St-Pierre: Obsessive compulsive disorder one reason for my break
Georges St-Pierre: “As a fighter it’s a good thing to have it, because it makes you better because you completely obsess about being a better martial artist.”
Georges St-Pierre recently took a hiatus from mixed martial arts, leaving the UFC and his world title behind. Speculation has surrounded his departure, but St-Pierre recently opened up his battle with obsessive compulsive disorder, which is one of the factors leading to his decision:
“As a fighter it’s a good thing to have it, because it makes you better because you completely obsess about being a better martial artist,” St-Pierre told CBC’s Wendy Mesley for The National. “Everything you do is oriented around that goal. But the same thing could be bad for a normal person in normal life.”
In promoting Takedown: The DNA of GSP, a documentary about his life and career, the former UFC world welterweight says he could make a return to the sport.
“I will be happy doing it again until the obsessiveness takes over and makes me unhappy again,” he said.
St-Pierre said the disorder was ultimately bad for him. He said he slept poorly for a decade — no more than five hours a night — and also saw his personal life and mental health suffer.
“It was going to drive me crazy. That’s why I took that break,” he said. “I had my first New Year’s and Christmas with my family, a real one. I don’t have to go away because I have a fight coming up.”