After their mother passed away, dancing on the edge star Anton Ferdinand revealed that Rio Ferdinand, a legend in football, had stepped up to save him from the depths of depression.
Following the tragic death of his mother eight years ago, retired footballer Anton Ferdinand has openly discussed the detrimental effect her death had on his mental health. But now, the former West Ham star, 40, has revealed that due to the help of his brother Rio Ferdinand and other family members, he was “lucky” enough to navigate his way through the darkness of depression.
At his lowest point following the passing of his mother to cancer in 2017, Anton exclusively told the Mirror that he was spiralling out of control and using alcohol to numb his pain.
He stated, “I was drinking a lot. I’m fortunate that I have a strong support network all around me. Fantastic wife, fantastic kids, and fantastic family members who recognized my need for assistance. And not everyone has that kind of support network.
When asked if he would go so far as to claim that his brother Rio and other family members had saved him from what might have happened, he responded with a straightforward “100%.”
He continued, “I’m lucky because mental health is a crazy thing where you don’t realize you’re in it until you come out of it.”
He continued, “You actually believe you’re okay because it becomes the norm in the day to day thought process.” And the only time you realize you have a mental health issue is when you are about to leave, which is dangerous.
He continued, “Some people don’t get to the point where they’re on their way out, so they don’t realize that they’re in it. That’s dangerous.” So they are now in a normal state. That’s just how risky it really is.
“On the way out of it, I was able to realize something was wrong.” While I was in it, he continued, “I didn’t realize what was wrong with me.”
Anton has joined forces with the mental health charity Sports In Mind’s campaign on tackling harmful language in sports media.
And since retiring from playing professional football in 2019, Anton delved into the world of reality TV with gusto and most recently appeared on Dancing On Ice.
But it seems as though Anton gained far more from the ITV show than simply taking part and showing a different side to his character. He claimed that it allowed him the opportunity to “rediscover” himself.
He claimed in the Mirror, “I was absolutely terrified of the competition and the daily structure.” That structure hasn’t been present for me in a long time. To me, Dancing On Ice’s entire setup resembled a football team.
He continued, “I spoke to everyone in a football club, not just my team mates and my manager. I spoke with everyone at the football club, including the cooks, cleaners, and administrators.
On Dancing On Ice, he continued, “I was like that.” One of the benefits of Dancing On Ice was that I could feel like Anton Ferdinand once more thanks to the Ice.
And it seems that he grew close to his fellow DOI contestant Ferne McCann as the pair both trained at the same ice skating rink in Chelmsford.
I spoke with Ferne a lot, Anton said. Ferne and her skating partner Brendon Hatfield worked out a lot together at Chelmsford. I was very, very close to him.
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Source: Mirror
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