'I was being tortured by demons': Tyson Fury opens up on 'psychosis'

‘I believed I was being tortured by demons’: Tyson Fury opens up on ’bout of psychosis’ he battled with before making his boxing comeback

  • Tyson Fury has described his mental health problems in his new autobiography 
  • Fury’s psychiatrist admitted that ‘without faith, he would’ve killed himself’
  • He reveals racism he has suffered due to being part of the traveller community
  • Fury won on his WWE debut last week and is currently training in the Octagon  

Tyson Fury has revealed all about his mental health problems in the past, admitting that at one point, he believed he was ‘being tortured by demons’. 

Fury became the heavyweight champion of the world when he shocked Wladimir Klitschko in November 2015, but in the years that followed he suffered from depression and drink-related issues. 

Now, in a new autobiography titled Behind The Mask, the 31-year-old – who recently made his WWE debut and supposedly fancies a crack at MMA – has described the extent of the problems he faced, as a psychiatrist diagnosed him with possible psychosis. 

Tyson Fury poses for the cameras holding his new autobiography, titled ‘Behind The Mask’ 

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live’s Nihal Arthanayake, Fury said: ‘Maybe I had a bout of that (psychosis).

‘At one point I believed I was being tortured by demons. When you’re really mentally unwell, you do see and hear things.’

Unbeaten British boxer Fury, who is scheduled to face Deontay Wilder early next year in a rematch following their draw in December 2018, also opened up about the effect that being from a traveller community has had on his day-to-day life. 

‘I used to get called disgusting names,’ Fury details to Arthanayake, in reference to his childhood. 

‘I was bullied quite a bit as a kid until I got big and started fighting back.

Fury rose from the canvas twice against Deontay Wilder and still managed to draw the fight

‘I have been refused entry to pubs and restaurants because I’m a traveller.’  

At the height of his mental health problems, Fury explains in his book about the night of Halloween 2017, when he went to a pub but returned home early – an evening which changed his life. 

‘At that point I knew I couldn’t do it on my own… 

Fury won his last fight in the boxing ring, winning by unanimous decision against Otto Wallin

‘I got on my knees and, for the first time in my life, I knew I couldn’t stop going to the pub, (and stop) eating on my own.’ 

After a long period of prayer, everything changed: ‘I was crying. When I arose, I was bouncing with excitement. I had faith that everything was going to be alright.’  

Fury also admitted that the psychiatrist who treated him believed that ‘without faith, he would have killed himself.’ 

Nihal Arthanayake is on BBC Radio 5 Live every weekday between 1-4pm 




Share this article

Source: Read Full Article