Mr. Tom Posted October 11, 2017 Share Posted October 11, 2017 50 minutes ago, darklord said: Good on him for talking about it. I suffer from depression and anxiety. I tried to drown myself in the sea at 15, I've overdosed and had surgery to repair slashed wrists over the years so I know the battle all to well. I'm 40 now and on tablets permanently and its taken years to come to terms with. Each day is hard and some are bloody awful but I don't mind talking about it. Its a bloody lonely place at times and I cannot tell you how it feels to think your next breathe is your last. Dark places, and if talking about it can save just one person then it's worth the odd person thinking your a nutter. Hero. Well done fella. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Tom Posted October 11, 2017 Share Posted October 11, 2017 (edited) Crikey though, the Kirkland article doesn't half make me think about some of the dogs abuse and pelters they (players, staff, all teams, all sports) get when we (fans worldwide) deem them to have 'underperformed' by our own armchair standards. I know it's 'part of the job' to an extent, but we don't know the first thing about what's going on under the skin of individual sports people. And social media has changed the whole dynamic massively. Just makes me even angrier about the tools who hurl it out directly at players online. Mindless. Edited October 11, 2017 by Mr. Tom 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
np pontefract Posted October 11, 2017 Share Posted October 11, 2017 1 hour ago, darklord said: Good on him for talking about it. I suffer from depression and anxiety. I tried to drown myself in the sea at 15, I've overdosed and had surgery to repair slashed wrists over the years so I know the battle all to well. I'm 40 now and on tablets permanently and its taken years to come to terms with. Each day is hard and some are bloody awful but I don't mind talking about it. Its a bloody lonely place at times and I cannot tell you how it feels to think your next breathe is your last. Dark places, and if talking about it can save just one person then it's worth the odd person thinking your a nutter. Thank you for sharing that with us. It takes courage to be so frank about these issues. Wishing you all the best for the future. Good Luck, mate. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maddogbob Posted October 11, 2017 Share Posted October 11, 2017 1 hour ago, darklord said: Good on him for talking about it. I suffer from depression and anxiety. I tried to drown myself in the sea at 15, I've overdosed and had surgery to repair slashed wrists over the years so I know the battle all to well. I'm 40 now and on tablets permanently and its taken years to come to terms with. Each day is hard and some are bloody awful but I don't mind talking about it. Its a bloody lonely place at times and I cannot tell you how it feels to think your next breathe is your last. Dark places, and if talking about it can save just one person then it's worth the odd person thinking your a nutter. Thanks for sharing fella, it certainly highlights and encourages others to talk. Something I've learned this year, talking is the most important thing you can do. Best of luck. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Copthorneowl Posted October 11, 2017 Share Posted October 11, 2017 1 hour ago, darklord said: Good on him for talking about it. I suffer from depression and anxiety. I tried to drown myself in the sea at 15, I've overdosed and had surgery to repair slashed wrists over the years so I know the battle all to well. I'm 40 now and on tablets permanently and its taken years to come to terms with. Each day is hard and some are bloody awful but I don't mind talking about it. Its a bloody lonely place at times and I cannot tell you how it feels to think your next breathe is your last. Dark places, and if talking about it can save just one person then it's worth the odd person thinking your a nutter. Sincerely hope sharing your problems helps you as much as doing so must surely help others. Very much credit to you mate for sharing your health issues publicly and I really hope you can continue to get better at dealing with them best wishes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plonk Posted October 11, 2017 Share Posted October 11, 2017 This is why I'm an owlstalk addict. Just when you think this site is full of smartarses and whingingtwats you find the real humanity. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darklord Posted October 11, 2017 Share Posted October 11, 2017 Thanks for the kind words guys (didn't intend to thread hijack!). I don't think supporting Wednesday helps much 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomtheOwl95 Posted October 11, 2017 Share Posted October 11, 2017 Really good and eye opening interview. It's a very brave thing to do to talk about mental health and depression in football. Well done Chris. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groundhopping Owl Posted October 11, 2017 Share Posted October 11, 2017 Very absorbing and emotional read, thanks for sharing. Somehow feels really awful knowing that was how he felt when he was with us. I've always liked Kirkland, he was an excellent keeper for us who gave his all in every game and showed passion and commitment - and now we know this was despite his mental state being on such a downward spiral at the time. Remember being very sad when he left even though Westwood had supplanted him in the team. I'm always pleased to see him when he's doing punditry for Sky Sports these days, he's very down to earth and intelligent about the game. Shows the class of the man that he has come through it and now wants to talk about a very difficult subject, so he can be an example and assist others going through it. Also big credit to Darklord for sharing his insights in this thread, wishing you well mate. