Paddy McGuinness reveals he was ‘clinically depressed’ after ex Christine spotted signs
TOP Gear star Paddy McGuinness has opened up about being clinically depressed.
The TV presenter, 49, said his mental health got so bad that he struggled to go to work and began to “resent” his job.
Paddy has put a strong emphasis on the importance of speaking out after seeing three therapists after his ex Christine spotted signs of his depression.
“In my experience, with something like depression – I was diagnosed as clinically depressed and I wasn’t aware of it,” Paddy said on the Monday Mile podcast.
“You can be as low as low can be and it’s the people around you that tell you.
“So Christine and a few of my family members would say stuff and ask if I was okay and I would think ‘why are they always asking me that?’
“But obviously you can’t see it yourself, it’s in your head, it’s not like you’ve got a limp where people can spot it and you can spot.”
The TV favourite said he would become easily frustrated and lose his temper quickly – saying it “wasn’t me”.
“I think there were certain days when I felt myself, because of the job I do which is a public facing job,” Paddy said.
“I started resenting being in front of a crowd of people and making them laugh because I used to think ‘it’s alright for you lot but I’m going home a feeling like this’.
“I’ve never been that much of a person losing my temper but I could feel myself in certain situations getting wound up quicker and I just thought that’s not me.
“I wasn’t going round throwing cups at the bloody wall and shouting but I could feel myself feeling angry straight away and I shouldn’t be feeling that.”
Paddy said the key moment when it all turned around for him was when he went to therapy.
“I went to see a therapist and that didn’t work at all and I went to see another one and he was rubbish in my eyes, I had given up at that point,” Paddy shared.
“It was only the place where I was going to got wind of what happened and got in contact with me and said give me one more chance and this doctor got in touch with me and as soon as I sat down with him I was like ‘this is the one’.
“I kind of look at therapy like buying shoes – it’s about not giving up on it and I nearly did.
“If you try therapy and that doesn’t work for you, it doesn’t mean that all therapy won’t, just keep going until you find that one. It might take you bloody six times but it’s worth it.”
Paddy said he now sends his therapist a message once every couple of months to check in.
“I still see this guy, not regular but at the time I would see him every week because I needed it,” he added.
“He told me I was clinically depressed and I was like ‘I am’, it was an instant relief. Then you can start working on it and getting through it. It was a really long process, it was for me. I would come out and feel like I’d been in there with Tyson Fury.”