"I was suffering from depression" - When Tyson Fury opened up about his struggles with mental health and substance abuse on Joe Rogan's podcast

Former heavyweight champion Tyson Fury has experienced several difficult challenges in his professional boxing career. However, one of the greatest challenges he faced was not in the boxing ring, but rather with his own mental health.

Fury hit a rough patch after becoming the world champion by defeating Wladimir Klitschko in November 2015. During his 2018 appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, before his first fight against Deontay Wilder, Fury spoke candidly about his struggle with depression and substance abuse.

Although he had already begun experiencing the symptoms, Fury shared that his condition worsened after he suffered an ankle injury, which forced him to withdraw from the Klitschko rematch scheduled for July 2016.

Fury said:

"I didn't have the desire. The fire wasn't burning no longer to fight. And I was suffering from depression the whole time, even in training camp before I sprained my ankle. I was depressed as depressed can be, on a daily basis."

Fury stated that he initially struggled to understand the reason for his mental distress initially and even acknowledged that his behavior might be perceived as "attention seeking." He added:

"Unless you experience what I am saying, it's so impossible to understand where I've been and where I've come from and it just went from bad to worse. I hit the drink heavily on a daily basis, I hit the drugs. I was up all night, partying with women overnight and not coming home. I didn't care about boxing, I didn't care about living. I just wanted to die. I was going to have a good time doing it while I was doing it."

Check out Tyson Fury's comments below (6:18):

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Tyson Fury shared an important message on mental health through Joe Rogan's podcast

In the aforementioned episode of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Tyson Fury discussed the importance of mental health awareness. He emphasized his desire to help others who are struggling by encouraging them to take the right steps to get their lives back on track.

Fury shared that using drugs and alcohol to get away from depression only made his own situation worse and urged others not to repeat his mistakes.

"I used to drink and take drugs to get away from the depression. Because when I was drunk or high, then I wouldn't think about being depressed or about being the boxing champion or imma feel great. But as we know, when the drink wears off, it only leaves you with a bad hangover and feeling even more depressed." [7:12]

He added:

"For someone who suffers with mental health, the worst thing he can do to escape is take drugs or alcohol. And yet, that's the most common approach because it's not spoken about. This is why I want to spread the word on mental health." [7:30]

Fury, who has also been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, has managed his condition effectively. After the dark phase, he eventually overcame his depression and went on a 10-fight unbeaten run in his professional boxing career. He lost the title unification bout against Oleksandr Usyk in May. A rematch between the pair is scheduled in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Dec. 21.