Bressie revealed he hit ‘rock bottom’ while filming The Voice of Ireland as he recalled having a panic attack just minutes before going live on air.
The Blizzards frontman, real name Niall Breslin, was a coach on the show alongside Westlife’s Kian Egan, Una Healy and Rachel Stevens until it came to an end in 2015.
Speaking on the latest episode of his Where Is My Mind? Podcast, the host, who is known for being candid about his own struggles with his mental health recalled how having a panic attack minutes before a live episode of the series changed his whole life afterwards.
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The Mullingar native said: “A panic attack ten minutes before going on a live show of The Voice, which I was a coach on, a primetime television in Ireland, was my rock bottom.
“And it was the catalyst for change that totally altered the trajectory of my entire life.”
“And I wrote a book about my experience called ‘Me and My Mate Jeffrey’.
“Jeffrey being the name I gave my nemesis of my mind.
“And I literally had a conversation with him that night and said, ‘Jeffrey, enough is enough. We can’t be beating the sh*te out of each other anymore. It’s not working for either of us.'”
“I needed to get to know him, and I’ve dedicated my entire life from that moment to trying to build a better relationship with him.”
The former football and rugby player went on : “I spent most of my teenage and early adult years with a totally destructive and torturous mind. And it decimated so much of my life, my multiple careers as a professional athlete, musician, broadcaster, TV personality, author. They were all dictated by my inability to deal with my head.
“And my professional, social and personal relationships all suffered.”
“And it took me to hit rock bottom before I realised that this wasn’t working for me anymore,” the author and mental health advocate added.
“And when you hit rock bottom, you have two choices. You stay there, or you find a way out.”
Bressie explained ‘a long journey of therapy’ and the introduction of meditation into his life, he found the way out.
He said: “And I found a way out. But I'll be honest, it was a messy and scary climb out.”
“I remember the very moment when I realised I was on the right path. The vividness and clarity of that time is still as fresh in my consciousness as my last breath.
"It wasn’t a thinking moment. It was a feeling moment. It’s like there was a door between my head and heart and I had locked it.
“And I'm fully aware that sounds like a shit lyric in an 80s power ballad. But that’s all I have got now.
“But in time, I found the key. And it was a long journey of therapy. And when I opened that door, everything changed.”
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