Paul Merson

Happy Place

Fearne Cotton

Society & Culture, Mental Health, Health & Fitness, Relationships, Personal Journals

4.6 • 15.2K Ratings

🗓️ 27 September 2021

⏱️ 62 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Gambling addictions are not well understood; former footballer Paul Merson is hoping to change that by sharing his own story. In this chat with Fearne, Paul explains why his having a gambling addiction really isn’t about the money. It’s about escapism, and experiencing extreme highs and lows.

He also talks through the role that lying plays in addiction, and the relationships and practical coping mechanisms that now help him tackle one day at a time. It’s taken him many decades, but he now understands that addiction is an illness, and doesn’t make him a bad person.

Paul’s book, Hooked: Addiction and the Long Road to Recovery, is out now.

CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains frank chat about suicidal thoughts, as well as gambling, alcohol, and drug addiction, so do take care while listening.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Before we start, this episode contains content that might be triggering for some listeners.
0:05.2	If that sounds like it might apply to you, do check the show notes for more details.
0:10.9	Hello and welcome to Happy Place, the show that supports you in stripping back the
0:15.9	facade and facing potentially uncomfortable home truths.
0:20.0	Today, I'm meeting former footballer Paul Mercen.
0:23.4	I accept that I'm ill. I'm not a bad person.
0:26.6	I used to think I was a horrible, horrible person.
0:29.8	Now I accept that I wasn't well and I'm not well and I'm trying to get well.
0:34.5	When I did go back and gamble again, I didn't beat myself up.
0:38.4	I didn't beat myself up.
0:39.7	Look down when I had a bad relapse over a year ago.
0:44.2	I didn't beat myself up.
0:45.6	You know, I thought, you know, I'm not well.
0:47.6	Paul was an incredibly successful footballer for 21 years, most notably playing for Arsenal
0:53.4	and England.
0:54.4	And to anyone glancing in from the outside, he probably looked like he was living the dream.
0:59.2	But Paul's now written a book hooked, which explains that he wasn't just living the
1:04.2	playful party lifestyle we might expect from sport stars and celebrities.
1:08.6	He actually had a number of debilitating addictions to alcohol, drugs and gambling.
1:14.9	As we talk about in this chat, gambling especially is an addiction that really isn't understood,
1:20.8	that somehow it's harder for people to empathise with.
1:23.7	I have to say I learned so much from reading Paul's book and from talking to him.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Fearne Cotton, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Fearne Cotton and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.