MR SUNDERLAND REVEALS HEARTBREAKING BATTLE WITH DEPRESSION

It is a massive issue and just because you win this title or reach the final of that competition does not mean you are immune. I just hope others will‘’ read this and decide to talk through whatever may seem wrong. Brad faces ‘ugly’ taunts from vicious t

Current Mr Sunderland title holder Brad Hopper has spoken of his battle with depression in a bid to encourage others to face their own mental health issues.

The male model and fitness instructor hopes his story will prompt people keeping quiet about their problems to seek help from both their family and professionals.

Brad, 27, who was also a Mr England 2017 finalist, said: “It is a massive issue and just because you win this title or reach the final of that competition does not mean you are immune. I just hope others will read this and decide to talk through whatever may seem wrong.”

While he still suffers days when he feels low, Brad has learned how to manage his depression since it was first diagnosed in 2012 following a relationship breakdown.

Continually questioning what had happened and what he could have done differently, he became increasingly anxious, withdrawn and moody, only leaving home to go to work.

Brad, from Fatfield, Washington, said: “I used to suffer sweats and heart palpitations and start to feel as though people would be better off if I was not here.

“Thankfully, I had a strong support network and a family who were patient and only too willing to talk.

“I eventually went to the GP and to Washington Mind where I was put in touch with a professional counsellor who listened to me and gave me techniques to master.

“These included positive self talk where you talk to yourself and reaffirm all the positive things in your life rather than the negative.

“There is also progressive muscle relaxation where you learn how to clench your fists and gradually relax. You then adopt this next time you are feeling anxious. Exercise was also a real aid in coping and feeling in control of your body.”

Although the sessions

“There’s still this male thing that mental health is a stigma” BRAD HOPPER

ended in 2013, Brad admitted: “Depression is something you have to live with and I still have days now when I have to deal with it. You use the techniques you have learned to help.”

Brad, who has raised money for a number of charities since becoming Mr Sunderland last year, added: “Mental health is talked about much more today and that is a good thing.

“But there is still this male thing that mental health is a stigma that should not be spoken about. I would say speaking about it is the best way forward.

“With me, I had my family. Others may find it is best to go straight to the GP or places like Mind and speak to people who do not know you and so do not judge you as much.

“It might also be your friends. Since I’ve talked about my mental health, people have spoken to me about their own because it can help if you are talking to someone who has gone through something similar to you.”

Brad, a fitness instructor and health and well being officer at the Washington Millennium Centre, also believes that people can emerge stronger after seeking help.

He said: “I am a naturally introverted person who used to get anxious talking to people in a crowd.

“I’ve gone from that to parading in front of hundreds of people on a catwalk,

“After facing up to anxiety, stress and depression, I feel I can challenge myself to face anything now.”

Brad Hopper has also had to face criticism from internet trolls as his modelling career has flourished. Brad, a former pupil at both St Joseph’s Primary School and St Robert of Newminster School, in Washington, admitted: “Social media can be the root of all evil. “I have had people criticise me on Facebook, Instragram and in person. They will say ‘how have you become a model? You are ugly’. “While most people are fine, there are those who think that just because you can be in the Echo, on television or on the front page of a magazine that you must be big head. “Modelling for me is a way of expressing myself. When I appear on the catwalk it is basically me acting and I am far more introverted in person. “I express my inner most feelings through modelling.

“They do not realise the impact their remarks can have on people and again it is something you learn to deal with.”

Brad, whose roles since becoming Mr Sunderland have included becoming patron of Sunderland skin cancer support group MelanomaMe, feels more could be done in schools to educate pupils about mental health issues so that they are not as cruel on social media.

He said: “I am talking about at a basic level in primary school and then in greater detail at secondary school so there is an improved awareness of the issues and more understanding of what you or someone else may be going through.”

Among the people he credits with supporting him through his own problems are sisters Dominique Hopper, 32, and Carly Hopper, 29, and brother Callum Hopper, 26.

He said: “All my family have been helpful and patient and have been there for me when I needed them.”