Man ballooned to 19 stone after gorging on takeaways because he was too scared to leave his house
Adrian Thomas, 29, from Carmarthenshire in Wales suffered two separate anxious breakdowns
A MAN inflated to 19 stone after eating takeaways every night because he was too afraid to leave his house.
Adrian Thomas, 29, says he lived his life in front of the TV when his anxiety and depression became extremely severe at home in Carmarthenshire, Wales.
"I was having a takeaway every night, which meant I didn't have to go out.
"The scariest thing I've ever done is take the step outside to walk to Home Bargains at the end of the street."
Despite his progress, regularly getting out to the shops and his local pub, he had another breakdown at 26.
He was on his first day at a call centre when he began to sweat and ultimately had to tell one of the owners he needed to go home.
And when it came to going back in, he found it impossible to actually leave his house.
'I WAS JUST TERRIFIED'
He added: "I was never scared because there's demons out there or anything, but I was terrified. Just getting out of the front door of that house - it scared the life out of me."
Adrian sought help from his GP who put him on antidepressants and even tested his heart to prove he wasn't having heart attacks.
But even then he ended up bed-ridden for six weeks in a depressive black hole until the correct dose was found.
YOU'RE NOT ALONE
It doesn't discriminate, touching the lives of people in every corner of society - from the homeless and unemployed to builders and doctors, reality stars and footballers.
It's the biggest killer of people under the age of 35, more deadly than cancer and car crashes.
And men are three times more likely to take their own life than women.
Yet it's rarely spoken of, a taboo that threatens to continue its deadly rampage unless we all stop and take notice, now.
That is why The Sun launched the You're Not Alone campaign.
The aim is that by sharing practical advice, raising awareness and breaking down the barriers people face when talking about their mental health, we can all do our bit to help save lives.
Let's all vow to ask for help when we need it, and listen out for others... You're Not Alone.
If you, or anyone you know, needs help dealing with mental health problems, the following organisations provide support:
- CALM, , 0800 585 858
- Heads Together,
- Mind, , 0300 123 3393
- Papyrus,, 0800 068 41 41
- Samaritans, , 116 123
Adrian decided to call for like-minded people to meet up and share their experiences on Facebook, expecting a few people to reply.
But in the first 18 days, 175 people got in touch to say they identified with how he was feeling.
He now runs a closed where people can speak to each other about their experiences with anxiety without judgement.