Former UFC fighter Paige VanZant has talks about her mental health struggles after her loss at BKFC 19.
VanZant has had mental health issues since a long time. She revealed her struggles and explained how she was feeling after her loss.
“When I walked out of the ring, I didn’t just walk to my locker room, I literally walked all the way outside and I just went and cried in the parking lot by myself,” VanZant said on a video blog series.
“I said some things to my husband that are pretty terrible about like my mental state. I told him I didn’t want to live anymore, that this wasn’t for me anymore. Like life wasn’t for me anymore so I was disappointed. It was hard.”
“I’m bummed out, bummed out to say the least. Everyone expects me to lose and everyone expects me to fail. I don’t know, I just feel like people have this specific perception of who I am and especially online. It’s crazy how much people can hate on a single person. I just don’t get it.
“I pride myself of being a good person. I think that’s the most important thing for me. I never talk bad about my opponents. I never say a single negative thing about their character. You never know what somebody’s going through. You never know what someone’s on the verge of.”
Battling back
For a long time, a person struggling with mental health, especially someone in the same field as VanZant was seen as weak. However, that stigma has almost been turned on its head in recent years.
“People like me struggle a lot, everybody does,” VanZant said. “Mental health is no joke and I need to start taking my mental health more seriously.
“Losses suck and going through hard times it’s not fun but it does get better and you can get through it and life goes on,” she concluded.
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