Bellator Fighter Terry Brazier opens up about dealing PTSD and Depression
Prior to our interview I had only ever watched Terry Brazier (A brute of a man) in BAMMA. He took the welterweight crown in a gritty and determined performance against top fighter Walter Gahadza, defended against Lahore and then moved down to lightweight to take the crown from the ever impressive Rhys McKee.
TOUGHNESS! That’s Terry personified. When we got a chance to speak on the Martial Arts Chat Podcast, I was surprised to learn that the former Parachute Regiment Guardsman, had a very open, tender and honest side to him. In today’s modern world, mental health is a tough subject to broach. Not everyone is comfortable talking about their struggles or their experiences getting help through avenues like online therapy. The ‘Dominator’ pulled no punches – pardon the pun – and credits coach Dean Amasinger for helping him deal with it in his life
“Dean’s helped me through alot of personal stuff, dealing with depression, anxiety and my PTSD. Dean’s my coach, my friend, my training partner and made me the man I am today.”
Terry continued the honesty, stating that he wasn’t always open to speaking plainly about mental health in his days prior to MMA.
“To be honest, before I knew about mental illness, I used to take the piss out of people. When I was in the army and people were diagnosed with having PTSD, I’d be like man the fuck up! But it’s one of them illnesses, because you can’t see it, you have to learn to understand it. When I ended up with it, I was very reluctant to tell anyone, but the best way of coping with it is being open, honest and talking about it. I do a bit of public speaking at the 100 year memorial for veterans day and got to help other people who are dealing with it aswell.”
It’s cliched to say a problem shared is a problem solved and as an outsider looking in on this subject, that’s appears to be the case for Terry here.
You can check out the full interview on Monday’s episode #BellatorNewcastle of Martial Arts Chat podcast. Along with Terry we speak with Fabian ‘The Assasin’ Edwards, Chris Bungard, Lee ‘The Butcher’ Chadwick and much much more.
Don’t forget we’re live every Sunday reacting to the weekend fights. Cejudo vs Dillashaw should be an interesting one and I’d love to hear your questions and comments to put in the show. Hit me up on Twitter @Martialartschat, like us on Facebook.com/martialartschat or you can go to the live episode at www.spreaker.com/user/machat
