da SILVA Daniel Chaves

General
DEPRESSION
He says he had a tough time after failing to qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Not qualifying for the Games meant he lost all his grants and left the sport. He began working at a sports consulting firm in Brasilia, Brazil, but being away from the sport made him gain eight kilograms. One day in early 2018 he decided to commit suicide and went to a bridge in Brasilia. "That happened in a day in which nothing seemed to have sense. I had gotten into drugs and everything seemed empty for me. I thought, 'I'm going to end this and I'll find light on the other side.' [Then] many people who are about to commit suicide have a sort of an insight, about 10 seconds of clear mind. I can say it was a divine blow. It was an adrenaline boost that made me react. I realised that I still had some things to do here. God gave me the gift of running and I had to take profit from it. Now, with medical help I could overcome that depressive stage. I'm grateful for that moment, it taught me so much." He was later diagnosed with bipolar depressive syndrome. "In retrospective, I felt something every time I got injured. Those up-and-down moments were recurrent." He was advised to return to running as part of his treatment. "Running became my remedy. Now I'm feeling much better." (ativo.com, 27 Dec 2019)