Bailey won't set the world on fire at wire but if he can get himself physically and mentally in the right space then he will be a good signing. A solid been there and done it pro.

At Leeds he was part of a decent squad. He wasn't a star performer but not every member of the squad can be.

I've just been reading elsewhere that Bailey has been suffering from depression since he left Leeds.I wonder if he had it whilst he was here? Causing him to miss training at times and not seeming to bother about his testimonial? Anyway I hope he comes through it ok ,I've heard it's an awful illness

Leaving a club he's at played all his life with his mates - to be ostracised and play one game at Hull.

No wonder he was depressed.

I can vouch that it is !! And despite all the justified clamour for it to be better recognised and not treated in any way as a stigma it can still potentially jeopardise your chances of getting a new job when found on your medical record - as I found to my cost. I am very grateful I never told the GP just how suicidal I did actually feel (I played it down)....

thankfully I was able to recover, but I now know why people do what they do when everybody around them state they never saw it coming. It is a terrible disease still much punished by any new job applications if discovered.

Depression is responsible for more deaths in men under 50 than any other illness. It is criminally under resourced and treated as an illness that doesn't exist by much of society. I have suffered for much of my life and I work very hard each day to overcome it, the big 'game changer' for me after all these years of struggling has been to be completely honest, with my family, friends and employer. Why should I hide it, I wouldn't if I had a physical illness like Cancer, its up to society (especially those that suffer) to change the worlds view on what is a very real and very destructive illness.

I concur with all you say (and very much [uemphasise[/u)....and at least with an employer you have a long track record with there should be adequate understanding and support.

The problem arises - as I intimated in my last post - when you wish to start employment with a new employer. This even when it is a government public service position.

We have a long long way to go as a society. At the moment you have the growing acceptance you should be able to be totally open about it contradicted by the fact you will be punished for it by not getting the new job you were hoping for.

Agree with all that - but would also add that there is a worrying trend of sportsmen (and other celebrities) using the 'depression' card to try and justify poor behaviour, and that doesn't help those genuinely suffering from what is a terrible illness..

Not saying this is the case with Bailey, but I would add, the things he's done wrong and flaws in his character over the last couple of years have been present in his behaviour at regular points since his early teens.

"Using the depression card"?

Seriously?

If someone I don't know finds the courage to tell me - and millions of other people through the media - that they're suffering from mental illness, I'd be tempted to take that at face value rather than view it as some cynical attempt at excusing their behaviour.

I have known & know several colleagues, friends & family who have suffered to varying degrees with depression. One colleague I managed died a slow & painful death from the illness. However there is a tendency to label people now, which makes it easier to give them prescription drugs, with over a million under 5s in America on psychiatric drugs, making huge profits for drug companies. Most people feel down at periods in their lives due to specific events, hopefully with Bailey that's what it was, rather than something that has/will affect him all his life.

Possibly.... In mitigation do this scenario though, he's not somebody I don't know - I've known him since he was of primary school age - I still come across him fairly regularly. The issues that he's faced over the last couple of years are not new issues - he's just not had the comfort blanket of Leeds to protect him from the reprocussions of his actions. He might point to that as bringing on depression, I just call it having to deal with the consequences of your actions and not enjoying it.

And take him out of the equation, yes I am cynical when bad behaviour becomes public knowledge and is promptly followed by claims of depression - it's becoming a common theme. It's funny how these realisations of depression, or the other common one nowadays 'bi-polar' are only realised/diagnosed once it becomes public knowledge they've been acting like a goose!

Just my opinion, appreciate others will feel the opposite to me and be much less cynical - but that's where I stand on the matter. And like I say, unfortunately people who are genuinely suffering are done no favours in terms of the whole 'stigma' issue by those that I feel are using depression/mental illness as a way of trying to reduce the impact of any consequences linked to their bad behaviour.

I suffer from Depression and Anxiety Disorder, and I can assure everyone it, from time to time, affects your life in a massive way.

I stopped playing Rugby a few years ago due to it myself.

I respect Bails for coming out and communicating his issues, because I know how an individual hides it and puts on an act to make everyone think you're 110%, when you are far from it. You hide it more so from Employers out of fear for your job and how others view you as a person.

Over in NZ they have made massive strides to betting depression acknowledged. Sir John Kirwan fronted an advert; depression.org.nz/ and www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/ar ... d=10852127

Over in NZ they have made massive strides to betting depression acknowledged. Sir John Kirwan fronted an advert; depression.org.nz/ and www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/ar ... d=10852127

Wow. Simply wow.

It would be easy to lambast you for your comments but sadly your views are shared by many which is why mental illness still has such a stigma.

Exactly...there is still a long way to go. Many will still have to be careful before confessing their state of mind (and for many years yet to come it will remain too late for too many)

Hopefully, if a big fella like Bailey can admit to suffering depression, it might encourage others to seek help.

