ENG vs SA: Ben Stokes Reveals His Mental Battle On Dealing With His Father's Death
Published - 23 Aug 2022, 02:16 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:12 AM
England Test captain Ben Stokes has once again spoken on the debatable topic of mental health. The England Test skipper shared his struggles from recovering from his father’s death which led him to take a break from the game. Stokes lost his father two years ago to brain cancer.
He then took a break from the game to come back stronger. Despite his strong comeback, Stokes has not fully recovered from his father’s demise and said that he was on anxiety drugs to get over his father’s death.
“I never thought I would be on medication to help me for that kind of stuff. I am not embarrassed or ashamed to say it because I needed the help at the time,” Stokes said in an Amazon documentary, which will be released on Friday.
“But it’s not done just because I’m back playing. I still speak to the doc, but not as regularly, and I’m still taking medication every day. It’s an ongoing process” he further added.
Stokes in a previous interview with the Telegraph spoke about a phase when he had a feeling of resentment towards the game. He criticised the tough scheduling by the ICC which forced players to stay away from their families for a major length of time throughout the year. As it finally turned out, not being able to cope with the pressure of playing three formats, Ben Stokes announced his retirement from ODI cricket ageing just 31.
“So I had a real thing with cricket at the time I took a break. I was really angry at the sport because it was dictating when I could see my dad,” he told the Telegraph in an interview.
Stokes touched upon the topic of mental health and said that people are still not ready to come out and speak about it in public.
People Are Nervous Talking About Mental Health: Ben Stokes
“I find sometimes people are a bit nervous to go into details about that kind of stuff with me. It’s perceived you can’t feel a certain way – that’s a sign of weakness to show that you are not mentally feeling great,” he said.
England are currently playing a Test series against South Africa and succumbed to an innings defeat in the first Test at Lord’s. The second Test begins in Manchester on August 25.
