“Anxiety took over my life” - how grief took its toll on an aspiring footballer

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Tommy Kelly was a promising, 17-year-old semi-professional footballer when his mother and grandfather both died within a few months of each other, triggering mental health problems that were to blight his life for the next twenty years.“The grief I felt manifested itself in many ways, starting with an eating disorder,” said Tommy from Irvine, North Ayrshire.“My mental state then got so bad that I had heart attacks resulting from the stress brought on by anxiety.

I even experienced a stress-induced coma.”Tommy initially struggled to find the right support, feeling there was a lack of awareness around mental health issues when he was a teenager.

Now 45, he says it was only after reaching out for help that things began to improve.Among the services that have helped him on his journey to recovery is Mind to Mind, a website where people share their own experiences with mental wellbeing to help others.Part of NHS inform, Scotland’s national health information service, it provides practical advice on how to deal with mental health issues and signposts where people can access further supportThe Mind to Mind website features more than 30 videos of people talking about their challenges, in a bid to help others who may be going through the same.Tommy is just one of many hundreds of people of all ages, and from all walks of life, who have benefited greatly from the shared experiences of others, as well as expert information and advice.This has helped them deal with everything from anxiety and stress to coping with panic attacks and mood swings, and overcoming grief and feelings of isolation and loneliness.“Mental health can be a vicious circle for which there can be many triggers, and one thing that heightened my anxiety was feeling