I began to do a bit of research in the area and it really gave me a deeper insight into mental health. There’s so much to it! To be honest, up until now, the young naive man that I am, believed depression to be a feeling in your mind that makes you feel upset from time to time. That it doesn’t affect you physically and that it doesn’t change how you live your life and that only in some major cases, can it end in suicide. My god how wrong was I! I thought that there was only one type of depression when in actual fact they're multiple types such as Major depression, Bipolar, SAD, Psychotic, anxiety and many more.
Depression in Ireland is a growing problem that needs urgent attention. It can have a massive effect on the way a person sleeps, eats, feels and the way they think about things too. Depression isn't something that goes away with the click of your fingers. If it was that easy for people to fix their problems there would be no such thing as depression. It is a serious illness and without treatment it can last for years.
In recent times, some GAA players have declared that they have suffered or are suffering from depression. I wondered how GAA players suffer from depression. How do the teammates of players that suffer from depression not notice something is wrong with them? Is it because nobody is able to notice what depression is or is it the fact that players are afraid to tell people something is wrong and that they need help. People only begin to realise the signs when something serious happens to the person suffering the illness. It's only when the worst happens that we wonder how we never seen it coming. The number of hours GAA players put in training is somewhat similar to that of professional players in other sports. In addition, GAA players have other affairs to deal with in life, for instance, work and family. Put all these factors together and it is bound to take its toll on a person's body may it be physically or mentally. People need to become more aware. Aware of the different issues that may surround somebody but most importantly, how they deal with it. Everyone will deal with a particular issue in a different way. Some people are able to deal with the stress of their own problems in life, however the people that don't know how to control all their emotions and problems, just continue to get on with everyday life as if nothing is wrong with them. In recent years some significant players within the GAA have emerged stating that they have or are suffering from depression, for example, Alan O'Mara (Cavan Footballer), Niall McNamee (Offaly Footballer), Conor Cusack (Cork Hurler), Shane Carty (Dublin U21 Footballer), Wayne Hutchinson (Waterford Hurler) and Ashling Thompson (Cork Camogie Captain).
One of the biggest difficulties with depression nowadays is suicide. Thankfully, I haven't had anyone in my family be affected from it but I can only expect it to be one of the hardest things in life to go through. To lose somebody because they were too afraid to express their feelings, afraid to ask for help or the horrible fact that they thought there was no way out of it. Suicide has struck in many GAA teams over Ireland in recent times but one of the biggest shocks was the sad passing of Galway hurling star Niall Donohue two years ago at the age of 22. Niall was found dead in his home in Kilbecanty outside Gort. Niall was shortlisted for an All-Star in 2012 as Galway lost the All-Ireland final replay to Kilkenny. Niall did a players profile for Galway's hurling supporting club and he spoke about the dream of winning an All-Ireland Senior title, stating that it was his number one motivator.
Nevertheless, there is loads of help available for people that suffering from depression. An example of help available for GAA players is the ‘We Wear More Than County Colours' Emotional Health and Wellbeing Campaign which was set up in 2014 by the Gaelic Players Association (GPA). The main concept of the campaign is to encourage players to talk about the emotional elements of their lives and to help them to develop ways of coping with their lives when things aren't going the way they want. The campaign wants players in the GPA to watch out for each other, recognise when players seem under pressure and to support one another through conversation. The ‘We Wear More' campaign deals with player's issues such as depression, addiction problems, anxiety and financial problems. The theme ‘We Wear More Than County Colours' refers to point that under the county jersey is an individual that lives a normal life and deals with everyday problems like everyone else.
"It was a gradual process that was brought on by the passing away of a close friend. I began to drink more than usual and dabble in drugs and things, whereas before I could turn a blind eye to that and was strong enough to say no. Things began to pile up on me and it all came to a head when I began to get very severe and numerous panic attacks. As I said it was a build up over time and my masking and unwillingness to display my real feelings, to try get on with things as they say, unfortunately I could not simply get on with things and I had to deal with how I was head on. Acceptance was a huge issue with me. I did not want to believe there was something wrong but when I embraced that, that’s when I began to feel much better".
"I began to see a counsellor and also talked to people about how I was feeling. For me personally, talking about my issues was never the problem, accepting that I had depression was the biggest thing. I had it in my head that physically there was something wrong, not mentally; I didn’t want to believe that there was something wrong in my head. There was. Once I came to terms with the fact that I was not feeling good, that is when I began to feel better. This is my own experience of dealing with depression, whereas others have different ways of dealing with it. Each person is different and depression is such that not one size fits all. Everyone has their own way of dealing with things".
"What I would say to someone with depression is to, this might sound a bit crazy, embrace it. Run with it. Treat it as an experience in your life that can in many ways help to understand that it’s OK not to feel OK. That it’s OK to cry. Don’t hide your feelings. Embrace them. Move forward with it and also reflect back and ask yourself what is it that is making you feel this way. Keep a notebook, just write, it doesn’t have to be structured in anyway, just write. Talk to someone, anyone. Get out and about and have some time to yourself. Keep in mind the simple things in life, things that give you happiness, your family, your children, godchildren, nieces/nephews, friends, your pets (my dogs were so, so good for me, helping me to be happy and to smile again), nature, reading, walking, sport, quiet time, grandparents. Acceptance. Once you accept that you are feeling this way, you will come to terms with things and come out the far side of it a better, wiser and happier person’".
- Speak Out
- Exercise
- Eat Healthy
- Sleep
- Avoid Drinking Alcohol
- Start Writing
- Support Services
- Aware: http://www.aware.ie/
- Mental Health Ireland: http://www.mentalhealthireland.ie/
- Bri Ireland: http://www.briireland.ie/
- Suicide Prevention: http://suicideprevention.ie/
- Pieta House: http://www.pieta.ie/
Author: Andrew Forde - 4th year BB (Hons) in Recreation and Sport Management student.