He’s one half of the dynamite duo Samir & Viktor, who brought three uplifting performances to Melodifestivalen. But now fashion blogger Viktor Frisk has opened up about his mental health, and has frankly discussed a dark moment in his life.
Viktor has shared his story in his new book Samir & Viktor, co-written with creative partner and best friend Samir Badran and journalist Pascal Engman.
While the book does go into the wild times the pair experienced on their road to fame, it also covers some deeply personal moments. Viktor shares that he was recently diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
Leading up to the diagnosis was a particularly dark moment, where the fashion blogger attempted to take his own life by overdosing on pills. But, as he writes in the book, “After a while I panicked. I did not want to die. I threw up, rushed into the bathroom. Curled over the toilet, I stuck my fingers down my throat and vomited.”
He says it was the love from his family and best friend Samir that gave him the will to live.
With the help of a friend, Viktor got assistance from mental health professionals, which led to him being diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
Viktor explains that he chose to open up about his mental health in order to help others who may be in a similar position. He said, “If I can only help a single person feel better, then it’s worth it.”
He also wants to reach out to other young men who may be in a similar position. He explains, “There are many young guys who feel bad that they can’t live up to the macho stereotype. I think it’s important to highlight that question and help young people realise that sometimes it’s okay to be crazy, but you must still understand that there is something better and that there is always a light inside the darkness to help you out.”
Viktor shared the news of the book with his friends on Instagram. He wrote, “I got my bipolar diagnosis and today, life is completely different. I feel good! I appreciate small things in life and hang out just with people who give me energy.”
He also had advice for other influencers, writing, “Take care! Many are close to breaking down. We are so young and want so much. But what I would rather like is that we all should help each other!”
The post attracted many comments from Viktor’s fans, writing with messages of support, or just love-bombing him with heart emojis.
Samir also left a comment, writing “My brother, you are strong ❤️ love u man”.
Very touching! I wish I could understand swedish better than I do so I could read it.
Does anyone know if he discusses his sexuality in his book at all?
I don’t know whether he discusses it in the book or not, but he has announced in his old podcast, and on his instagram a while ago, that he is bisexual.
I have so much love and huge respect for this man right now for speaking out about this topic since many people still don’t understand or just don’t want to understand, that conversation is important and staying silent is always the wrong way with these kind of topics… A very close friend of mine happens to be bipolar and some years ago she had one of her very bad moments and one night she called me and said that she was about to kill herself just a couple minutes ago. And she sounded so scared and confused. She’s doing very… Read more »
That is really noble. People always cover their ears and turn their heads when they hear about mental health issues, but it’s important to make people understand that this is a huge issue in modern society and no one is willing to help out people that are victims of the demons in their head. I wish there were more people like Viktor and Christabelle ready to spread the word and to help those in need.
are they a couple :)?
No, Samir has a girlfriend(Sigrid Bernson, Melfest 2018) and I belive he’s straight, not even bi?
Viktor said in his podcast (2016, I think) that he was bi 🙂
No.
Just to clarify that: Samir and Viktor sing together, Samir is straight, Viktor is bisexual, Samir’s girlfriend is Sigrid Bernson who competed in Mello 2018 and is also a dancer in the Swedish Let’s Dance, where she won with Benjamin Ingrosso in 2014, who won the Mello 2018. It is complicated, I know! 😀