Mental Health - An Apology

[ScienceBoy]

For me golf actually saved me, I was in a bad place after a nasty virus stopped me playing rugby. I was left with some nasty post viral stuff and also had some breathing issues.

As part of my recovery I switched to golf as a some exercise.

I went to a very low point before as sport, exercise was very important to me and a huge part of my life. Not being able to do it put me in a bad place.

Taking up golf changed my mental status hugely, it was both a great distraction and good exercise!

 

[tugglesf239]

Whilst I don’t know you from Adam. I know the crack with this stuff having suffered with extreme depression after leaving the armed forces in 2010

On a side not but related. I’m currently 12 months into what’s become a hideous nasty divorce (for reasons I can’t figure out apart from spite heading in my direction...) and my dad is currently suffering in the very last stages from the worst facial cancer imaginable.

12 months ago I felt that walking a golf course would be a fantastic way of clearing the head. It does work but also on a bad head day, it’s a bloody long walk between shots and it can be a very lonely place to be if I am low and if I’m not playing well etc.

I empathise.

 

[Robster59]

It's a big thing to come out and make the statement you did and praise to you for that. The hardest thing is to stand back and evaluate yourself and realise how life has affected you. Well done.

 

[chellie]

Nice to hear from you Mark. Don't forget to get in touch if you are up this way x

 

[Hobbit]

Life can load you up at times, and you dealt with it the best way you could. Its sorted. In the main, its behind you. You now have time to focus on what you want to do for fun. Grab it and enjoy it.

All the best.

 

[Dando]

Mark, as others have said - there's no need to apologise and you're certainly not alone with your struggles

I have had some great PM's from fellow forumers (some of who I have never met) who offered help when I said about my depression.

hope to see you on the course soon

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

I have had the week from hell but life goes on.

 

[OnTour]

great stuff and hope you get back to your old self. I've also been more open in the last 12 months + nothign major other than completely knocking off P1ss juice. my mind has been 100% more clear and I'm open to talk about how I feel more and more.

Go well, be happy and be kind

 

[Canary_Yellow]

Thank you for sharing.

Great to read about how although things must have felt incredibly tough at certain points, you’ve come out of the other side with light at the end of the tunnel.

Sharing things like this is brilliant because it can give hope to other people that are dealing with similarly tough situations.

Us blokes can be terrible at talking, this forum perhaps gives an easier way of doing that than face to face chats.

Thanks again for sharing.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Thank you for sharing.

Great to read about how although things must have felt incredibly tough at certain points, you’ve come out of the other side with light at the end of the tunnel.

Sharing things like this is brilliant because it can give hope to other people that are dealing with similarly tough situations.

Us blokes can be terrible at talking, this forum perhaps gives an easier way of doing that than face to face chats.

Thanks again for sharing.

Always good to talk and at times this place is fantastic and no-one pre-judges. Long may it remain so. The thread reinforces how much men in general can be so crap at talking and expressing exactly how they feel rather than sugar coating it

 

[GG26]

Good to hear from you Mark and wishing you all the best. Look forward to catching up at a meet soon.

 

[Radbourne2010]

Whilst I don’t know you from Adam. I know the crack with this stuff having suffered with extreme depression after leaving the armed forces in 2010

On a side not but related. I’m currently 12 months into what’s become a hideous nasty divorce (for reasons I can’t figure out apart from spite heading in my direction...) and my dad is currently suffering in the very last stages from the worst facial cancer imaginable.

12 months ago I felt that walking a golf course would be a fantastic way of clearing the head. It does work but also on a bad head day, it’s a bloody long walk between shots and it can be a very lonely place to be if I am low and if I’m not playing well etc.

I empathise.

I'm sorry to hear about your dad. Sounds awful. I found both cricket & golf too much to bear during these dark times, simply because one has too long to think in between actually playing the game. I took up faster sports like tennis & squash (and the gym) just to clear my head a little.

