Tecia Torres opens up about struggle with mental health

Tecia Torres has been fighting a battle on multiple fronts and she knows it isn’t going away.

To commemorate World Mental Health Day, the longtime UFC strawweight contender took to social media to share her own experiences dealing with depression and other mental disorders:

In the tweets, Torres revealed that she has struggled with depression for years and that her parents both suffered from mental health issues. She describes education (Torres holds a master’s degree in criminology) and martial arts training as having “took over my life in the most positive form,” but after meeting fiancee and fellow UFC fighter Raquel Pennington she decided to seek professional help.

“After seeing several doctors I’ve learned that I am not bipolar, but I do suffer from an attachment disorder and depression,” Torres wrote. “If I’m being completely honest my most recent diagnosis is that I may have borderline personality disorder. Just typing this to post it is nerve-racking, but hey this is my truth and if it can help just one person somewhere in this world then it’s worth it.

“I’d like to help normalize mental health issues, illnesses, and struggles. Even the people who look the happiest may be struggling. Yes, I have an awesome career and am blessed to do the thing I love most, I have a beautiful home, some awesome fur babies, and a fiancee who has been by my side for it all. Yet despite all I have to be grateful for inside me it doesn’t all add up that way. So if this message hits home for you, or you know someone who may need to read it: Please share my words with them. You are not alone.”

Torres, 30, went on to explain how depression affects her ability to be active, her training, and her “sense of self.” She added that she is currently on medication to address her depression and had previously tried using CBD.

“I wanted to believe I could help myself without medication, but again the truth is I needed more help,” Torres wrote. “So I am currently on a journey to better mental health. It’s a daily struggle. I still deal with the feeling of being different from other people and I often ask God, ‘Why me?’ Why can’t I be ‘normal?’

“Dealing with mental health issues is normal. Repeat out loud and to self, ‘I AM NORMAL.’”

In her second tweet, Torres thanked former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker for his own recent admission of mental health issues, a gesture that inspired her to come forward with her story.

Torres also thanked Pennington for her support as she continues to work through her illnessse.

“I’d love to just wake up one day and say it’s gone,” Torres wrote. “The depression, the illnesses went away. But I don’t know when or if that will happen. For now I’m working daily on myself for myself, my family, and my future.”