Nick Kyrgios reveals disturbing new details about mental health struggles

Nick Kyrgios has spoken openly again about his darkest days, revealing troubling details around his mental health struggles.

Nick Kyrgios has revealed troubling new details of his mental health struggles as he opened up again on his darkest moments.

The Aussie tennis star first spoke about his mental health issues in 2020 and earlier this year provided raw updates on Instagram, saying he had “self-harmed” and had “dark thoughts about life”.

In an exclusive interview with Nine, Kyrgios spoke about the difficulties of living in the spotlight during an age where trolls feel emboldened to say whatever they want on social media without any concern for how it may impact the person they’re talking about.

Kyrgios said at his lowest ebb he felt “worthless” and like he was “letting people down all the time”. He added he self-harmed.

The Canberran also spoke about losing faith in those around him, unsure who he could trust because he didn’t know who genuinely wanted the best for him and who was trying to use him for their own benefit.

“It was very serious, to the point of self-harm and it’s not OK,” Kyrgios said. “I guess I pushed everyone that cared about me away and I wasn’t communicating, and I just shut down real life and I was trying to handle and tackle my problems head-on.

“I was abusing alcohol a lot, drugs and that spiralled out of control. Now I barely drink — I literally have a glass of wine at dinner.

“That was the initial kind of thing I had to clean up a little bit and then build my relationship back with my family and get into healthier habits like the basics; like diet, getting good sleep, trying to train a little bit more and that was it. I think Covid helped me a lot with that.

“I deal with it all the time. People just think raising the finger, abusing someone or making racist comments is acceptable in this day and age and I just don’t think that’s acceptable at all.”

Nick Kyrgios has been open about his mental health struggles. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

In February this year, Kyrgios shared a photo of himself before a match against Rafael Nadal at the 2020 Australian Open, pointing out a tragic detail in the image.

“This was me 3 years ago at the Australian Open,” he began. “Most would assume I was doing OK mentally or enjoying my life … it was one of my darkest periods.

“If you look closely, on my right arm you can see my self harm. I was having suicidal thoughts and was literally struggling to get out of bed, let alone play in front of millions. I was lonely, depressed, negative, abusing alcohol, drugs, pushed away family & friends. I felt as if I couldn’t talk or trust anyone.

“This was a result of not opening up and refusing to lean on my loved ones and simply just push myself little by little to be positive.

“I know that day to day life can seem extremely exhausting, impossible at times. I understand that you feel if you open up it may make you feel weak, or scared. I’m telling you right now, it’s OK, you are not alone. I’ve been through those times when it seemed as if those positive energetic vibes were never ever going to be reality. Please, don’t feel as if you are alone, if you feel as if you can’t talk to anyone, I’m here, reach out.

“I’m proud to say I’ve completely turned myself around and have a completely different outlook on everything, I don’t take one moment for granted. I want you to be able to reach your full potential and smile. This life is beautiful.”