Comments Thread For: Deontay Wilder: I Had A Gun In Hand, Thinking About Suicide

[richardt]

Heck, we all go through things man. But as men, sometimes we have to suck it up and keep it moving. I feel for Tyson Fury and Deontay. I know they've been through some things too and when they come out in public discussing those issues, it inspires other people to keep on fighting.

Totally agree!! Finally, someone like myself who can emphasize with both guys willing to talk about things like this. They are heavyweight rulers but inside, they have gone through weak moments and sadness and loss like the rest of us. We all can find strength in our moments of weakness and when fighters talk about it - it makes them human and more real to us. It makes you want to pull for fighters who are open about things that are very personal to them. All we see is the outside, the vaneer without knowing anything else. And we all wear masks at times to hide or project something that comes from fear or wanting admiration or respect in some way.

[Griever0730]

Tyson Fury is not the first fight to suffer/battle depression 'Mike Tyson spent 80% of his career depressed, Oscar De La Hoya was also the same etc

Fury has quite simply been more vocal about it 'People underrate Mike Tyson's comeback from the point when he came out of jail' The world's media where portraying him as a monster 'That man was a father etc'

Because Mike put himself in that light for people to view him like that with his actions inside and outside of the ring. Again, you get back the same type of energy you put out. Hard for people to feel for somebody who has threatened to eat somebody else's children(even if we know he wasn't really serious about that). Lol

[CubanGuyNYC]

This ^. Overall throughout our lifetimes something like 40% to 50% (in the US or UK) will suffer some form of mental illness, which means even if we're lucky enough not to ourselves someone close to is us is almost certain to. And yeah, 'success' or money (not that I've had much of either ) are no insulators.. in fact possibly the opposite, we're conditioned to believe in a maufactured wholesale route to happiness which has little to do with finding our own personal road or pursuing our dreams even if we're lucky enough to be free of the grinding requirement to work merely to survive like most of humanity.

That said, I wouldn't necessarily agree that the wealthy or successful are more likely to suffer from such problems, it's merely that we're more likely to hear of them and they're more likely to be expressed in ways that elicit our sympathy... part of the ish I'm involved with is trying to bring the kinda wellbeing practices and therapies that are usually only accessed by those who have more options to those who don't... laughter yoga, yoga, meditation, social and community activities for those on low incomes, the isolated, and those with mental health problems that kinda ****... and believe me there are more folk suffering without a voice than you can imagine, but what they gonna do? We all been there, you put a face on and struggle on, cos what are the other options?

Far as I'm concerned it's a postive when dudes like Wilder or Fury open up on this **** even in the slightly clumsy way both have and even if - as some are arguing - their goals are less than wholly altruistic. If even a few dudes (or chicks) hear Deontays or Tyson's words and decide that their problems don't have to to ruin their lives, or decide to seek help then fuck anyone who's complaining about trying to make promotional mileage outta suffering or calling em weak or sissys. Pragmatism man. If it produces positive results who the hell cares about the motives?

The number I cited was gleaned from a quick Internet search. I have no idea how accurate it is, but I’m certain the percentage is much higher when considering how many people suffer a bout of depression over the course of their lifetime.

I didn’t mean to imply that wealthy or financially successful people suffer more from depression. What I meant to illustrate is that most people have a hope (hope is a very powerful thing) that their depression/sadness will clear up once their financial condition improves. If one should reach such a point, the negativity is often heightened when the sufferer realizes that there is no real improvement in mood.

And I agree, many people are helped when they realize they’re not alone. It’s useful for high-profile people to speak about personal problems that are shared by many.

[CubanGuyNYC]

I think the “unsympathetic and judge mental” comments here actually reflect more of the people that have mental health issues than not. I mostly agree with you but I disagree with you saying that it’s only a small percentage of people that suffer with mental health issues. I believe something like 16million Americans suffer with depression alone. I agree that only a small percentage of people suffer with a severity that leads to suicidal attempts. But you will be surprised at how common suicidal ideation is. It’s compounded when combined with poverty and socioeconomical struggles, but also under reported for that very reason.

I watched the entire interview and I didn’t get the sense that he was trying to make light of it. It was more like this is a common thing for many people and we don’t have to act like Fury is special because he overcame it. If anything, it’s more heroic to fight suicidal ideation in the throws of poverty and with no apparent future in sight vs Fury’s situation. I respect those in the mud that can pick themselves up and move forward vs those in the clouds flying high with everything at their disposal and proclamations that the person has risen from the mud.

Being depressed is a normal human emotion that does not discriminate on financial status or race. None of it is to be taken lightly and shouldn’t be used as a marketing tool. Just don’t preach to me about having to overcome mountains of ******* and alcohol when there are people that are suicidal because they can’t feed their children. There are levels to everything.

The number I mentioned was taken from a quick Internet search. It was used for the sake of illustration. There are ovef 330 million people in the U.S. 5% of that is roughly 16 million, so I guess the percentage cited is fairly accurate. Of course, the number is considerably higher over a much longer timeline.

I agree, people from all walks of life suffer from depression. My point is that the rich or financially successful often find that their wealth doesn’t rescue them from the enemy within. Once that realization sets in, hope — a vital asset — is often lost, or at least compromised.

One thing about depression: it is a great equalizer. Living in a mansion or living in a cardboard box, the sufferer is comparably miserable.

[LA_2_Vegas]

The story of Wilder's daughter really explained everything to me as to why his career was on such a slow path. I always thought of him a mentally tough dude to have to deal with that and guide his career so he can make sure he had an income. I'm sure it took a toll....and now, with most people not giving a **** about that kind of context, he takes a lot of heat from haters about his lack of resume, so I bet it affects him because he was trying to do the right thing and did.

[KillaMane26]

Respect to both guys showing weakness like this. We all human at the end of the day.

But haters will find negativity in anything.

[Punch on Tap]

The number I mentioned was taken from a quick Internet search. It was used for the sake of illustration. There are ovef 330 million people in the U.S. 5% of that is roughly 16 million, so I guess the percentage cited is fairly accurate. Of course, the number is considerably higher over a much longer timeline.

I agree, people from all walks of life suffer from depression. My point is that the rich or financially successful often find that their wealth doesn’t rescue them from the enemy within. Once that realization sets in, hope — a vital asset — is often lost, or at least compromised.

One thing about depression: it is a great equalizer. Living in a mansion or living in a cardboard box, the sufferer is comparably miserable.

True indeed. You were on target with the percentage. My point was that the number is probably far below what it actually is. People like a young Wilder probably didn’t have his depression documented whereas Fury probably did. Him bringing it up now in my opinion is justified because the favoritism given to Fury about his out of ring behavior is crazy. Imagine if Wilder was a coke head alcoholic with a wife and kids. He would be hung in the boxing media.

[Sid-Knee]

Wilder is twisted in the head. He never once thought of suicide in his life. He just thinks Fury gets attention due to his problems like he said some time back so wants to pretend he's gone through the same.

This freak is genuinely unstable. His narcissism and ego has gone beyond anything that has come before. What a creepy weirdo, man.

[CubanGuyNYC]

True indeed. You were on target with the percentage. My point was that the number is probably far below what it actually is. People like a young Wilder probably didn’t have his depression documented whereas Fury probably did. Him bringing it up now in my opinion is justified because the favoritism given to Fury about his out of ring behavior is crazy. Imagine if Wilder was a coke head alcoholic with a wife and kids. He would be hung in the boxing media.

Agreed, the number is probably higher in actual fact. I like Wilder more all the time. The fact that he has the guts to be so candid about something most people want to keep a secret only strengthens that feeling.