Luke Humphries has admitted that his journey to the top of darts was only possible after he made the decision to speak openly about his mental health. Humphries, who joined forces with the Samaritans for World Suicide Prevention Day, was deep into a long stretch of PDC Tour events when he experienced an anxiety attack […]
Luke Humphries has admitted that his journey to the top of darts was only possible after he made the decision to speak openly about his mental health.
Humphries, who joined forces with the Samaritans for World Suicide Prevention Day, was deep into a long stretch of PDC Tour events when he experienced an anxiety attack mid-tournament back in 2019 – a moment that left him weighing up whether to walk away from the sport altogether.
Instead, Humphries opened up about his troubles and it changed everything, eventually leading him to the 2023/24 World Darts Championship title and the prolific world number one spot that he had dreamed of.
“For me, the best thing I ever did was go and see a doctor and go and tell him my feelings. Look who I am now, I’ve achieved so much from doing that and I’m so glad I did,” said Humphries, during a conversation with a Samaritans volunteer.
“The first step is to be open and honest about it, you know when I told my mum and dad stuff, they were really helpful and stuff, helping me get where I needed to be.
“With what I was going through and the way I was feeling, where I thought my career was going to go, to end up with, four or five years later, with nine major titles, and a World Championship and a World Cup and a Matchplay, I would never have thought that was going to happen to me.
“I thought that would have been impossible because of the way I was feeling at the time.
“I just felt like my career was going to end and I almost thought about giving it up because the stress was playing on me a lot.
“I decided to stick with it and it was the best choice I ever made, to be honest. It really did pay its dividends.”
According to the Samaritans, roughly one in four people will experience suicidal thoughts at some point, and suicide remains the leading cause of death among men under 50.
Humphries revealed anxiety still affects him occasionally, but he’s since learned how to deal with it.
“I still get those moments of anxiety and stuff, but they’re just random,” said the world number two.
“They’re not in moments you would expect, surrounded by hundreds of people. It could just be a random moment when I’m driving in the car by myself and you just get this bout of anxiety.
“It’s strange, but I know how to deal with it better. You don’t spiral, I think that’s the most important thing.
“That’s why I feel my mental health has been so much better in the last three to four years.”
If you’re going through dark thoughts right now, please don’t do it alone. Samaritans is here to listen 24/7 on 116 123.