Interesting little article covering his impending retirement, injuries and depression http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/16167053.stm
I read his article a few weeks back about how he tried to commit suicide whilst at charlton. It made for a very sad read.. Goes to show how little we know about what's going on. I wish him all the best, and hope he still gets the help he needs.
The Gary Speed tragedy has highlighted the fact that all walks of life can suffer from depression and suicidal thoughts. If just one footballer finds the strength to cry out for help - and gets it - then the loss of Speed will have made some sort of positive impact. For all of my own bluster, I have suffered crippling depressions and battles with anxiety for as long as I can remember. When I was just ten years old, I was diagnosed as an Obsessive Compulsive, coupled with Dermotillimania (habitual picking and gouging of the skin). These conditions have followed me into adulthood and I now have a body riddled with cuts, scars and sores - not good for a diabetic! When I was a child, no real services for OCD sufferers existed so I had to try and hide the problem from my contemporaries - not easy in the school arena. Therapy in later years has helped to some degree, but attempting to re-groove the mind's patterns after twenty odd years is a task of mammoth proportions. But changes can be made, and improvements will feel like the greatest successes when achieved. If anyone on here is suffering from anxiety, depression, OCD or any other affliction of the mind and soul, then please try reading Brain Lock by Jeffrey Schwartz. This book is like a bible to millions around the world and has a fantastic success record. I will happily forward on my own copy if asked.
Good luck to him in his new career. I wonder what his music is like? There is a huge gap between amateur and professional musicians as he will find out!
Read the Daily Mail article last week, who knew! Just goes to show we don't really know what goes on in peoples lives, we can hide ourselves very well and it's a shame he could not ask for help. Wish him all the best.
Could be the reason why he failed to perform for us, but glad he's feeling better and wish him full success in music
His interview suggested that he couldn't get fit with us and PP made him feel bad for it. But Maybe it's just the impression I got?
