Frank Bruno

• Bruno was detained under the Mental Health Act and admitted to a psychiatric hospital in 2003. Contemporary reporting said he was diagnosed with manic depression, now generally called bipolar disorder, during that period. [3]
• Contemporary reporting said he spent about three weeks in hospital before being discharged. Bruno’s official biography now describes his condition as bipolar disorder. [7][3]
• Soon after leaving hospital, Bruno spoke publicly about what had happened in interviews, including a television interview with Trevor McDonald. He said he hoped his experience could reduce prejudice toward people with mental illness and make it easier for others to receive understanding rather than condemnation. [3]

• Bruno has described the period leading up to his 2003 hospitalization as one of increasing confusion and loss of control. He said that when people told him he needed help, he believed they were conspiring against him. He became intensely focused on exercise, stopped eating and sleeping properly, and developed unusual behaviours, including feeling unable to leave home without carrying a book that he regarded as a form of protection. [3]
• Bruno has experienced further severe episodes and has been detained under the Mental Health Act on several occasions. In 2015, he was admitted to hospital during a period of severe depression, and in 2020 he experienced another major deterioration that led to a six-week hospitalization. He later described the 2020 episode as the most terrifying period of his life. [7][6]

• After his 2003 hospitalization, Bruno was prescribed lithium. His updated autobiography said he would stop it only when doctors advised him to, although in a 2006 interview he acknowledged that he had begun reducing or stopping medication himself. [4]
• Bruno has had a complicated relationship with psychiatric medication. In 2016, he said that some medication prescribed for bipolar disorder had made him feel worse, describing severe side effects including suicidal feelings, insomnia and excessive energy. [5]
• He has also repeatedly described exercise and training as important to how he manages himself day to day. [8]

• Bruno has continued to experience periods of serious illness years after his initial hospitalization, including further episodes requiring hospital treatment. [7]
• He has also described rebuilding important parts of his life after severe episodes. In 2017, Bruno said that he had become closer to his children after earlier periods when his illness had damaged those relationships. Following another major episode and six-week hospitalization in 2020, he returned to public and charitable work. [7][6]

• Bruno has become a mental-health advocate in the years since his diagnosis. In 2017, he established The Frank Bruno Foundation, which uses non-contact boxing and wellbeing programs to support people experiencing mental-health difficulties and to build confidence, resilience and self-esteem. [8]
• He has also spoken openly about stigma and the difficulty many people have discussing mental illness. Through the Foundation’s #KnockOutStigma campaign, Bruno has encouraged people to talk about their experiences and seek help rather than remain silent because of fear or judgment. [9]

“Having been diagnosed with bipolar is the biggest fight of my life.”

— Frank Bruno [10]