The more high profile people publicly speaking about their mental health, the better.
Former Republic of Ireland midfielder Jason McAteer was a guest on The Late Late Show last night, and he talked openly about his struggle with depression when he retired from professional football.
“It’s like a light switch the day you finish,” he explained to Ryan Tubridy. “You go home and there’s nothing there. You’re not going in the next day, your friends are not there, you don’t have the club doctor, and it’s very, very difficult.”
Books released today hope everyone enjoys it and thanks to everyone who's helped make it possible pic.twitter.com/iE5GSnHqHB
— Jason Mcateer (@MCATEER4) September 29, 2016
He continued:
“I suffered from a bad bout of depression, to be fair. I got really messed up…Depression takes a hold of you and you don’t realise you’re in this world. You think it’s the norm but you’re doing things out of character, that your close friends or family would see. I got to a point where I was a real mess.”
McAteer recalls one day when he was driving through the Mersey tunnel to pick up son Harry from school, and he considered crashing his career into oncoming traffic.
“I thought I could just end all this right now, that it wasn’t happening, that I could just quit on everything,” he said.
He said he then went to his mum’s house that night and had “a breakdown…lots of tears, lots of emotion.”
Luckily, his mum put him in touch with a therapist, and McAteer started to manage his depression.
An incredibly honest interview with @MCATEER4 about how the end of his career left him suicidal: https://t.co/RKw5f0HgxO
— Tony Barrett (@TonyBarrett) September 28, 2016
Tubridy commended McAteer for his honesty, and viewers at home were full of praise too.
SUPERBLY honest interview with @MCATEER4 on #LateLateShow & great to hear him discuss #mentalhealth Can't wait to read his new book! pic.twitter.com/RAeGIf3fLo
— Ciamhie Mc Digital (@CiamhieMc) September 30, 2016
https://twitter.com/oliver_golden1/status/781985464622415872
Wonderful interview with @MCATEER4 I may have joined him in getting emotion! #LateLateShow
— David O'Connor (@djoc21) September 30, 2016
https://twitter.com/dervhynes/status/781982506434396161
Jason McAteer! Respect ! #LateLateShow
— Regina (@divreg) September 30, 2016
Very honest interview @MCATEER4 #latelateshow … Well done…. Delighted to see a happy ending for you and your family !
— Dorothy Molloy ✍️📜✍️🇮🇪 (@1dor) September 30, 2016
Watch the segment below:
