Not just Paul Pogba, here are five athletes who also went through depression
French footballer Paul Pogba opened about his depression which he suffered of late. Not just him, here are five other athletes who too went through the same ordeal in their careers.
French football player Paul Pogba recently revealed that he suffered from depression back in 2018 when he had a fall out with Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho. Pogba in an interview with French newspaper La Figaro said that his tough time started with Jose Mourinho in Manchester when the latter made comments on him.
Reportedly, Mourinho had told Pogba that he would never be able to captain the side again under his management because of his attitude. Two months later, Mourinho was sacked as United Manager after a poor run of the team.
The tale of Pogba, one of the finest athletes going through depression is not the first time. In the past also, several athletes went through depression.
Here are five of them
DWAYNE JOHNSON
Hollywood’s most bankable superstar Dwayne Johnson also known as The Rock once went through a severe depression in his life. The wrestler-turned-actor had a tough childhood as his family struggled with finances. At one instance, the family had just returned only to find a padlock on the door with an eviction notice.
The Hollywood actor in an interview with The Daily Express said, “ Struggle and pain is real. I was devastated and depressed,”. I reached a point where I didn’t want to do a thing or go anywhere. I was crying constantly,” Dwayne said. He said that at 15, he saw his mother attempting suicide.
In a YouTube video, he talked about his phase when it was dark for him. To help people who face this ordeal, he said, “Always remember, you are not the first to go through it. You are not the last to go through it. Have faith and on the other side, there will always be something special".
VIRAT KOHLI
Indian cricketing legend Virat Kohli too battled depression back in 2014 during the England tour. The cricketer in a podcast Not Just Cricket with former England player Mark Nicholas said that he did suffer from depression back then because of his poor cricketing form.
Kohli’s time with the bat just was not going well and he had averaged just 13.40 in 10 innings. He said,” You just don’t understand how to get over it. That was a phase when I literally couldn’t do anything to overturn things. I felt like I was the loneliest guy in the world”.
Speaking on mental health issues, Kohli said it cannot be overlooked as it can destroy a person’s career.
RONDA ROUSEY
Ronda Rousey, the famous wrestling athlete too suffered from depression at a point in her life. One of the best MMA fighters in the ring, Ronda suffered from depression after she lost a fight against Holly Holm.
It was her 13th fight and it just proved unlucky for her. Holm convincingly triumphed over Ronda to become the new Women’s Bantamweight champion. Ronda opened up about her depression post that incident.
She had said the burden of defeat was so heavy on her that at a point, she even contemplated suicide. She acknowledged her boyfriend’s role who became her support system in those times. He had helped Ronda overcome her tough moment in life.
SANIA MIRZA
The ace Indian woman tennis sensation who recently retired had also been through depression once in her life. It was a wrist injury that kept her out of the Beijing Olympics 2008 because of which she suffered from deep depression.
Speaking at a Youtube show Mind Matters, Mirza said that she went into depression for 3-4 months after that. She said,” I would be absolutely fine and then I would burst into tears. I remember not coming out of the room for days for even a meal,” Mirza said.
SERENA WILLIAMS
Tennis superstar Serena Williams too had her struggle with depression. The former world no.1 suffered from depression after her child’s birth. She shared her ordeal on Instagram on the mental agony she had been through. She also spoke on it her documentary.
She had also praised all the mothers calling them “true heroes”.