Brandon's Comeback: influencer boxing and his fight against chronic anxiety

Recently, Brandon connected with our team at Releaf and began treatment with medical cannabis. In a short time, he has made significant progress. With support from his family and employers, Brandon is optimistic that this treatment will help him reclaim his creativity, return to work, and to finally begin living on his own terms.

Can you tell us what conditions have you been diagnosed with, and how have they affected your life in the past? 

I suffer from anxiety and depression—conditions I've had for quite some time and have been getting worse the last few years. I'm on the autistic spectrum and have both Asperger's syndrome and ADHD, so I struggle with a lot of social interactions and picking up on social cues. 

Really, I’m not the type of person who fits in very well with groups. Some situations, which may not seem stressful to others, are very stressful for me. Different scenarios can occur, like when I'm sitting in a pub or standing in the middle of a busy train or bus, and that can make me feel quite on edge.

The anxiety and depression goes as far back as my childhood. I've been bullied a lot in my life. I still get bullied today: from schools to colleges to workplaces to everyday life, I always get picked on. I try not to let it bother me, or let my autism define me, because I just want to live the best life I can possibly live. 

You said that your anxiety and depression has worsened in the last few years. Why do you think that is?

I work at a call centre, but I was a YouTube content creator part-time as a hobby, and got seriously involved in the influencer boxing community before realising how incredibly toxic it was. I started getting harassed and abused online by a few people who wanted to fight me to get views, which I had no interest in. 

This experience, as well as losing my passion for making content, made me walk away from it all.

The anxiety I associated with my online life began to affect my relationships with friends, family and with my work colleagues. At work, I rarely talked to anyone any more because after what happened on YouTube; I had a hard time trusting people. 

I secluded myself from everything, and went from being a very outgoing personality who's willing to travel to lots of different places, to a very introverted person who doesn’t want anything to do with the world. 

I ended up taking time off work for the second time in a year because of severe depression and because my anxiety was out of control. After that, I mostly stayed home. Once, I didn't leave the house for nearly a whole month.

And what led you to trying medical cannabis as a treatment option?

My GP prescribed me sertraline, but for me, it doesn't do anything. I'm now up to 200 milligrams of sertraline, and all it seems to do is make me gain weight, even the multivitamins I take seem to be more effective.

Even though it doesn’t really work for me, I’m still taking sertraline, because if I don't, my family gets worried. I don't want to upset them. That’s the only reason I continue taking it.But I began to take the idea of medicinal cannabis seriously after I officially stopped working. 

After that, I said to myself, “If I'm ever going to get back to work, I've got to get myself better.” That’s started doing serious research on the internet, and I found a lot of positive stories about the benefits of medical cannabis. 

I first came across Releaf when I was searching for medicinal cannabis clinics online. Releaf was one of the most recommended clinics and was one of the top ones that popped up on Google search. At first, I was torn between a few of the clinics that looked good to me, but I decided on Releaf because it had a really loyal membership, great reviews, and a great Starter Kit. 

Read Brandon’s testimonial below.

When did you find out that medical cannabis was legal in the UK?

I've known for a while that it's been legal since November 2018. What surprises me is the amount of people that don't know that it is legal. It is quite shocking. There are probably millions of people in the UK who are using cannabis illegally but don't know that it’s available as a medicinal treatment. 

I think one of the biggest reasons why people aren’t aware of medical cannabis’s availability is because it is underreported by news outlets. I don't think it's something they want to report. People who might benefit from medical cannabis don’t even know that they’re eligible. I really feel like the UK really needs to do more research and make it more widely available, because this plant really does wonders for people's lives, as long as it's used correctly.

I’m very hopeful, now that we have a new government, that within the next five years, medical cannabis will become fully accessible to the public without prescription, like it is in other countries like Canada and the USA. It really should be, because it's going to help so many people's lives.

How have you found your first month of treatment, and Releaf’s services so far?

For the most part, I've been very happy with my experiences at Releaf so far. I’m sure you’ve heard this punchline before, but it’s a huge relief to be with Releaf! Releaf has provided me with relief! 

In just one month of treatment with medical cannabis, I can already feel the positive changes. I don't feel introverted any more, and I don't feel like I need to close myself off and crawl into a hole in the ground. I'm starting to feel like myself, and I just want to get out and be around people again.  

I found the Starter Kit quite intriguing, and much more interesting than what the other clinics were offering. 

Do you feel any negative stigma surrounding your treatment with medical cannabis?

Previously, I was always on edge when I used cannabis, because of the stigma. I would think, “What if someone sees me? What if someone at work finds out if I've used cannabis abroad?” I don't have to worry about that any more, because now, the legalities are on my side.

My family have been very understanding about it, even if everyone isn’t completely onboard, because they understand that it’s helping me get better. 

My employers have been very supportive, and I'm very appreciative for that. I’ve always felt like full transparency is the best approach, so I arranged a chat with my manager about the treatment. In the meeting, I told them that I had an appointment at a clinic that prescribes medicinal cannabis, and we discussed what the treatment might look like. I sent them the link to the Releaf website, which basically explains everything. I informed them, several times, that medical cannabis has been a legitimate and legal treatment in the UK since 2018, and I sent him links to blog posts and testimonials that people had written about their treatments

I wasn’t sure what my manager’s reaction would be, because I know it's a bit of a taboo subject. I was expecting them to find the situation weird or uncomfortable, or to think that I was doing something wrong, but instead they just said it was fine. They said, “Okay. It’s a legal medication, and that’s perfectly okay.”  They also assured me that treating myself at work with medical cannabis wouldn’t be a problem.

Finally, what are your hopes for the future, and how do you think medical cannabis will fit into your day-to-day life?

I'm hoping to return to my creative self. Creativity is one thing I used to have a lot of back in my content creator days. 

I'm not sure if I’m ever going to be a content creator again, but I have a few ideas in the works. One is about putting together an episodic weekly show about the Seattle SuperSonics. I’m also looking at some other opportunities for investments in the online entertainment industry.  For now, I'm just hoping to continue the great relationship I've had with Releaf so far, and to continue to push my emotions in the right direction. 

I think my life has already starting to improve now that I've found medical cannabis. I feel like I'm starting to have more confidence; I’m talking to people again and becoming more social and less isolated. There's still a part of me that has a few barriers up, but slowly and surely they are coming down—I believe I’m following the right path. 

The world is my oyster. I just have to remember to stay humble, and to stay true to myself.