Tough struggles shared online helps lift weight as Inverness personal trainer Chris Mazur talks openly about his personal mental health struggles during the coronavirus pandemic
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An Inverness personal trainer has spoken openly about his personal mental health struggles during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Chris Mazur (26), who runs CM Body Evolution, hoped that by sharing his problems it might help others who were in a similar situation.
When lockdown began he was left with no income – he was told that he was not entitled to any financial assistance from the government – and on top of that he was in dispute with HM Revenue and Customs.
He found that he became very depressed and at his lowest point he thought things would never improve.
Mr Mazur said he wanted to share his experiences through social media and has since received a lot of positive feedback.
He said: “I think there were a lot of people talking about their mental health – there is just a stigma around it – and everybody goes through a rough point in their lifetime.
“Nobody thinks it is OK to go through that and everybody bottles it up and then it ends up like what happened to me.
“I tried to kill myself at one point, because I had just had enough. I was feeling worthless – I was told by the government that I was not allowed to go on furlough and you can imagine how that makes you feel? ‘What do you want me to do? How am I supposed to pay my bills and put food on the table?’”
He said that his partner, 24-year-old Lauren MacDonald, had supported him throughout, adding: “She was an admin worker so she was making money but at the time, we weren’t long into our relationship so she still had a flat of her own so she had her own bills to pay.”
And while he agreed it was good to talk to groups such as Mikeysline and James Support Group and share your problems, at the time he was at his lowest ebb he felt he could not do that. He said: “I think that when you are that low, and to be honest, it did not even cross my mind.
“Maybe they would have been able to say something to me and things would get better but at the time, I thought there was no point.
“It depends why you are feeling down, you know? You are never going to let anyone know you are feeling down unless you tell them but sometimes talking does not solve the problem.
“But I would say talking and asking for help is the first point of call.”
Mr Mazur said he was now in a better place, as his business was now back up and running, and the feedback had been good.
He said: “I’ve seen all the messages [from people] saying it resonated a lot with them and it has given them a little bit of hope.
“I am in a much better place and I have actually moved my business mostly online so I don’t do much one-to-one coaching any more.
“I have invested a lot into an online coaching platform and it’s working out really well. I am actually much better off now than I was before the whole thing started.”
• Mikeysline supports people struggling with mental health issues. Text 07786 207755 for support or visit here.
• James Support Group is for families affected by suicide. Call 07563 572471 or visit here.
• Samaritans’ Inverness branch can be contacted on 116 123 or visit here.
