My letter to Tyson Fury

I don’t know you, I am a boxing fan and like you I have Bipolar. My Paternal Grand mother is a gipsy. So we have a little bit in common.

I listened to your trainer and Uncle, Peter talk with great lucidity and compassion about your recent spell of illness.

It all sounded so very familiar. Like you I am pretty loud and full of life. My friends would say I was always the “crazy one”.

Then after a spell of bullying and the pressure and stress that comes with it I snapped about 4 years ago and tried to take my life, twice.

After that I got help and was diagnosed bipolar. I gave up drinking and started trying to get better. It took a long time to find balance. I am 46 so it is a lot easier for me.

At 28 with all you have, it won’t be easy. You are still a kid and you have so many things to tempt you away from the path of recovery.

I have followed your career with interest and I was very proud of you when you went to Germany and won the title. It was a wonderful thing to do. You said you would do it and you did. No one can ever take that away from you Tyson.

Then comes your pressure. You failed a drug test and everyone assumed it was steroids. You were a cheat, people laughed and threw abuse. They tried to take away all you had achieved. No one wonder you cracked.

And that was how I understand it. We have the illness and we are a bit crazy. Then comes a stressful event and the stress reaches a point where we can not process it. We break down. Mania or Hyper Mania follows and we spin out of control.

I think this is what you have experienced. You need to listen to your Docs, and keep your friends and family close. If you can stop, then cut out the alcohol. It never helps, it is just like using petrol to put out a fire:

Alcohol is a depressant and you are depressed.

The illegal drugs will feel right, like the booze. They can lift you up and give you the joy you can’t find with out them. Though as with all ups there must be a down. The down from cocaine and other stimulants is miserable and difficult for experienced drug users. For us Bipolars it is suicidal.

I know I am probably not telling you anything you don’t know, I am just on the other side. I am four years further down the track. That is all.

Sleep is your friend, and exercise, and family and love. These are the things that will help you get through this. Also the anti-psychotics they give you at first. They helped me a lot. They powerful and numb you but they will level you out and keep you safe for the first few months.

That is what you need to focus on right now. Being safe. I took 5 months off work after my first attempt on my life. I am a working man, and it was hard for my boss but it saved my life.

You have money and a young family. You are only a young man, even in boxing terms you have your whole career ahead of you. Take a year off and enjoy your home and family. In a few months you can find a routine and life that suits you.

For now just get well. Listen to your doctors and don’t listen the media. They have pushed you and mocked you. They don’t know what it is like. Good luck and all the best. You are heavyweight champion of the world, so I have no doubt you can beat Bipolar.

Your friend

Dave