Bulldog Tom Boyd talks about his anxiety, depression to support young men’s mental health

[Axe Man]

Bulldog Tom Boyd talks about his anxiety, depression to support young men’s mental health (https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/bulldog-tom-boyd-talks-about-his-anxiety-depression-to-support-young-mens-mental-health/news-story/cd8d8460dfd90169a9ee799a705f490f)
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BULLDOGS star Tom Boyd has opened up about his panic attacks, anxiety and depression around the time of the team’s historic 2016 premiership win.

While Boyd’s playing career was flying, he said his mental health was suffering.

“We had an amazing year. We managed to win the flag which was an incredible experience,” he said.

“But from my point of view I think it papered over a lot of the cracks that were starting to appear in my mental health.

“The real moment my mind started to turn was when I began having panic attacks while driving — that physiological effect of your heart racing, you’re sweating and you can’t concentrate, feeling dizzy.

“It’s hard for some people to understand. It’s not tangible; it’s not something you can see.”

Boyd will front the launch of ‘headcoach’ a national campaign giving young men tips on how to look after their mental, as well as physical, fitness.

At age 21, Boyd took time out of football to receive clinical treatment for anxiety and depression.

“My mental health has hindered me more than any physical injury I’ve sustained in my life and I’ve had multiple surgeries,” he said.

“I really had no idea of some of the techniques you can use not only to help with mental health issues but also to prevent them.”

Headspace CEO, Jason Trethowan, said it was hoped headcoach helps reduce the incidence of depression and anxiety among young men, one in seven of whom will experience it each year.

“Young men are three times more likely to die by suicide (than other people), it is the leading cause of death of males aged between 15 and 44 …(but) less than one in five seek help for mental health issues.”

The National Youth Mental Health Foundation, headspace, has partnered with elite athletes to create education for young men on how to care for their minds.

Boyd advises young men to do things they enjoy to help protect their mental health.

“Some of the things that can be helpful for me during challenging times can be as simple as monitoring my breathing and getting ahead of moments of stress and anxiety,” he said.

“Now I can say to myself I’m not feeling great, let’s go and do something enjoyable, let’s take the dog for a walk or get the camera out or go surfing.”

Headcoach will be launched at the MCG tomorrow.

www.headspace.org.au/headcoach

[AndrewP6]

What a champ. Hopefully some of the clowns that seemingly have taken some twisted joy in his on field struggle will read this and feel ashamed. Good on ya Boydy, takes enormous strength to say this.

[ledge]

What a champ. Hopefully some of the clowns that seemingly have taken some twisted joy in his on field struggle will read this and feel ashamed. Good on ya Boydy, takes enormous strength to say this.

I will be waiting for his unconditional apology in an article to Tom and the public for his behaviour in the press over the last 5 years.

[Throughandthrough]

That’s a brilliant article. I’ve had similar shit in my life the last few years and opening up and chatting to mates and colleagues worked for me. Hope the big fella is going ok and has more good days and less bad days as time goes on

[bornadog]

That’s a brilliant article. I’ve had similar shit in my life the last few years and opening up and chatting to mates and colleagues worked for me. Hope the big fella is going ok and has more good days and less bad days as time goes on

Don't be shy to get professional help if you need to. Hope you are ok.

[Throughandthrough]

Don't be shy to get professional help if you need to. Hope you are ok.

Cheers Bad. My employer has a support programme that I took full advantage of. The first person was hopeless but the second was wonderful. A similar article by Ben Kennedy 12 months ago inspired me to get help , best thing I ever did

[westdog54]

There's so much I want to say about this, and I don't know how to put it altogether. I like to think of myself as being articulate, but this time around, I've got nothing, except to say too many friends and colleagues have been bitten, and its fantastic that a courageous young man like Tom is going to front this initiative.

[Daughter of the West]

I'm in total awe of the fact that Tom is only 22 (something I think that keeps being forgotten - especially by a***hole "journalists").

He is just a kid. A kid.

And it's HUGE that a kid can come out and be so thoughtful and mature about an issue that older people have swept under the carpet for so long. Well done to him for fronting this, it's wonderful.

[bulldogtragic]

For some perspective, I was having many work related surgeries with the bonus of PTSD, depression and anxiety with no sleep too, and I couldn't/was unable to even post on this form for about 2.5 years back many years ago. Life can be unbearable, even moreso when you come back and BAD and GVGjr skip thousands of posts ahead and I'll never catch them up now :D.

