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Richard Lee
All in the Mind - Depression in Football
England's top division is probably the most multi-cultural league in the world both in terms of its players and those who cheer them on from the sidelines. Despite the reported incidents of racism in Premier League games this season, the division as a whole reflects the attitude held by most people in the UK - that diversity is something that should be celebrated and everyone should be entitled to be treated the same, irrespective of race, religion, gender or sexuality.
The tragic death of Gary Speed and Dean Windass' recent revelation that he attempted that he attempted suicide following struggles with drink and depression have highlighted the fact that footballers are fragile human beings like the rest of us, writes Andy Greeves.
There have been increased calls following these incidents for more support to be offered to footballers and former footballers who might be suffering with anxiety or depression. Around 50,000 Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) guidebooks on handling depression were sent to players/ex-players in November and psychologists have become commonplace at football clubs in recent years.
There are many who believe the game is not doing enough. Former Sunderland chairman Niall Quinn blasted the PFA recently for their part in supporting players and former players.
"Our union (the PFA) sent a book out to everybody last week.... what's that about?" said Quinn. "I think they should do an awful lot more. They're a very wealthy organisation. They back people like (Carlos) Tevez for doing what he did (at Manchester City) and protect him and say he shouldn't be fined and all the rest, and then send a book out.
"Depression doesn't just kick in in the Premier League, it kicks in in the fourth tier, the third tier, the Championship. And it doesn't manifest itself the day somebody quits. It could be two years, three years, four years after. I think they should do an awful lot more than go on telly saying they sent books out."
The UK's FourFourTwo magazine pointed to the difficulty football can have in dealing with incidents of depression/anxiety in its secret column 'The Player', which is written by an anonymous footballer who has spent 15 years playing in all four divisions, including the Premier League and for his country.
"If a player told his team-mates he was suffering with depression, he'd be labelled an oddball, a loaner, a weirdo," he wrote.
"Depression is seen as a sign of weakness and a player diagnosed with it can kiss goodbye to his first-team place, because the perception is you can't perform on a Saturday if 'your head is not right.' So players stay silent. They can't always rely on the person they choose to talk to."
'The Player' goes on to cite an example of how one of his former teammates told his club doctor in confidence that he was suffering with depression and this in turn the doctor told the manager and the player was told to find a new club within three weeks.
Richard Lee
Brentford and former England U21 goalkeeper Richard Lee has spoken of the difficulties he has had with a mental disorder he suffered with during his career in his new book Graduation. Lee believes more could and should be done in the game to address issues like mental anxiety, which he suffered with, and depression.
"There's room for improvement in how psychological issues in the game are dealt with," said Lee in an exclusive interview with Soccerphile.
"Football is a unique industry in that one week you can be on cloud nine and be the hero, the next you can be the villain. Personally speaking, there were times when the lows in the game were very difficult to deal with and there will be lots of professionals I'm sure who struggle with the psychological highs and lows of playing football. More and more clubs are working with psychologists and NLP coaches, which is great step forward. It's not as widespread as it perhaps needs to be though."
Lee used to suffer with acute mental anxiety prior to playing matches, which at one stage got "quite out of control."
"I'd always think of 'what if' scenarios - 'what if the ball slips through my hands', 'what if I mis-judge a cross and we lose in the last minute' etc", says the 29-year-old stopper. "These kind of thoughts trigger chemical reactions in the body which in turn make you feel uneasy. It was a horrible feeling knowing that 50 days of the year I was unwell essentially, especially doing something I otherwise enjoyed."
The former Watford player was put in a position where quitting the game became a possibility. Thankfully though when faced with this 'fight or flight' situation, Lee chose to fight.
"I knew I had to address the problem and I read hundreds of books and did a course in Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP), all of which helped me realise it is possible to control your thoughts. I've also used mind techniques I've learned to help enhance my performances too."
Lee is thankful to a NLP coach who "set him on the path" to overcoming his anxiety when he was at Watford and also a hypnotist who opened his mind to discovering that thought processes and belief systems can be controlled. Such has been his progress in overcoming the anxiety problems he faced, Lee is now keen to support other people who face similar challenges.
"A lot of things I have learnt over the past ten years or so has been incredible and it's something I want to share with other people," he says. "I'm signing up to all sorts of courses, including seminars in public speaking and also a media degree starting this summer. I'm working towards being in position to explain to people how they can break down beliefs and thought processes in order to make your own road and determine your own success."
Success
Success is a word that personifies Richard Lee's recovery from anxiety issues and also sums up his many careers to date. The goalkeeper was named Player of the Season for Brentford in the 2010-2011 season - the campaign he covers in his Graduation book - which, similar to his anxiety problems, was a triumph over adversity in many respects.
"I joined Brentford from Watford at the start of the 2010/11 season, having been with Watford for over a decade," he explains. "I got dropped after one game and it was a fight throughout the campaign to regain my spot in the side, which I did. The highs during the season were a number of penalty shoot out victories, some of which were in televised games. We got to the final of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy at Wembley and a week before the big game, I suffered a dislocated shoulder which ruled me out. That was a massive low, but thankfully I recovered from what was a very serious injury and was also named Player of the Season."
There has been much success off the field too for this intelligent, forward-thinking and entrepreneurial individual. Lee runs a series of businesses including his own NLP consultancy (www.richardleeNLP.com), a goalkeeper training franchise (www.gkicon.com), is a distributor for the health drink MonaVie (www.richardleeMV.com) and has recently launched a website that links individuals who want to improve in their chosen field with someone who has already succeeded in that field (www.everyoneneedsamentor.com).
Lee gained notoriety in 2006 when he became the first footballer to appear on the BBC show Dragon's Den, in which entrepreneurs seek the backing from a series of well-known investors. More often than not the 'Dragon's' decline the opportunity to invest, but Richard being Richard, he managed to secure £150,000 of investment from Scottish businessman Duncan Bannatyne.
The deal with Bannatyne unfortunately broke down months after the show was filmed but the business - an online hat retailer called 'Dr Cap' - goes from strength to strength.
"Dr Cap (www.drcap.co.uk) enjoyed its best year to date in 2011, so there has still been a happy ending despite the fact we didn't actually get to work with Duncan Bannatyne in the end."
For football fans, or simply those who can relate to the kind of issues his book, Richard Lee's Graduation is a must read.
"It's slightly different from a normal 'diary of a season' as though it does cover the highs and lows of the campaign, it's a mixture of an autobiography and a self-help book in many respects," says Richard. "The book contains many ideas that I have learnt over the years with regards to psychology and I use the platform of the season as a way to discuss them."
Graduation: Life Lessons of a Professional Footballer by Richard Lee - RRP £9.99
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