As you can see from my Post, there is a way out & you will learn to cope with whatever scenarios come your way after all of the trauma is behind you. Try not to forget, you only get one go at life. Make it count!

Best of luck with everything. See you on the other side with a set of clubs in our hands.
Cheers!

Mark

 

[Radbourne2010]

Mark, as others have said - there's no need to apologise and you're certainly not alone with your struggles

I have had some great PM's from fellow forumers (some of who I have never met) who offered help when I said about my depression.

hope to see you on the course soon

Ditto that. Look forward to catching up with you again very soon. Take care.

 

[Radbourne2010]

Nice to hear from you Mark. Don't forget to get in touch if you are up this way x

Thanks Chellie. Never forget the Scottish trip. Being presented with a ball from Austria on the 1st tee at Murcar after the snow had melted. Surreal!

Hope to see you again very soon. Remember, you guys are always welcome to visit us at Gog Magog GC if you're anywhere near Cambridge.
Best wishes,

Mark

 

[The Gentleman]

We've all heard in the past couple of years European & PGA Tour stars 'coming out' as suffering from Mental Health issues of various descriptions. I thought now was the time to come clean on my state of mind over the past 18 months, mainly in regard to golf for this Forum, but of course it infiltrates all walks of life, from work to home & everywhere in between.

Those that know me on the Forum over the past 9-10 years would hopefully know me a serious golfer on the Links & a decent bloke off the course. I like a beer, a good laugh, building friendships with like-minded people & also those who don't necessarily share my views on life, the Universe, etc.

Most of you are friends who I've met through this prism, and I treasure those friendships dearly & the game we all enjoy (& occasionally curse).

With this in mind, I wanted to apologize for my demeanor over the past year or so. I fell out of love for this glorious game of ours at the beginning of 2019, which coincided with a divorce, death of my father & having to sell the family home. Golf became a distraction, rather than something to look forward to on a Saturday or whenever I got out to play. In retrospect this impacted on the mates, opponents & strangers I played with last year. For that alone I apologize to anyone affected by my actions/behaviour/attitude on & off the course.

A button was flicked on over the New Year whilst in South Africa. Playing golf with Barmy Army mates with nothing riding on the result, other than views of Table Mountain & the beers afterwards. I rejoined my club in spring after a lot of social golf in Feb/March. My love of the game & indeed life has been rekindled. Covid-19 didn't extinguish that passion for the game & life itself, instead it helped to re-emphasis what I had missed last year.

Notwithstanding the long winded message above, I wanted to get this message out to the people I choose to call friends, mates (& sometimes other names) on this Forum.

I look forward meeting up with you all at a venue somewhere soon & having a chat and a beer after a round of golf (regardless how well we play or the result).

Take care all. See you very soon.
Cheers!

Mark[/QUOTE
Well done for being brave enough to post this. Not many are and this might give them the nudge they need to open up which can only be a good thing.

 

[backwoodsman]

A scary number of people are afflicted by mental health issues of one form or another, and of those, the proportion of men who don't or can't accept that it's them is even scarier. Glad to hear that you realised what the issue was & that you have worked your way to the other side of it. Can't have been easy, but grand news !

 

[Liverbirdie]

I'm sorry to hear about your dad. Sounds awful. I found both cricket & golf too much to bear during these dark times, simply because one has too long to think in between actually playing the game. I took up faster sports like tennis & squash (and the gym) just to clear my head a little.

As you can see from my Post, there is a way out & you will learn to cope with whatever scenarios come your way after all of the trauma is behind you. Try not to forget, you only get one go at life. Make it count!

Best of luck with everything. See you on the other side with a set of clubs in our hands.
Cheers!

Mark

I bet them bigger balls took a right smashing.

I'm sure after this that you are are slowly on the up again, and glad to hear. A very brave and honest post.

So, the cricket's back, you can get on the golf course, so when WHL opens again you'll be fine...........touch wood.