A teacher killed himself months after suffering a bout of crippling altitude sickness during a trekking trip to the Himalayas with his wife, an inquest heard.
Paul Connell, 33, was found dead at the bottom of cliffs near his home in Ramsgate, Kent, after struggling with anxiety following the incident, leaving his family a note reading 'Voices in my head. I'm sorry. Love you all x'.
He was travelling through Asia with his wife Lisa last September when he was struck down by the illness at 10,000ft on the Annapurna range in Nepal, which affected him so badly he texted his mother Donna Ayres telling her he wanted to 'throw himself off the mountain'.
Although he was airlifted to hospital and appeared to have recovered, Mr Connell and his wife returned home to Kent months later due to his homesickness.
He was taken straight to hospital by his mother after landing at Heathrow after she described him as 'looking like a heroin addict'.
The inquest was told he was in and out of hospital between February and March and had tried to contact his GP 21 times the day before he died on March 26.
Paul Connell, right with wife Lisa, killed himself months after developing altitude sickness while the couple were trekking the Annapurna range in Nepal in October 2018, pictured
The former teacher, 33, pictured with his wife in Vietnam, began to suffer from anxiety following the incident and while awaiting treatment in Nepal texted his mother Donna to say he wanted to 'throw himself off the mountain'
Mrs Connell, pictured with Paul, said she wants to warn others of the dangers of mental health problems after her husband struggled to get treatment when back home in Kent
Mr Connell, pictured left with Lisa on their wedding day in 2014 and right in Sri Lanka, was described as a 'really happy guy' before the altitude sickness
It is not the first time altitude has been linked with mental health problems, with Olympic gold medallist Victoria Pendleton previously revealing she suffered depression after attempting to climb Mount Everest last year.
She said oxygen deprivation up the world’s highest mountain left her feeling suicidal.
Meanwhile research published in the Harvard Review of Psychiatry in 2018 found people living in high-altitude areas of the United States are more likely to commit suicide and suffer depression.
Mrs Connell has now spoken out to warn others to watch out for the signs of mental health decline.
The 35-year-old said: 'Paul was a really happy guy, he had a great life and he wasn't suffering with depression or anxiety.
'It was something that happened really fast, really intensely over such a short space of time.
'This can happen to anyone, it can happen to the strongest of people physically and mentally.
'Someone can change, something can suddenly snap in someone's head. You just never know.'
Mr and Mrs Connell were travelling on a trip-of-a-lifetime to Nepal and set out in September last year.
The couple met in Australia, pictured, in 2012 and married two years later. They previously lived in Vietnam where they worked as English teachers
An inquest in Canterbury heard Mr Connell, pictured with his wife in Nepal, had not displayed mental health problems before the trek
The 33-year-old, pictured in Thailand, initially recovered after being airlifted to hospital, but became homesick after several more months travelling in Asia
They were due to spend two months in the area, but Mr Connell suddenly began suffering panic attacks and severe anxiety and was unable to sleep.
While he was up there, he texted his mother to say he wanted to jump off.
Mrs Connell said that her husband became so unwell so quickly that he paid for a helicopter to take him back to the foot of the mountains.
The Annapurna Range is one of the most hazardous to climb in the world.
The peaks - which include the world's tenth highest mountain, Annapurna I Main, kill almost a third of those who attempt to climb them with 61 deaths out of 191 summit ascents.
In October 2014, at least 43 people died as a result of snowstorms and avalanches on and around Annapurna, in Nepal's worst ever trekking disaster.
After leaving the Himalayas Mr Connell rapidly improved.
He recuperated for several months as the couple moved on to travel in India, before he slipped into a spiral of depression and insomnia from which he never recovered.
Mrs Connell said her husband returned home in February after struggling to sleep. His mother Donna then took him straight to hospital after claiming he 'looked like a heroin addict'
Although he tried to get treatment for anxiety and depression, he was unable to get a bed at a private treatment facility and was not recommended for specialist NHS services after an initial assessment
Mrs Connell, pictured with Paul on their wedding day, said her husband continued to suffer from panic attacks despite being given medication
Struggling to sleep, Mr Connell flew home to Ramsgate in the first week of February, where he was rushed straight from the airport to A&E at the QEQM Hospital in Margate by his mother.
She told
