After His Personal Battle With Mental Health, Ryan Garcia Asks People to ‘Stop Being Ignorant’

Ryan Garcia at just the young age of 24, managed to stake his claim at the top of his division. The young boxing sensation, demolished one opponent after another only to be stopped in his tracks by a devastating body shot rendering him unable to continue. Boxing is one such brutal sport, one wrong step, and months of preparation come tumbling down. Moreover, the tension leading up to the fight coupled with the constant physical and mental stress fighters have to go through can leave them struggling with mental health issues.

Ryan Garcia for one, has been pretty open about his struggle against mental health. After his most disastrous defeat, he even decided to take a break from boxing. Moreover, he took the time to contemplate and introspect as is apparent with the changes he made ever since he announced his return. Notably, he changed his trainer to Errol Spence Jr.‘s trainer Derrick James. ‘KingRy’ recently took to social media to send a message about mental health asking people to “stop being ignorant.”

Ryan Garcia pens a heartfelt message about mental health struggles

After his personal struggle against mental health, the young boxer has taken to social media to address the lingering stigma around mental well-being. In the heartfelt tweet, he implored people to not equate mental health issues with weakness. “Don’t confuse mental health issues as weakness, it’s a time to strengthen yourself for the future and understanding things that can trigger you,” he wrote.

He pointed out that there are still a lot of stigmas around the topic. He emphasized that what is important is not “being tough”, but it’s a journey towards understanding oneself. According to Garcia, it’s about building inner strength, which goes beyond the notion of physical toughness. Moreover, he urged people to be empathetic towards people who are suffering from such issues. Garcia wrote, “stop being ignorant to a problem that hurts alot of people in silence.” He urged people to not be so ignorant and make a collective effort to address the significant problem.

Garcia relates with people suffering from mental health issues

In another one of his tweets that he made discussing the situation, Garcia chose to express his support for the people suffering from mental health problems. He emphasized that they aren’t alone in their struggle as he too related to their struggles.

This is true as Garcia himself has faced the haunting reality of depression and has dealt with anxiety issues. He withdrew from his bout against Javier Fortuna citing the need to manage his health and well-being. Previously, he has opened up about his struggles as he leaned toward bad habits in his lowest times, as he reportedly started drinking. He previously stated, “I wanted to kill myself at one point”.

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Garcia ended his message once again reinforcing that a lot of people have dealt with the same issue, and he emphasized the importance of talking. He claimed that “talking can help you realize a lot of things.” What do you think about the positive message from Ryan Garcia? Share your thoughts on mental health struggles in the comments below.

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