Fyfe opens up on mental health battle amid injury woes

Fyfe opens up on mental health battle amid injury woes

Fremantle celebrity Nat Fyfe has revealed he handled anxiousness and despair final 12 months as a horror run of accidents took a toll on his psychological well being.

Fyfe stepped down as Dockers captain this week after six seasons within the function, with the membership set to announce a substitute within the coming weeks.

The resolution adopted a run of accidents for the two-time Brownlow Medallist which restricted him to simply seven video games in 2022 and compelled him to sit down out the Dockers’ drought-breaking finals marketing campaign.

“As far as what was happening on the outside, which was injuries, was just a small reflection of what was going on inside,” Fyfe instructed ABC radio.

“I had a fair bit to deal with, had a good, hard look at some of the ailments which we all face as humans in life in terms of anxiety, depression.

“And a bunch of those internal, emotional things – which then came out as injuries.

Nat Fyfe.
Camera IconNat Fyfe. Credit: Michael Willson/AFL Photos

“I had the shoulder that failed, then I got an infection, then I did my back, then I did multiple hamstrings.

“Internally, I was cooked and I was just fighting my way through it and I kept breaking down.”

Fyfe described the expertise as “the most profound experience of my adult life” as he reached “rock bottom”.

“If you can go through that, find resilience out of it and come out the other side, I feel like that’s the juice I now need for the back end of my career,” he continued.

“Past accolades were getting stale, there’s only so long that you can parrot that you’re a two-time Brownlow Medallist from years ago.

“They were starting to get stale and I had no juice and motivation out of them.

“A good, hard look at rock bottom has fired me back up again.”

Nat Fyfe.
Camera IconNat Fyfe. Credit: Will Russell/AFL Photos/Getty Images

The 209-game champion additionally opened up on his excessive weight reduction throughout that interval, the place he revealed he shed about 10kg following surgical procedure.

“I was sort of a 95-96kg midfielder. Throughout the end of 2021, when I was playing with a cooked shoulder, I started to lose the weight,” Fyfe instructed ABC.

“By the time I had my second operation and the infection, I was down to about 86-87kg.

“The best part of 10kg is what I lost. I could just see all the bones in my skeleton.

“I shaved my head because I couldn’t reach up and tie my hair up anymore. It was pretty grim.

“I’d still look in the mirror and see the old me, I couldn’t quite relate with this new person yet… it was tough.”

Source: www.perthnow.com.au