Ex-boxer is winning bipolar battle

FRANK Bruno has told how he is winning his battle with bipolar disorder and has not needed to take medication for three years.

The 56-year-old boxing legend said a daily fitness regime, eating well and a positive outlook have improved his well-being.

Frank, who recently became a grandad for the first time, told Hello! magazine: “It’s the best I’ve ever felt. I’ve been medication-free for three years.” The former heavyweight champion was first sectioned under the Mental Health Act in 2003 and on another two occasions in 2012.

After taking part in the Great North Run in 2015, Frank told the Sunday Mirror he admitted himself to hospital after he went “hell for leather” in training and “hit a brick wall”.

But his new regime is clearly helping him fight his demons. And becoming a grandad has lifted his spirits further.

Frank’s daughter Rachel had a daughter Amaya with husband Bobby Hardy and he said he is already looking forward to babysitting the tot.

He added: “I’ll just be glad when they grow up and call me grandad or grandpa and I can take them to the cinema or take them to the zoo, go for a walk with them.”

Rachel, who is Frank’s second child with ex-wife Laura, told of her joy at the improvement in his mental health.

She said: “A few years ago, when it all looked a bit bleak, I didn’t think we’d be in this position. I never thought we’d regain our family like it is now. It’s so nice to have us all healthy.”

Rachel appeared in the 2013 BBC documentary Rachel Bruno: My Dad And Me, in which she set out to find out more about her father’s illness.

Frank’s older daughter Nicola, 35, is also expecting a baby girl in October.

He returned to the ring in June for a 24-hour charity boxathon to raise £300,000 to provide support for victims of illnesses such as bipolar disorder and depression.

Frank wants to open his own centre for sufferers to talk about their problems and offer them the treatment he believes they need – physical exercise rather than pills.

He is also the figurehead of the Sunday Mirror’s Time To Change campaign to help mental health sufferers.

The full interview with Frank and Rachel is in the latest edition of Hello!.

CHAT Magazine