The 26-year-old Montreal Canadiens Forward Has Shown That It Is Okay to Not be Okay and to Seek Help After Revealing His Struggle With Anxiety.
Note: this article was originally published on June 7, 2022 and I haven’t changed anything such as player’s ages or teams from when it was originally published.
Imagine being 26 years old, at the prime of your career, it should be the best time of your life but you don’t feel good and can’t sleep and are ultimately forced to walk away from the sport you love to get help.
That is what happened to Montreal Canadiens forward Jonathan Drouin last season when he had to step away from the team to care for his mental health.
He had been dealing with anxiety, a condition that affects over 275 million people worldwide, including myself.
He had dealt with it for several years, but last April it finally got bad enough that he realized he needed to get help.
In Mid-April, the Canadiens embarked on a three-game road trip to Western Canada, he played in the Canadiens’ two games against the Edmonton Oilers and took pregame warm-ups on April 23rd prior to their game against the Calgary Flames but left the ice before the game started due to what the team called a “non-covid related illness.”
But what nobody knew at the time was that his anxiety had led to insomnia and he hadn’t slept for three nights prior to that game and was caught on camera looking pale before suddenly bolting to the dressing room.
His anxiety had just gotten so bad that his body couldn’t handle it anymore and he needed to be away from all the pressure that comes with playing for the legendary Montreal Canadiens franchise and the added pressure of being from Quebec representing his hometown team.
He would go on to miss the Canadiens’ next three games, and in turn, the remainder of the season while he was getting the help he needed.
Like most people with anxiety, he was hesitant to seek help when it first started because he didn’t realize what the symptoms he was feeling actually meant.
He told French Canadian Television Network RDS that;
“When I first started feeling anxiety, it was difficult to go see someone or ask for help. I wasn’t able to recognize my problems or what was going on.”
Also, there’s a stigma behind mental health issues such as anxiety, as people who don’t have it sometimes don’t realize what people with anxiety go through on a daily basis such as having sweaty palms even when it’s twenty degrees outside, a racing heart, feeling like you can’t breathe, your stomach is in knots or you feel nauseous and if the trigger is bad enough, feeling shaky or like your legs are numb or made of jello.
And for athletes like Jonathan, it can be even harder to admit that you need help for something like anxiety as they are seen as invincible or even sometimes thought of as “Robots” with no emotions or feelings instead of as human beings.
So after realizing he needed to get help he stepped away from the game and spent the offseason improving his health both mentally and physically and has come back ready to go for this upcoming season.
Upon reporting to training camp Jonathan instantly received support from all of his teammates, especially Josh Anderson who lived with Jonathan after being traded to the Canadiens by the Columbus Blue Jackets last season and was there for him during the hardest time of his life.
Jonathan says now when he feels little moments of anxiety he understands what they are and how to handle it instead of letting it control him.
So as Jonathan has shown, it is totally okay to talk to someone about what you are feeling and to get professional help if needed.
Additional Information About Anxiety:
Anxiety is defined as: a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome. Or as a: nervous disorder characterized by a state of excessive uneasiness and apprehension, typically with compulsive behavior or panic attacks.
Some of the common signs and symptoms of anxiety are:
Feeling nervous, restless or tense.
Having a sense of impending danger, panic or doom.
Having an increased heart rate.
Breathing rapidly. (hyperventilation)
Sweating.
Trembling.
Feeling weak or tired.
Trouble concentrating or thinking about anything other than the present worry.
Having trouble sleeping.
Experiencing gastrointestinal (GI) problems.
Having difficulty controlling worry.
Having the urge to avoid things that trigger anxiety.
While there are things such as medication and therapy that can make a big difference, there are also things you can do for yourself to help ease your anxiety such as:
Listening to music.
Doing a favorite hobby.
Spending time with family and friends.
Talking to a trusted friend.
Having a night out, such as at a concert or festival.
Writing out your feelings in a journal or even just the notes app on your phone.
There are also a couple of dietary supplements that you can take to help with your anxiety; Ashwagandha and L-Theanine. I take them myself and I can say that they do help.
In closing, I would like to say that You Are Not Alone and it is okay to seek help if needed.
#Itsokaytonotbeokay
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