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcx666 Posted October 11, 2017 Share Posted October 11, 2017 I can relate to this, with the whole bi polar thing, overdoses, slashed wrists, time in the "care" of locked mental health units etc etc. Unfortunately even today mental health issues are still looked down upon, and no matter how many "world mental health days" we have, I don't honestly think it will change anytime soon. No one dismisses stuff like cancer, but mental health is far too easy for people to ignore. I hope Chris is getting the help and support he needs because it isn't something that ever goes away, no matter how good things appear at times Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheWednesdayFC Posted October 11, 2017 Share Posted October 11, 2017 2 hours ago, darklord said: Good on him for talking about it. I suffer from depression and anxiety. I tried to drown myself in the sea at 15, I've overdosed and had surgery to repair slashed wrists over the years so I know the battle all to well. I'm 40 now and on tablets permanently and its taken years to come to terms with. Each day is hard and some are bloody awful but I don't mind talking about it. Its a bloody lonely place at times and I cannot tell you how it feels to think your next breathe is your last. Dark places, and if talking about it can save just one person then it's worth the odd person thinking your a nutter. I don't know you, so don't take this the wrong way. But keep strong fella, you're worth so much more than you think. WAWAW? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trevdi9 Posted October 11, 2017 Share Posted October 11, 2017 my heart goes out to the fella and to anyone who suffers depression having seen it first hand it is not a very nice place to be at all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hirstys Salopettes Posted October 11, 2017 Share Posted October 11, 2017 I think this thread speaks volumes about real life and the responses reflect the real value of Wednesday support Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
owls maniac Posted October 11, 2017 Share Posted October 11, 2017 He actually had a very good injury record with us and was consistently a very good goalkeeper. Hope he can work work his way through this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edmontonowl Posted October 12, 2017 Share Posted October 12, 2017 3 hours ago, TheEnchanter said: Credit to Chris. I hope he knows that he's had an incredible life and been talented enough to do something that we'd all dream of. And for that he should be proud and give himself more credit that he has achieved some amazing things in the sport. One of the ways of thinking is to give yourself more credit each day for the things that you achieve big or small and build a higher self esteem. Speak to yourself how you would console another person that is down. Yes, good points. CK had reached the very top, something 99.9% of us can only dream of. The only place higher was to get to the top of the top, maybe playing more for England or winning the World Cup. Yet the burden of expectation, whether created in is own mind or by what others said, made his life very difficult. I often wondered about that story of his dad having a long-standing bet on CK playing England and how that - whether real or myth - might have played on his mind Very good article......................the anecdote about Liverpool and Champions League Final, well says a lot about how clubs treat players Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edmontonowl Posted October 12, 2017 Share Posted October 12, 2017 @darklord and @marcx666 All the best, lads 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Coorong Owl Posted October 12, 2017 Share Posted October 12, 2017 I'm not doing so great lately to be honest as in the past few years. From what I can see it's becoming common these days. hats off to Chris Kirkland quality Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themaskedowl Posted October 12, 2017 Share Posted October 12, 2017 Thank you for posting @mrbluesky and if you should ever happen to glance at Owlstalk thank you for sharing Chris Kirkland. It means a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewookieisdown Posted October 12, 2017 Share Posted October 12, 2017 Brave, big man. A salutary note to all of us that we never know others' vulnerabilities. The mentality that causes people to abuse on social media is so harmful. Best wishes to everyone on here who has shared their problems. On a related note people might recall the German keeper Robert Enke who didn't come through it, and eventually took his own life. Robert Reng's biography of Enke, A Life too Short, is a very readable and heartbreaking account of Enke's life. A fine book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
East Yorks Owl Posted October 12, 2017 Share Posted October 12, 2017 My heart goes out to Chris Kirkland and also fellow poster, Darklord. The harsh reality of the prevalence of mental illness is that life can be pretty tough for most of us. I personally feel that society in general is becoming much more understanding and sympathetic about anxiety and depression. The willingness to talk and share experiences will definitely help everyone touched by these issues. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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