Newcastle defender Dan Burn has opened up about his mental health, saying it is “not a weakness but a sign of strength” to ask for help if you are struggling.
Burn, 33, made his Premier League debut with Fulham in 2014 and went through what he described as “a bad patch”.
Speaking to former Newcastle striker Alan Shearer for Mental Health Awareness Week, Burn said when he was younger he found it hard to speak about the issues he faced.
“I think I was embarrassed,” he said.
“At the time I’d been playing Premier League football and I was like: ‘How can I be feeling like this? Premier League football, 21 years old and I’m having these problems.’
“But mental health doesn’t discriminate, it affects everybody. You think you’re the only person going through that, but when you speak about it and open up to people you realise everybody’s got something going on and it affects everyone. I was very lucky I had a good network around me.”
Burn believes improved awareness of mental health these days means more people are feeling they can speak about their struggles, especially within football.
“I think it’s become better as my career’s gone on,” he said.
“I think at the start the mental health thing was quite taboo, it was seen as quite a weak thing, but I think it’s the opposite. When you need help it takes so much effort to [ask for it].
“It’s not a sign of weakness, it’s a strength to say you’re struggling.”
All Premier League matches on 10-11 May were dedicated to Inside Matters – a league campaign to raise awareness of mental health and encourage fans to check in on the wellbeing of others.
[BBC]