Football pundit Chris ‘Kammy’ Kamara says This Morning presenter Ben Shephard helped to save him from a deep depression that saw him contemplating suicide – as the former midfielder launches a new mental health campaign with Visit Guernsey.
Speaking from the Channel Island, where he unveiled the ‘Here for C.H.R.I.S’ initiative to encourage more men to ask for help, he tells the Daily Mail how he struggled for too long in silence with his own demons – and lost two close friends, Gary Speed and Ricky Hatton, to suicide.
The 68-year-old, who was diagnosed in 2018 with the neurological condition apraxia, which slows down his both his speech and his thought processes, says the change in his health also sparked a devastating decline in his mental wellbeing.
The ex Soccer Saturday star says: ‘I spent 18 months hiding it from my family. I had these dark thoughts, little voices going on inside the brain telling me “you’re gonna be a burden”.’
Research published by Visit Guernsey this week finds that more a quarter of men across the UK are hesitant to discuss deteriorating mental health with family and friends. A third said they would feel more comfortable opening up in a safe place away from their usual environment, such as on holiday.
The findings have led the Channel Island’s tourism office to partner with Guernsey Mind, launching the ‘No man is an island’ campaign and the ‘Here for C.H.R.I.S’ initiative, the letters of which stand for ‘calm, helpful, reassuring and inviting space’.
Chris ‘Kammy’ Kamara has joined forces with Visit Guernsey to encourage men to seek help when they need it, with the Channel Island training workers at pubs, restaurants, barbers and other establishments to know how to respond to those suffering from a mental health crisis
Chris, 68, who was diagnosed with aspraxia in 2018 and plunged into a deep depression during the pandemic, says This Morning star Ben Shephard persuaded him to open up and seek help
Explains Kamara: ‘You can walk into any bar, restaurant or other establishment on the island and say “I’m here for Chris” and trained staff will get someone to instantly help you. They’ll give you a drink and get a mental health professional.’
He adds: ‘I prefer to be called “Kammy”, but in this instance, I’m Chris all the way.’
The football pundit’s own experiences with depression, which took hold during the Covid pandemic in 2020, only stopped, he says, when he finally found a way to ask for help – and because a celebrity pal kept checking in on him.
‘My family knew there was something up but as I wasn’t speaking to anyone, they didn’t know what was going on.
‘I thought I would wake up one day and it would all be gone, but of course, every single day it gets harder and harder.’
He adds: ‘I got well with Ben Shephard’s help – he was marvellous. He kept phoning me up to see how I was and eventually I saw a therapist.’
Close friends: Kamara says he’s experienced the devastating consequences of men not asking for help first hand after losing two ‘big pals’ to suicide, Ricky Hatton, left, and Gary Speed
Kamara pictured during his playing days; the star famously went viral in April 2010 for his ‘I don’t Jeff’ line after missing a red card while commentating (Pictured: playing in midfield for Sheffield United in 1993)
The This Morning star recommended a treatment that his former GMTV co-star Kate Garraway had sought out for her late husband Derek Draper in Monterrey, Mexico and persuaded Kamara to try it.
The breakthrough therapy at the NeuroCytonix clinic saw him receive experimental magnetic field and radio frequency treatment, which he says ‘helped me immensely’.
Having seen former Wales manager Gary Speed and boxing hero Ricky Hatton both die by suicide, he’s determined to use his own experience and the loss of his two friends to try and help other men – and is fully behind Visit Guernsey’s efforts to ensure there’s designated safe spaces on the island for those who need help. He hopes the project will roll out across the UK.
‘I lost two close friends. Gary Speed and Ricky Hatton were my two big pals. I played with Gary at Leeds and Ricky had an apartment in Spain across from mine, so we met up every single year for 15 years.
‘When Ricky died, he seemed in as good a shape mentally as I’ve known him for a while but you don’t know. You’ve got no idea what’s going on inside someone’s head, unless they tell you.’
Research by Visit Guernsey showed ‘the fear of burdening family and friends remains a significant barrier to seeking help’ for mental health problems. The Channel island attracts 150,000 visitors from the UK a year and hopes its new intiative will help people in crisis
At the root of his own depression was the idea that people would judge him for his slower speech.
He says: ‘I was frightened. I thought that once I revealed I was going through stuff, people might turn their backs on me. It was the opposite, and that’s what we want to say: speak to someone and there will be a way out.’
The commentator hasn’t looked back on his own journey to mental wellness, saying: ‘I have a new lease of life. How I ever got to that dark place, I’ll never know, but the brain is so complex. But now I’m out of it, I think, I’m in a position now to help people, and that’s the important thing.’
Sam Claxton, Marketing Manager at VisitGuernsey said of the campaign: ‘It’s been fantastic working with and learning from Guernsey Mind on this initiative as we understand that the issue of increasing mental health challenges is not going anywhere.
‘”Here for C.H.R.I.S” is part of our wider ‘No Man is an Island’ campaign where we’re actively encouraging younger male travellers – a growing audience for us – to visit the island and enjoy a much needed break.
‘Working with Chris has been incredible. He is the perfect person to be involved in this campaign, given how openly he has shared his own experiences and his background in professional sport, an environment where there is a strong stigma around these issues.’
The ex footballer’s first time on Guernsey to launch the campaign hasn’t disappointed either, Kamara says: ‘I told my wife last night “I went to the best restaurant on the island”, and I’ll be telling her today we’ve got to come back because it’s beautiful.’
Find out more about the Here for C.H.R.I.S’ campaign at visitguernsey.com.
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