Jason McAteer has opened up about suffering with depression and suicidal thoughts after he retired from professional football.
The former Liverpool player joined Ryan to talk about his legendary football career last night and revealed that once he retired from football his life changed dramatically and it severely affected his mental health.
“You go home and there’s nothing there. You’re not going in the next day, your friends aren’t there,” he said.
“First of all when you finish playing it’s at the end of the season so everything’s fine. All the lads are on holiday so you go on holiday… and then you come back and they go back (to work) pre-season and then the season starts and you realise there’s no football club and you haven’t got it anymore.”
The 45-year old said depression took over his life and changed his personality drastically.
“Depression takes a hold of you and you don’t realise that you’re in this world.” he said.
“You think it’s the norm. You’re doing things out of character, that your close friends or family would see. I got to a point where I was a real mess.”
He also recounted one day the disease gripped him so badly that he considered suicide.
“I remember one particular time I was driving through the Mersey tunnel to get Harry, pick him up from school. I just thought I could just end this all now… I could absolutely quit on everything.
“But then Harry’s image came into my head. How would he take it? Or an oncoming car? Who would be in it? Would it be a mother or kids? What was the impact of that? Before I knew it I was at the end of the tunnel.”
Jason went on to say that he’s been working on himself with a therapist ever since and he now feels ‘amazing’.
Watch his inspiring interview here:
