ENGLAND batsman Jonathan Trott began the long road to recovery after leaving the Ashes tour in Australia because of a long-standing stress-related condition.
Trott made only 19 runs from two innings in the first Test in Brisbane as he struggled to cope with the short, fast-paced deliveries of Mitchell Johnson.
Of course, he was far from alone in his struggles against man of the match Johnson as England went down to a horrendous 318-run defeat inside four days.
But everyone who is susceptible to mental illness has a tipping point and this was clearly his.
"I don't think it is right that I'm playing knowing that I'm not 100%," said the 32-year-old, who has undoubtedly made the correct choice in returning to the UK to spend some time with his family.
England coach Andy Flower described Trott as having managed his ongoing problems "very successfully" - and indeed he has since his debut in Test cricket in the decisive fifth Test of the 2009 Ashes series.
He began with a bang, scoring a century at the Oval to secure a return of the urn to England, and has remained a permanent fixture in England's Test and one-day teams, scoring 3,763 Test runs at an average of 46.45 and almost 3,000 one-day international runs at 51.25.
Anxiety and depression, though, are no respecters of past achievement or personal status, as previous England cricket internationals Marcus Trescothick and Michael Yardy are well-aware.
Trescothick had to leave the 2005-06 tour of India and the 2006-07 Ashes tour of Australia, and wrote extensively about his issues in his highly-regarded autobiography, Coming Back to Me. Left-arm spinner Yardy, meanwhile, flew home from the 2011 World Cup in India.
Trott has now joined Trescothick and Yardy in making the gut-wrenching decision to leave his team-mates - but he really should not think he has let anyone down. Instead, he should focus on how well he has done to get as far as he did under absolutely immense pressure.
Of course, that pressure only got worse during the course of a caustic first Test at the Gabba where Australia's desperation to begin an Ashes series on the front foot was belied by a rather nasty streak.
Aussie skipper Michael Clarke has even been fined 20% of his match fee for warning last man James Anderson that he was going to have his arm broken.
And, while Clarke defended his side's conduct as "banter" and "part and parcel of the game", sledging - though surely entitled to be inappropriate - is best achieved with some wit and intelligence.
Seemingly, that would be asking too much of the Australians whose coach Darren Lehmann, actually pretty unlikeable in his playing days, has done absolutely nothing to quell the growing tension.
It against this uneasy background, then, that Trott has been battling his demons - and his struggle was undoubtedly made much worse by David Warner's comments.
Warner described the England number three as being "poor and weak" in his dismissals and, though I agreed that he had a point in my match report, it is notable that the England set-up pretty much never bad-mouths an opponent.
Again, the Australians, while they have at last begun to start winning matches once more, have much to learn about winning with good grace.
Hopefully, Trott's departure will not encourage them but rather teach them to keep their gobs shut and take a leaf out of England's book to err on the side of caution.
After all, nobody really knows exactly what is going on in the opposition camp, and there would no doubt even be many within the England team who would not be fully aware at least of the extent of Trott's issues.
Presumably, the team doctors and psychologist would have known - but, ultimately, the decision to go on tour would have been that of Trott himself.
No one can or should blame him for choosing to travel away, especially given a shedload of evidence supporting the idea that he was managing his condition well. While obviously I cannot see inside his mind, his biggest fear was perhaps letting people down.
Please remember also that mental health issues are a lot more common than many people realise.
Statistics suggest that one in four people will experience some kind of mental health problem in the course of a year, and mixed anxiety and depression is the most common disorder in Britain.
I should know. Unfortunately, as previously shown on this very blog, I have also been in that desolate landscape more than once before. The illness completely debilitates you physically as well as mentally.
For, once sensitised by stress, pretty much everything can become a worry. The symptoms of anxiety are many and varied but sufferers will often be hyper-vigilant and study their bodies looking for something seriously wrong to justify the pain.
It is how, for example, I ended up being taken from the Guinness Storehouse exhibition on St Patrick's Day in Dublin this year to the nearby St James Hospital.
I was complaining of feeling faint and nauseous, and of having a racing pulse - but there was actually nothing wrong with me - or nothing serious anyway.
The fact that I had hardly eaten for the previous two days, because of an anxiety-nausea cycle, had left my blood sugar levels stupidly low.
Nevertheless, following a completely wasted night in a hotel room, I still went out to see the magnificent St Patrick's Day Parade... and, yes, actually enjoyed myself, in spite of the rain.
Total recovery takes much longer and requires a variety of remedies, including medication and cognitive-behaviour therapy, which will both presumably be offered to Trott as they were to me.
For now, though, the most important thing for Trott is time - and plenty of it, for there can be no pressure over how long it takes to sort this out.
With time comes desensitisation from the stress and, with a clearer head, a greater understanding of your personal unravelling process.
Once understood, the issues can be more easily solved - but very little can be achieved without having allowed the time to pass for the head to clear.
"Get well soon", though well-meaning, is an ultimately empty gesture when dealing with anxiety and depression. "Just remember your health is most important" is a rather better way of looking at it.
Good luck, Jonathan Trott, and well done already for taking the first steps to recovery.
I wish Jonathon Trott a speedy and full recovery. He is not a failure and should not think he is, he has made the right decision as his health comes before the game.
ReplyDeleteI would like to add that maybe David Warner may not have known about his condition. He was commentating on the basis of his sporting performance, but I agree that it was probably not what Trott wanted or needed to hear.
Great blog by the way.
Thanks for reading and replying :)
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I'm likely being rather harsh on David Warner (who I doubt would have known). But - and this is not just sour grapes - I do think there has been a nasty atmosphere, particularly from the Aussies, in that first match.
It would be nice if the remaining matches were played in a rather better spirit.