I was suicidal at 12 ..finally talking to a therapist felt like a weight was lifted

England striker Callum Wilson says seeking therapy has finally saved him from the demons that led to him first contemplating suicide when he was just 12 years old.

- ROSS KANIUK

Thanking his Newcastle United physio for suggesting 18 months ago he needed help, Callum admitted he had become more aggressive and started gambling.

He says: "He [the physio] said, 'I think you need to see somebody, I've somebody I've worked with in the past and I think you'd benefit from it'.

"I was like, 'no, no, no'."

Fighting to regain fitness after an injury at the time, Callum said his need for help became too hard to ignore.

He adds: "Too many people were asking me if I'm OK, and I questioned myself. And I'd find myself having a little gamble a little bit more.

"Then the outbursts of aggression which I'd release on the pitch at times.

"If you see me off the pitch, it's like, 'Oh, what a nice guy'. But I was unable to do that because I was injured.

"I wasn't getting that release. It all rose to a head and I was like, 'Right, I need to go and seek therapy now".

For a sportsman from a tough background, admitting to needing help was hard. Callum says: "It took a bit of bravery. The people that I really get along with I was starting to harm.

"And I was like, 'Maybe I need to take myself away and speak to somebody".

At his first session with his therapist, father-of-two Callum, 33, felt "like a weight was lifted".

He says: "Even just speaking to her was a great help. Once I revealed everything I've been through in life, she was like,

'Wow, how have you got to this point already without seeing a therapist?"

Speaking out during Mental Health Awareness week, hoping he can encourage others to seek help, Callum makes deeply personal revelations about his Coventry childhood.

Witnessing domestic violence, he stayed in safe houses, spent time in foster care and often used food banks.