IPL 2020 Auction, Robin Uthappa
Robin Uthappa. Credit: BCCI

Robin Uthappa has opened up about his battles with mental health during the course of his career, adding that men find it really hard to accept that they have mental health issues.

Uthappa, who made his debut for India in early 2006, suffered from depression between 2009-2011, where constant thoughts in his mind would be to jump off his balcony, but something would always hold him back.

“In my experience, men find it very hard to accept that they experience mental issues. They find very hard to accept that there is an issue. They find it really hard to be vulnerable,” Robin Uthappa said in a video shared by Rajasthan Royals.

”It take real man to expose that side and accept you have an issue. Once you accept there is an issue, you mind and body automatically start looking for solutions. And we find that in due course of time. In my experience, everything that I have gone through in my life and my career, I understood that the minute I accept that and start asking myself question, I began to find solutions,” he added

”Cricket kept my mind away from being suicidal. But the off-season (June-September) were really hard for me. And, I’d be sitting in my room, in front of my balcony and I would be thinking, I would run over the balcony. But something held me back,” he said.

 

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‘I picked up a book and started writing things about myself’- Robin Uthappa

Robin Uthappa
Robin Uthappa (Credits: BCCI)

It is at this point that Uthappa decided to jot down his feelings in a book and it was during this time that he started to realize the changes that he wanted to make in his life.

Robin Uthappa then decided to seek outside help, post which he met a female counsellor, and it proved to be the masterstroke.

” For some reason, I picked up a book and started writing things about myself. I said let me understand who I am as a person. Why i am wanting to end my life. I was being utterly honest about who I was. And, then I started to realize the changes that I wanted to make in my life” Uthappa revealed.

“I started seeking help so I could help myself to make changes that I want in my life. That was one of the best decisions I made. I thought I wanted to speak to some completely unrelated. And, i found a lady counsellor, who completely changed my life. She didn’t say anything but just nudged me in the right direction” Robin Uthappa added.

Uthappa also added that a person cannot be feeling positive all the time and that there should be a balance in life. He also urged his fellow man, who might be suffering from the same issue, to open up about their problems with someone that they trust in order to get rid of those feelings.

“I feel sometimes being negative is necessary. I’m someone who believes in the balance of life and I believe one cannot at all times be positive in life. Being negative or having negative experiences, going through trials and tribulations is sometimes necessary for one’s own growth,” Robin Uthappa signed off.

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