Ben Stokes discusses his mental health struggles. Stokes was interviewed on Red Bull’s Mind Set Win podcast.
England player Ben Stokes has finally spoken publicly about his’six-month hiatus’ from cricket in 2021, claiming mental health difficulties. High-profile sportsmen prioritizing their mental health has caused a significant shift in the narrative of mental health in sports.
Mental health was not treated as seriously as it is now, which has been feasible as a result of various athletes coming out in public and raising awareness about the issue.
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Everything became a little too much for me: Ben Stokes
“I felt like I was pouring emotions and sensations into a glass container. The glass bottle overflowed and exploded, and everything became a little too much for me at the time. ” Mirror.co.uk claimed that the 31-year-old discussed his mental health during an appearance on Red Bull’s Mind Set Win podcast.
The all-rounder poured his heart out, citing all the sad incidents and unexpected turns of events in his life. He describe himself as being trapped into a cage from which he was not able to escape. He made a significant point about not being permit to communicate his true feelings to anyone. On most occasions, he felt alone.
“Looking back it was a building of almost compressing emotions or sentiments. Not being comfortable in speaking about them to anybody. I was alone in a hotel room where the team was staying, it was very early in the morning, and strange things began to happen to me.
It’s difficult to reflect on that precise time, but I do know, and I’ll admit it, that I wasn’t very good at talking to people before that fateful day. Whereas I’m a lot better at it now, and I’m a lot more open to talking to the right people about the right things,” said Stokes.
Stokes now claims he takes mental health extremely seriously and consults with doctors on a daily basis.
“I ended up communicating with a gentleman who came highly recommended, so I had a number of long, very wonderful face-to-face conversations with him. It was fantastic to be able to walk in and talk to someone for a couple of hours and have him genuinely understand what I was saying. He could understand it and then explain it to me by listening to what I was saying because, while it’s great to be able to open up to people close to you just for them to listen, it’s even better to be able to do the same thing with someone who can almost explain everything to you so you understand what’s going on “He went on to say.
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