Young Richmond forward Reece McKenzie has taken to the BigFooty forum to thank fans for their support as he works to overcome mental health issues.
The second year player announced earlier this month that he would be taking indefinite leave from football.
McKenzie posted the following in the Richmond board on Monday night:
“People will probably judge me for posting on here because ‘I’m a footballer and your not supposed to do that’ but this is really the only place i know of where i can say thank you to everyone who has written such lovely words of support to me in recent times, i would do it on twitter but it has a character limit and i feel like doing it this way is more personal as it is the least i can do for all supporting messages i have read.
The last two years for me have been really difficult, i don’t want to go into specifics because i don’t want to release really sensitive information but just know that it has affected me to the point where i have suffered spouts of depression for weeks at a time here and there, i don’t drink or do drugs thankfully so i am grounded in myself to see and recognize the issues i have and the effect they have on me.
It’s only just recently as well that i realized i suffer some heavy anxiety (amazing to think but sometimes it is hard to put on finger on things especially in the grand scheme of mental health).
It started off as little things like afraid to talk to certain coaches or trainers, feeling anxious around certain players, trying to avoid people in general and then it progressed into way more serious things like panic attacks, unable to leave my bedroom for multiple days and not even being able to respond to all the messages and calls on my phone that i received during that time as that is also another thing that i struggle with. I’m going to try and not saying anything here that will get me into trouble because i know that this will be seen by people at Richmond and i am still a contracted player at Richmond so i will respect that.
I love footy i really do, i love watching, listening, playing and just knowing that we have a sport that is so special and so unique that it requires such a particular combination of physical and skill attributes that does not even remotely come close to any other sport (except Galic footy and rugby a little bit) i wanna be successful and i wanna be the best, that has always been my dream but dreams are just that they are dreams they are not reality, in your dreams you do not plan for depression or anxiety or any of the crap that knocks you down or holds you back but reality is s**t happens and that sucks but Rome wasn’t built in a day (sorry for the clique) nor did any successful athlete not suffer a serious setback at one stage in his career and consider just throwing in the towel because it was too hard.
Will I be playing football this year? I don’t know, but I do know that no matter how hard it gets or how low or how anxious i get, i will not give up until i can be the best footballer i possibly can be, because there is nothing else more in the world that i want more.
Thank you Richmond Supporters, i know you may not think it and i must admit i lol’d when reading a message that started with ‘Reece if you are reading this’ but i do see your messages and i do cherish them, you are some of the most passionate supporters i have seen in any sport and for some of you to even know who i am still humbles me especially when they remember my number which is amazing because i barracked for Carlton since i was born and i only knew 30 at most players (and i was a die hard (i am sorry but i do love Richmond as well <3) If you do see me around (even though i will look pretty anxious) don’t be afraid to give me a hug as you’ll find majority of the time i will probably be more nervous then you. I’m happy to talk more with you guys if you’d like even if there is a stigma associated with sporting forums because i am a human at the end of the day and i love football just as much as you guys do.”
Click here to view the original post and wish Reece well.
Image: Richmond FC
