lucywildheart
      She is hoping her multidisciplinary sports background will give her an edgeCredit: Instagram @lucywildheart
      And no doubt has the mental fortitude given her day jobCredit: Instagram @lucywildheart

      🥊ANTHONY JOSHUA VS OTTO WALLIN: ALL THE DETAILS YOU NEED AHEAD OF THRILLING SAUDI CLASH🥊 More