Adolescence star Stephen Graham's heartbreaking health battle that almost led to his death at just 20

Stephen Graham is the speech of the town, acknowledgment to his relation successful Netflix's caller deed drama Adolescence.

But the 51-year-old's travel to mega stardom could person ended erstwhile helium was conscionable 20 aft a conflict with 'really atrocious depression' led to a harrowing termination attempt. 

In a heartbreaking clip, the histrion revealed helium tried to termination himself portion successful the grip of a terrible breakdown brought connected by loneliness and aggravated acting techniques.

Opening up to BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs successful 2019, helium said helium was thankful the effort had ended successful failure, adding however helium seemed to perceive his deceased grandma shouting astatine him successful that life-or-death moment.  

'She shouted, "Stephen" and I thought I'd gone... I conscionable travel to and opened my eyes,' helium said. 

The A Thousand Blows prima past emotionally recounted however helium attempted to fell the signs of his intelligence wellness struggles from his parents.

'I enactment a precocious cervix jumper on, 1 of those zip-up jumpers, and my mum and dada came backmost and past my mum saw it and she said, "what's that?" I past conscionable truly opened up and everything conscionable came retired and I said, "I don't cognize however to cope".'

Graham, calved successful Lancashire, said the breakdown had been partially driven by feeling isolated aft moving to London. 

'I had a breakdown. Going to that large London to bash it connected your own,' helium said.

This, combined with acting lessons encouraging him to gully connected 'intense' idiosyncratic trauma to adhd authenticity to his roles, had brought connected a signifier of 'induced psychosis'.

'My small member had conscionable been born. My mum and dada had mislaid a small lad (at birth) 3 years before. My Nana had passed distant erstwhile I was 14,' helium told The Sunday Times in 2019.

'I was successful the large wide satellite connected my ain and it wasn't easy. I was precise adjacent to my mum and dada and I deliberation with the benignant of aggravated enactment we did, tapping into emotions that I'd ne'er truly tapped into before.'

He added: 'I had a breakdown with each of these traumatic things that had happened from my precocious teens.' 

Returning to his parents' location soon earlier his termination attempt, helium said he'd ne'er hide opening up to them astir his struggles. 

'Then I went backmost home. They (his parents) were trying to spot what was happening with me,' helium said. 

'I'll ne'er hide the tears coming down some their faces.'

Following the failed effort to extremity his life, Graham's household and friends rallied astir to connection support. 

It was besides soon aft this unthinkable debased constituent that helium started his narration with his present woman Hannah Walters, who helium joined successful 2008.

'She knew what had happened. She was ever successful adjacent interaction with my mum,' she said.

While they had been 'just talking' for a agelong time, they hadn't been connected a due date, thing Graham remedied soon earlier she was owed to determination to Spain. 

'We were waiting astatine New Cross bid presumption and I said to her "please don't spell to Spain. I emotion you",' helium said. 

'She went "I've been waiting for 5 years for you to accidental that." The adjacent time we moved successful together.'

But Graham added that his ain conflict had fixed him an appreciation for the feelings galore radical conflict with. 

'I cognize the loneliness, isolation and feeling you can’t header successful the world,' helium said. 

Graham has besides antecedently opened up astir however challenging roles person taken a toll connected him. 

He has admitted 'losing himself' erstwhile helium starred arsenic racist skinhead Combo successful Shane Meadow's 2006 movie This is England.

Graham said helium turned to intoxicant to header with the unit of the role, recounting however helium would come location and 'cry my eyes out' aft filming aggravated scenes.

The father-of-two, whose gramps was Jamaican, had himself suffered racist maltreatment arsenic a child owed to his heritage. 

He told The Sun: 'I'm mixed race. As a kid, I was called horrible words that I don't adjacent privation to say, and small monkey boy.'

Graham has besides revealed helium suffers from dyslexia — a learning trouble that causes problems with reading, penning and spelling.

'I person to work it and work it and work it, past marque it look similar it's the archetypal clip I'm saying it,' helium said. 

According to information from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) astir 1 successful six adults successful the UK experienced mean to terrible depressive symptoms successful 2022. 

Official ONS information recorded conscionable implicit 6,000 suicides recorded successful England and Wales successful 2023, the astir caller figures available. 

Men were astatine acold higher hazard of taking their ain beingness than women, accounting for astir 3 quarters of the full figure.

Suicide hazard for men peaks betwixt the property of 45 and 64 with 22.4 deaths per 100,000 males. 

This is astir triple the complaint seen successful men and boys aged 10 to 24, which recorded 7.4 deaths by termination per 100,000. 

Reasons wherefore men, and peculiarly those successful mediate age, are astatine accrued hazard of termination are complex. 

But Professor Nav Kapur astatine the University of Manchester's Centre for Suicide Prevention, antecedently told MailOnline perceptions astir masculinity among this procreation could beryllium playing a part.  

'They grew up with strong, silent, stoical fathers and antheral relation models, but they're surviving successful a nine that present values open, sharing "new men",' helium said.

'They are a spread procreation near not rather knowing who they are oregon however to be.' 

An estimated 6,000 Britons and 48,000 Americans dice by termination each year.

UK: For assistance and support, telephone the Samaritans for escaped from a UK phone, wholly anonymously, connected 116 123 oregon spell to samaritans.org. 

US: If you oregon idiosyncratic you cognize needs help, the nationalist termination and situation lifeline successful the U.S. is disposable by calling oregon texting 988. There is besides an online chat astatine 988lifeline.org.