RICK Ladson showed courage every time he stepped foot onto an AFL ground with Hawthorn in his 125 games at the elite level.
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Courage to put his head over the ball and wear the hard knocks that come with football at all levels; courage to keep running when his legs didn’t want to run any more; courage to take risks.
But Ladson (pictured) is now displaying courage of a different kind – opening up on his private battles and speaking about the mental health issues he has struggled with for more than half his life.
Now 33 and living, working and playing football back in the Bendigo area with his AFL career at Hawthorn having finished in 2011, Ladson has battled with depression since the age of 15.
Ladson told the Bendigo Advertiser in Saturday’s edition of his depression that was triggered when his mum, Carol, was first diagnosed with breast cancer; the anxiety of the fear of failure; the frustrating lows of constant injury battles that cost him more than 100 games during his 10 years at the Hawks; and the biggest blow of all to his mental wellbeing – the death of his best mate, his dad Barry, of a heart attack in 2009.
Ladson speaking out isn’t a woe-is-me story or to seek sympathy, it’s for the sole reason of helping others who too have experienced mental health issues.
And for that Ladson should be applauded.
Ladson carries one of the biggest sporting profiles in Bendigo given his footballing credentials as a Hawthorn premiership player in 2008, and the easy thing to do would have been to keep his struggles hidden to those outside of his close friends and family.
But in telling his story publicly ahead of the AFL beyondblue Cup between Hawthorn and Sydney next Friday night, which aims to raise awareness of mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression and suicide prevention, Ladson has delivered on the key message he wants to spread.
And that’s to encourage those who are also battling mental health issues to do the same and show they are not on their own.
“If you’re struggling, just talk to someone about it because once you do, you can focus on getting it under control and moving on with your life,” Ladson said.
Ladson says he hopes by going public with his story that he can help “one or two, or maybe hundreds of people.”
Even if it’s just one person then he has achieved what he set out for.
Luke West – sports reporter