So while I, and many like me (be it police, emergency services, armed services or civilians generally) couldn't function for a period, Tom is playing elite sport. Elite sport! I don't know how he is doing it, especially in the face of public hate and innuendo, but I can tell you this; Tom is one tough mother*!*!*!*!er! To train and play through this injury (what he describes is a serious injury) is courageous and a great example to all people to facing the same problem to seek help and to remind them to keep fighting through it to continue to do what you love. That courage is amplified by talking about it publicly, to risk the public hater's hate, but taking that risk on to help others. The definition of real leadership. And when said haters spew hate, we should all be reminded of what Tom has done through this as this is a window to his true character: Courageous, a fighter, of honesty & leadership and desiring to help others. A very good human and a true bulldog.

[bulldogsthru&thru]

This forum is further proof of the importance of what Tom is doing. There are SO many people out there suffering silently and what Tom is doing is going to help a lot of people not only speak openly about it but identify it. It can hit in very subtle ways. Funnily enough i pretty much had my rock bottom time around our premiership too. It was pretty strange feeling on top of the world yet at the same time feeling empty. Papering over the cracks is a good term for it.

[Mofra]

Cheers Bad. My employer has a support programme that I took full advantage of. The first person was hopeless but the second was wonderful.
Good to hear.
I have also taken advantage of an Employee program, the first person was so bad I didn't seek help for almost 2 years but the second person was excellent.

[bornadog]

Guys, I really wish you well in your recovery, it is important for your own health to seek help if you need it.

https://headspace.org.au/ This is the organisation Tom is part of.

[Axe Man]

For some perspective, I was having many work related surgeries with the bonus of PTSD, depression and anxiety with no sleep too, and I couldn't/was unable to even post on this form for about 2.5 years back many years ago. Life can be unbearable, even moreso when you come back and BAD and GVGjr skip thousands of posts ahead and I'll never catch them up now :D.

So while I, and many like me (be it police, emergency services, armed services or civilians generally) couldn't function for a period, Tom is playing elite sport. Elite sport! I don't know how he is doing it, especially in the face of public hate and innuendo, but I can tell you this; Tom is one tough mother*!*!*!*!er! To train and play through this injury (what he describes is a serious injury) is courageous and a great example to all people to facing the same problem to seek help and to remind them to keep fighting through it to continue to do what you love. That courage is amplified by talking about it publicly, to risk the public hater's hate, but taking that risk on to help others. The definition of real leadership. And when said haters spew hate, we should all be reminded of what Tom has done through this as this is a window to his true character: Courageous, a fighter, of honesty & leadership and desiring to help others. A very good human and a true bulldog.

I know a former policeman with PTSD, he has had some terrible struggles in recent times. I really feel for all those who suffer from these sort of issues.

[Murphy'sLore]

My husband is going through this at the moment. It's so hard for us all, and the hardest part is the feeling of shame that some men seem to feel when they become vulnerable. It's so ridiculous yet so powerful, and every time a public figure like Tom speaks about it, that shame disperses a little bit.

We have been here before and come out of it, so I'm hopeful that it won't last forever. But jeez, it's a hard road while it lasts. Nothing but admiration for Tom and for everyone here who has experienced the darkness and fought their way through to the other side.

[Insufficient Intent]

Tom was a hero in our Premiership Granny and he's equally heroic for this personal revelation: Doughty on both occasions.
This is a great effort to raise the public awareness of an all too frequent issue so often hidden.
Best wishes to both Tom and anyone else afflicted with such a debilitating condition for a full and speedy recovery, may the dark clouds roll away and stay away forever.

[bulldogtragic]

I know a former policeman with PTSD, he has had some terrible struggles in recent times. I really feel for all those who suffer from these sort of issues.

It’s not fun, but hopefully as a Victorian society in particular, owing to VicPol members having the highest police suicide rate, more and more will get done to improve the rank & file mental health and significantly reduce the personal impact and suicide rate. The more people like Tom can raise mental health, and the sooner we can all feel free to discuss it nonchalantly as an injury, like we do an physical injury, and not a self imposed ‘dirty secret’ the better we will all be. Most of us will be touched to some degree, so talking and promoting better mental health is a great step in the right direction by Tom and co.

[Topdog]

It’s not fun, but hopefully as a Victorian society in particular, owing to VicPol members having the highest police suicide rate, more and more will get done to improve the rank & file mental health and significantly reduce the personal impact and suicide rate. The more people like Tom can raise mental health, and the sooner we can all feel free to discuss it nonchalantly as an injury, like we do an physical injury, and not a self imposed ‘dirty secret’ the better we will all be. Most of us will be touched to some degree, so talking and promoting better mental health is a great step in the right direction by Tom and co.

Last year I participated in the mens health program that the Bulldogs run every year. Best talk for that program for me was by an ex cop on this very topic. Was a real eye opener.

