When a popular player admits to having “mental health issues” and takes a break from the game, two things happen in the media. One, the list of recent players who have gone public is trotted out: Marcus Trescothick, Jonathan Trott, Graeme Fowler, Michael Yardy, Monty Panesar, Iain O’Brien, Shaun Tait, and others.
Secondly, the differences in the individual cases and the misunderstanding of the terms used are glossed over.
What is significant in the list above above is the absence of players from the subcontinent; this, when you consider that one in ten people suffers from some form of anxiety.
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Former player Maninder Singh spoke recently about how he was “gone, inside” adding he hesitated to seek help because people would think him mad. “I was scared if I went to a psychiatrist, people would write in the newspapers.”
Another India player and Deep Dasgupta said depression among cricketers is a common thing. Whether he used the word as a synonym for apprehension or nervousness, or meant it in a medical sense is worth discussing.
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Clinical depression is not everyday “blues”; paranoia, the diagnosis in Panesar’s case is not the jokey word we sometimes use to tease friends with. For some reason, medical terms with specific scientific meanings have become common usage, reducing the seriousness with which we view them and downgrading the level of urgency needed to deal with the conditions.
We talk casually about depression and paranoia, “bipolar” friends, and neighbours who are “schizophrenics” for varying their responses to us. There’s no malice usually, but when language is debased, it leads to an improper understanding of the issues.
Thanks to books by some of the affected players and interviews given by others, the stigma attached to “mental illness” is fading, but the careless use of the words is not disappearing in a hurry.
Common enough
The Australian Glenn Maxwell’s decision to take a break from the game to deal with mental issues is the most recent reminder that, with variations, it is common enough to involve specialists in cricket bodies around the world.
In recent years, international cricketers have been forthcoming about mental problems. That is a giant step both to their own salvation and to encourage others to come forward. The problem is better understood now. Even if it is a mystery to the layperson, the medical literature is extensive.
Iain O’Brien the New Zealand fast bowler, who suffered from depression, asked an important question: “Is it cricket that acts as a catalyst for mental illnesses, or is it the people who are drawn to it?”
“Cricket is a game based on failure,” Fowler wrote in his autobiography. “Don Bradman scored a hundred every three innings; therefore two-thirds of his career was a failure.”
Disillusioning
“The uncertainty of cricket is not always glorious or exciting,” wrote Mike Brearley, professional cricketer and professional psychoanalyst. “It can be disillusioning and anxiety-creating.”
Asian players cannot be immune. If anything, sometimes the pressures are greater, the coping mechanisms less developed and the overall understanding of the problem incomplete in this region.
Hence the need for the newly-formed Indian Cricketers Association (ICA) to borrow the idea from England’s Professional Cricketers’ Association and put in place a proper mental health welfare programme. In 2012, the PCA launched ‘Mind Matters’ tutorials to educate players about mental health. These aim to help players identify the circumstances that could lead to a problem, recognise the warning signs of anxiety and depression in oneself or others, and to access help.
Four-fold increase
The Confidential Helpline, with access to counselling, is important too. Following Graeme Fowler’s tour of the counties after he went public with his problem, there was a four-fold increase in calls.
The importance of going public and the extent of the problem were thus made abundantly clear.
Sarah Taylor, England wicketkeeper and one of the successes of the 2017 World Cup, had gone public the previous year. You can take time out and return to your best, she showed, something that Maxwell will hope holds true for him too.
Coaches prepare youngsters for a life in cricket, whether first class, international or domestic T20. But no coach prepares players for life after cricket. The former is about a third of a player’s life; so for two-thirds of it, he often lacks guidance.
Daunting
South African spinner Paul Harris spoke of his problem thus: “Post retirement can be one of the most stressful times in one’s life. Finding one’s ‘place’ after cricket can be daunting and there is not much in terms of support. You often hear of retired cricketers going through deep depression and in severe cases even suicide or suicidal thoughts.”
As Brearley wrote some years ago, “Our understanding of this crippling condition especially in the sporting arena may merely have scratched the surface.”
Acknowledging a problem exists — by an individual or his governing body — is an important step towards resolving it. Players’ associations have a heavy responsibility. Depression shouldn’t become a sporting cliché.