Spot on

Well said. who is Superted.... Is he a troll?
To simply define one event in someone's life (leaving Leeds) and suggest that this is the course of stress rather than depression and he should get a grip because this is real life is a massive oversimplification. Hope nobody Superted is close to ever suffers from depression as I fear for their future wellbeing.

Currently going through it myself to a point i very nearly didn't see 2016, on the highest dose of medication i can have and going through a CBT course.

It's very hard at times to articulate how you can be in a good place at one moment of your life to then go to hating every single second of it and wishing you wasn't here.

I've had a lot of support, quite humbling in fact and that has got me through it, I've been lucky though that i have a lot of friends that understand rather than judge.

You still get the 'snap out of it' comments as though it is a choice, if it was a choice why would i choose this pain for myself? If it was as easy as just snapping out it, i never woulf have snapped into it.

i applaud Bailey for coming out, as you do feel weak and flawed and ashamed admitting it, in his environment of machismo to, i imagine it to be harder still.

I applaud you too Wire Yed! Your thoughts and experiences are so well expressed. Good on you and all the best moving into the future - you and Bails! This is an issue that must be faced and the stigma erased. The ignorance , in the true meaning of the word, around mental health issues must be tackled just like the earth shuddering collisions that we so loved to see from Bails at his best.

After two cancer scares in the last 12 months (one still on-going but not such a worry now) I had my first ever full blown anxiety attack recently. F*** me! that was a surprise and a half. It's not in your head, it's a physical reaction to stress that you can't control (and I am very, very used to stress for several reasons). I genuinely thought I was dying. I am still having "aftershocks" which come on completely at random and scare the $h!t out of me. Depression is very similar in that in it's severe form manifests physically and is terrifying. It's the physical symptoms that most people don't even consider - it's not someone sat in a room feeling unhappy. I have a mate who I've worked with for 15 years and completely out of the blue he shut down. You would never in a million years think anything like that could happen to a guy like him and it did. He was off work for nearly three months. Thankfully he's recovered, but I now can see the parts of his personality (the drive, the commitmment to doing things right and the work ethic) that caused his issues when his job temprarily changed within the company.
More needs to be done.

Nope, I'm not a troll, just someone who's not afraid to voice an opinion on a touchy subject that is different to the majority....

For those having a dig - are you all saying you don't believe it ever happens? That there aren't instances of people claiming depression under false pretences and for a cynical gain?

I've been unfortunate enough to have family members and close friends legitimately suffer at the hands of mental illness - but I also know a number of people who have fraudulently used depression for a number of gains - time off work, benefits and even for sympathy.... Not too dissimilar to the utter scumbags who've falsely claimed to have other illnesses such as cancer..... In the real world, unfortunately it happens....

Don't let the thin air up on that moral high ground cloud your judgement - sometimes some people abuse the system and peoples goodwill - I've given my opinion based on personal knowledge and experience.

By that same principle had Ryan Bailey come out and said he'd been struggling with cancer you'd have placed the same level of suspicion on that revelation too? Or do you not believe mental illnesses should be valued the same as physical ones?

Clearly not - as its not really the same principle is it - other than unfortunately some people choose to do same pretty low things..... You've just chose a particular comparison I used to show people do sometimes claim illness (of any sort) falsely for their own benefit.

So for the record, if he'd said he had cancer, of course I'd believe him....

All I'm saying is that there is a trend of bad behaviour being followed by an 'admittance' of depression - and from my personal experiences with Ryan over 25 years, yes I am very cynical.... I do think he's gone through a tough time, he's had to deal with the consequences of his actions (this time without Leeds holding his hand and protecting him) and he's not enjoyed it.... But that's very different to depression!!!

Like I said in my first post - I appreciate others won't agree with that view, some will no doubt be 'outraged' and 'offended' by my cynicism - but I couldn't really give a hoot about that - it's my opinion, based on my experiences with this individual and on many life experiences of people genuinely fighting mental illness, and those fraudulently claiming it for their own benefit....

Peace out!

There may be a a correlation or trend of bad behaviour being followed by claims of depression or other mental illness. Perhaps that isnt because people are 'faking it' or 'hiding behind it' but because that is sometimes how mental illness manifests itself.

For example, a couple of manifestations of depression are lack of motivation, trouble sleeping, lack of energy, avoiding social activities and contact with friends and a higher propensity for substance abuse.

Now in the realms of a professional sportsman what is viewed as a lazy unprofessional ar5ehole turning up late and hungover to training and not pushing themselves, could be a depressed person self-medicating with alcohol and struggling to fulfil the expectations of a pro sportsman because of the physical manifestations of depression.

Perhaps a person not turning up to stand in front of thousands of fans and friends to be thanked, isnt a selfish ungrateful flake but someone absolutely terrified of that situation.

You may not be wrong about the pattern, you may not be wrong about your personal experiences of Bailey, however it may just be that the reason for that pattern is the reason for your experiences with him and they are the manifestations in his case. It is unfortunate that often what we class as 'bad behaviour' is also often how depression appears to others.

Good post and nice to hear the support for others who are also suffering.