[bulldogtragic]

Last year I participated in the mens health program that the Bulldogs run every year. Best talk for that program for me was by an ex cop on this very topic. Was a real eye opener.

What were main points you can recall from them?

[BornInDroopSt'54]

Have plummeted some depths myself when nothing could raise me above the Black Dog. Golf, family, footy, garden, nothing could give me joy. You learn to treat it like an illness, knowing that whilst you have it you'll fell terrible but that it does go, and then you feel great.
Boydy you are doubly a hero for speaking up and starting the discourse in such a manly field.

[westdog54]

It’s not fun, but hopefully as a Victorian society in particular, owing to VicPol members having the highest police suicide rate, more and more will get done to improve the rank & file mental health and significantly reduce the personal impact and suicide rate. The more people like Tom can raise mental health, and the sooner we can all feel free to discuss it nonchalantly as an injury, like we do an physical injury, and not a self imposed ‘dirty secret’ the better we will all be. Most of us will be touched to some degree, so talking and promoting better mental health is a great step in the right direction by Tom and co.

It is definitely too late for some but those in high places are finally talking sensibly and strongly about it and progress is being made. There is a long way to go, but there are more now whose hearts and heads are in the right place.

[bulldogtragic]

It is definitely too late for some but those in high places are finally talking sensibly and strongly about it and progress is being made. There is a long way to go, but there are more now whose hearts and heads are in the right place.

I suppose that's better but I won't side track the thread, but 10 years ago do we think guys like Tom, Trav Cloke or Buddy Franklin would be openly talking about mental illness struggles? The answer is no because this isn't a new phenomenon. I wonder just how many former players struggled in silence, and in an industry where excessive drinking was the norm, just hit the bottle to try to get through it. All these guys coming forward are consigning that to history and hopefully ushering in a new era where these young men can talk about it. And hopefully all men and women can realise depression or anxiety is not related to your class, means, income or strength. It doesn't discriminate. But seeking help can bridge the problem to the point you perform the functions of your life, in these guys case, being professional athletes. Everyone whose posted their short story in this thread is a testament to that. So thanks for sharing.

[westdog54]

I suppose that's better but I won't side track the thread, but 10 years ago do we think guys like Tom, Trav Cloke or Buddy Franklin would be openly talking about mental illness struggles? The answer is no because this isn't a new phenomenon. I wonder just how many former players struggled in silence, and in an industry where excessive drinking was the norm, just hit the bottle to try to get through it. All these guys coming forward are consigning that to history and hopefully ushering in a new era where these young men can talk about it. And hopefully all men and women can realise depression or anxiety is related to your class, means, income or strength. It doesn't discriminate. But seeking help can bridge the problem to the point you perform the functions of your life, in these guys case, being professional athletes. Everyone whose posted their short story in this thread is a testament to that. So thanks for sharing.

Wayne Schwass had to wait until he'd been retired a decade before talking about it. And remember how badly Nathan Thompson was stigmatized when he went public?

[bulldogtragic]

Great points on both, particularly Thompson. I guess the media has come a long way too, with the exception of a couple...

[Topdog]

What were main points you can recall from them?

He spoke about his personal experience and how hard it was as a cop to return to work after spending some time visiting a psychologist and his first attempted suicide and how debilitating the disease was. The eye opener for me as someone who has fortunately been completely removed from it was just how frequently it happens, how it could happen to people in any situation and I suppose how quickly it could escalate.

His coping mechanisms kind of aligned to what Tom spoke about and is really something that can be taken for granted.

I haven't really done it justice here unfortunately but it was fantastic.

[Twodogs]

He spoke about his personal experience and how hard it was as a cop to return to work after spending some time visiting a psychologist and his first attempted suicide and how debilitating the disease was. The eye opener for me as someone who has fortunately been completely removed from it was just how frequently it happens, how it could happen to people in any situation and I suppose how quickly it could escalate.

His coping mechanisms kind of aligned to what Tom spoke about and is really something that can be taken for granted.

I haven't really done it justice here unfortunately but it was fantastic.

It's hard to describe how it feels, but when you have to go somewhere every step feels like you are dragging your feet through wet concrete, you feel bleaghhh! all the time, if you can spend more than a few hours out of your bed it's a *!*!*!*!ing miracle and eventually you start to feel like you'd be better off dead because this feeling is never going to go away. You feel like you let people down and they don't really want to have anything to do with you (sure they say they do but you and your brain know better) In fact that's the worst of it, the knowledge that your brain has gone rogue on you. And your brain is a lot smarter than you are, it will outsmart you every time.