A BOXING coach in Swindon has urged young people to open up about their mental health struggles after suffering in silence with his own issues.

Paddy Fitzpatrick trains young fighters at his gym on Ferndale Road and set up a non-profit school @TheHub with a Boxing Clever programme last October to teach the sport to students who find mainstream education difficult.

He argues that the isolation of lockdown has shone a light on and intensified mental health issues in children and teenagers, but hopes he can lend a patient ear to people who need to vent about how they feel.

Paddy tried to take his own life when he was 21. He now has a wife and children and a job he loves.

But in 2015 he fell into a similarly dark state of mind and felt worse than he had in his early twenties. This lasted until the start of 2020.

Paddy remembers breaking down in front of one of his fighters, who then took him to see a therapist, and recalls hiding his woes from his wife and children for months before mustering up the strength to speak out.

He wants to reassure youngsters that it’s OK to talk and remind them that anyone could be facing these issues, no matter how happy and well-adjusted they may seem on the outside.

The 52-year-old said: “I can relate to how they feel because I once thought that no-one else would understand what was happening to me.

“But that wasn’t true, there is always someone who can listen and help with what you’re going through.

“If you keep holding it all in, it just gets darker, even though you feel vulnerable and don’t want to admit it to anyone else because you fear it makes you weak. It took me a while to start talking when I felt low again.

“I felt worse than ever but I thought I had made it out of the first attempt for a reason and have so many people who love and rely on me now that I would never do it again, and I know I can get through what I’m facing now.

“I’ve been working with young people since 1997 – in America at first and then I came back to Swindon and opened the gym. The youth have come to me with their problems and they are used to seeing me in a certain way, the confident coach that’s always smiling.

“But I was unravelling and part of me wants to hide that but another part of me wants the young people to know that even the guy giving advice struggles sometimes and that’s okay – but it’s not okay to keep it quiet.

“If they know that, maybe they’ll speak to someone and I can make a difference.”
“The feeling never fully goes away but you can manage it, day by day or hour by hour, and you can still lead a happy life. There’s more joy out there than heartache.”

Anyone affected by issues raised in this article can contact Samaritans on their 24-hour helpline, 116 123.