“I didn’t feel like training, but I didn’t feel like going out to dinner with my partner either”

BarcelonaSensitive themes for committed players. The ACB has taken advantage of one of its own Let’s talk to give voice to players like Àlex Abrines (Barça) or Kyle Guy (Youth) to emphasize the importance of mental health. “Seeing statements about athletes who have spoken about mental health is shocking. Talking about it has not yet become completely normal. I had a bad time, but I was tested and everything came out negative. I didn’t know what was happening to me because no one had told me explained the symptoms. I didn’t feel like training, but I didn’t feel like going out to dinner with my partner either. These are the little signs you keep seeing,” says Abrines, the Barça winger.

The Mallorcan had a bad time when he was playing for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Most of his locker roommates ignored the situation. “I don’t blame them. If you don’t go through something like that, you don’t realize it. I would think the same thing: “If this guy is making millions, how can this happen to him?” In the end money is not the most important thing and you don’t realize it until it happens to you. Money don’t give a shit. You have to surround yourself with people who love you, and that’s the most important thing”, he argues. One of the few who took an interest in Abrines during his layoff was Russell Westbrook.

“The more information you have on the subject, the sooner you can detect it and avoid a greater evil. “What will they think of me?”, I asked myself. We are privileged and we are in a position where everything seems beautiful. If more people come out to explain it and it becomes normalized, more people will notice and it will no longer look bad,” recalls Abrines.

“Athletes are normal people who are subjected to pressure outside of what is normal. Medication helps, but you have to seek the support of professionals and people close to you, such as family, to try to move forward. It’s a different kind of pain. Physical pain is more easily seen and felt from the outside. Mental pain is not seen as much. It is not treated in the same way as if you break a knee, and it should be done, because what is in charge is the head”, he summarizes.

“I had panic attacks”

Another of the players who has spoken naturally about the mental health of athletes is Kyle Guy, escort of Joventut. “I spoke up when I was in high school about some issues I was having. I’ve had anxiety issues my whole life, but I really put a name to it when I was in high school. I started having panic attacks panic during training. I didn’t know what it was. At first I didn’t tell my family. It took me a long time, because I’m the eldest of six brothers and I didn’t want them to see me as someone weak. Then I started talking about it with people and I opened up. I was writing letters to myself and to other people. That was a big step for me, opening up was the best thing I did,” says Guy.

“Everyone goes through moments like this. Some suffer more than others, but maybe someone has felt the same thing as you before and talking about it helps. You need to know that you are not alone. Famous people have a platform. When someone someone you admire is honored and acknowledges that they needed help, the message really comes through and makes a difference,” says the American shooter, who has a foundation to help people with mental illness. “Some members of my family committed suicide, it’s something we’ve experienced at home, and what I try to do is always help as much as I can”, he continues.

Guy’s foundation was born with the idea of ​​preventing people from going through episodes that the Penya player himself experienced when he was younger. “I was always clear that I wanted to do it. When I was younger I looked at stars, basketball players, football players. Most of them have foundations and I have never wanted to forget where I come from, I have always wanted to take care of the community where I live, and help them as much as I can”, he admits.

“It’s a problem that affects a higher percentage of athletes than people think. I went through a very bad time and needed psychological help. I stopped enjoying basketball and it was the first time it happened to me. I had a problem in my personal life and I needed to turn to a trusted psychologist. At first I thought I could solve it alone, but I couldn’t”, explains Darío Brizuela, Unicaja escort. “Mental health is very important. When you get to a difficult time, you need to seek professional help”, recalls Emir Sulejmanovic, a Surne Bilbao Basket player who trained in Barça’s academy.