The importance of mental health cannot be ignored. The latest comes from Indian cricketer KL Rahul, who opened up about the struggles and how he mustered the strength to seek therapy.
"It's not that players do not want to open up. We just don't say it openly on camera," mentioned the cricketer when he was asked if the game had made him cry.
He expressed his opinions on the latest production of Human of Bombay, 'Like an Athlete', which provides a view into the personal lives of sports figures.
"Like every other Indian, we think that looking for help is a sign of weakness. It took me a lot to say that, okay, I will take therapy. It's helped me tremendously. I suggest it to a lot of players in the dressing room, as well. But, there's still a big section of people that still think it's a sign of weakness - things like he's lost the drive to play cricket or he's become soft. I've heard the term soft so many times about me because I am soft spoken, don't give headline interviews, and slip under the radar. It pisses me off the most," he said at the interview.
Rahul candidly talked about the stigma of not feeling okay and how it is considered as a sign of weakness. He mentioned that therapy had helped him improve his mental health in the interview hosted by sports presenter Jatin Sapru.
Previously, the cricketer had voiced his opinion about how social media trolling can take a toll on the mental health of those at the receiving end. He mentioned that no athlete performs poorly on purpose and it is unfortunate that sometimes things do not go as planned. At times like this, such trolling can affect the players, especially at their lower phases when they need support the most.
