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Dame Kelly Holmes reveals she self-harmed at the height of her career

Photo credit: Getty Images / Pool / Getty
Photo credit: Getty Images / Pool / Getty

From NetDoctor

Not even top athletes are immune to mental illness. Olympic champion Dame Kelly Holmes has spoken out about depression and self-harming as she struggled to overcome injuries she thought would end her career.

Holmes won gold in the 800m and 1500m at the Athens Olympics in 2004, but has admitted she spent the year before cutting herself regularly.

She told the audience at the Health and Wellbeing Show last weekend: "At my lowest, I was cutting myself with scissors every day that I was injured."

Speaking to BBC South East, she said that after "ups and downs for so many years" she got to the point where she "didn't want to be here".

"The scissors were in the bathroom and I used them to release the anguish that I had. It was really a bad place to be," she admitted.

"But my biggest message to people is that you can get out of that and you can still achieve. There is always a light at the end of the tunnel."

According to mental health charity Mind, people generally self-harm as a way of dealing with difficult feelings. While reaching out for support can be hard, remember that it's nothing to be ashamed of and it's OK to ask for help.

The charity advises that when you are ready to talk to someone, choose a person you trust to talk about how you are feeling. This could be a friend, family member, counsellor or your doctor.

Mind has a list of useful contacts for self-harm support here.

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