The legend of British boxing fought the hardest bout of his life outside of the ring. After being sectioned, he has worked to get his mind fighting fit once again.
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“I got divorced in 2001. One minute, you’re part of a happy family, and then the family isn’t there and you’re left in the house alone. You have time to think. You’ve got to make your own breakfast and get things done: iron shirts, go shopping, go to the gym, try to get yourself motivated. I had to motivate myself to brush my teeth, to put on a suit, to go to a work event.
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“I was trying to train, but the enthusiasm had left me. I’d go to the gym and have no energy, but I wouldn’t admit defeat. Like a lot of men, I didn’t want to speak up and say, ‘I’m feeling like this.’ You feel embarrassed, so you keep it to yourself. And it just got worse, and worse, and worse.
“I was working too hard, burning myself out – staying up all night and sleeping in the day. I was knackered. I was there, but I wasn’t really there. The kids intervened and called round the doctors. And I just broke down, like a kettle that boils over. I refused to go to hospital, so I was sectioned.
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“When I was in the hospital, I felt bullied. Hospital was like prison but worse. They lock you in and fill you up with medication, and the side effects were horrible: your tongue swells up, you can barely go to the toilet or eat. You feel lazy and can’t get off the bed. You can’t function.
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“I was in hospital for 28 days. When they discharged me, they put me on lithium. I stopped taking it and started going to the gym and eating well, looking after myself. I had to use my skills to get myself together, to get myself fit. If I’d stuck to the medication and not done my press-ups, I think I’d still be in the hospital.
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“I’ve been medication-free for three years now. I’ve got my life back. I have some good people around me, and they’re looking after me very well. I believe that if you build structure into your life with exercise and wellbeing, then you can get through.”
Bruno’s memoir, Let Me Be Frank, is out now (Mirror Books). For a signed copy, go to frankbruno.co.uk
