The model son of a former Victorian premier has revealed insight into almost ending his best friend’s life in a car accident while out of his mind on alcohol.
Nick Bracks has described in a candid interview how his mother had to drag him to a psychologist so he could get the help he urgently needed.
Speaking on The Melbourne Centre of Healing podcast Shift Happens the now-30-year-old outlined how losing potential for a career in sports at 18 due to an injury, triggered a spiral out of control, the Herald Sun reported.
The son of former Victorian premier Steve Bracks revealed insight into his downward spiral
Nick Bracks (pictured) described how his mother had to drag him to a psychologist for help
Seeking inspiration from a gap year while feeling lost the son of former Victorian Premier Steve Bracks returned from his travels feeling even worse.
After dropping out of the university he was enrolled in, he turned to alcohol and lived for the weekends.
‘There was a two-year period there where I did nothing. I was getting up at 4 or 5pm in the afternoon because I would be lying in bed just wanting the day to be over so I didn’t have to face the world.
The young entrepreneur had a friend in a similar setting and together the pair would cause mayhem together.
‘We would just be writing ourselves off and getting into bad situations and that was the escape,’ he said.
Their wild escapades led to his pinnacle of distress when Bracks, while on his P-plates, drove under the influence of alcohol in 2007 and wrecked his vehicle.
Mr Bracks spiraled out of control when he lost hope of having a career in sport following an injury
During the height of Mr Bracks breakdown Steve Bracks (left) called his son an ‘idiot’ after the shocking car accident
His mum and dad – who was the Victorian premier at the time were out of town, and Bracks had been out for a night out with a group of friends.
He said the bunch of mates were going back to his family home, including the best friend he had grown up with and while he completely out of his mind the pair headed off in the car together.
They were traveling along the main road in Williamstown well over the speed limit while it was raining.
Realising he was doing the wrong thing he went to turn around but hit a traffic island before spinning out of control and wrapping the car around a tree.
He is thankful his friend sat up on impact as the side of the car was crushed in by the tree.
‘My friend was lying across the back seat of the car and his head was facing the side that got crushed. His reflex was to jolt up as it hit — if he didn’t do that he would have been killed instantly. There’s no doubt about it.’
Nick Bracks the eldest son of former Victorian premier Steve Bracks, pictured leaving Melbourne Magistrate’s courts in 2007 after pleading guilty for a drink-driving incident
The 20 year old was fined $750 and lost his licence for 15 months over a drink-driving incident in Melbourne’s west earlier that year
Despite the shocking incident it was still wasn’t enough to deter Mr Bracks from a life of retreating to alcohol to escape.
The desire was there, however it was ‘difficult’ to actually realistically get his head around.
‘I stopped drinking and going out probably only for a few weeks and then I fell back into it because at the time I didn’t know what was wrong with me … I didn’t have the self awareness, didn’t want to talk or wasn’t willing to go and open up to people about it.’
His mother was pushed to taking him to seek formal help and ‘literally dragged’ him to see a psychologist.
It was there he learned he was severely depressed.
In a turning moment he nearly killed a mate when he smashed his car into a tree but was lucky to persevere forward to eventually finding success
‘I was shocked,’ he said. ‘I thought it was a sign of weakness. But it quite quickly turned to relief and I was able to see, this was something others suffered from and I was able to try and actually work on it and improve the situation.’
Today he is passionate about mental health and has recently released an app Happy Waves to combat associated struggles.
The app offers guided meditation to help with focus, dealing with stress, energising and overall happiness.
‘What I learned and I have applied to everything else in my life is that I don’t have to have all the answers right now.
Today Mr Bracks is on a stronger path, finding strength in helping others with his app for meditation
‘It’s little steps. Not worrying about what is going to happen in the future and enjoying the process.’
He encourages others to remove obstacles from facing their fears, a trick he says gets easier the more it is done.
For confidential support call the Lifeline 24-hour crisis support on 13 11 14.
Anyone across Australia experiencing a personal crisis or thinking about suicide can contact Lifeline.
Regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation their trained volunteers are ready to listen, provide support and referrals.