He says he's not dead.

[joecct]

Re: He says he's not dead.

Ok, how about this one then:

When he awoke out of his coma, he thanked his mom for standing by his bedside and for being More Than A Woman.

At least he did not say that to Lola.

 

[Kepler]

Re: He says he's not dead.

We don't stop playing because we get old, we get old because we stop playing.

Is that the motto of Ashley Madison?

 

[Priceless]

Re: He says he's not dead.

Reports are that former NFL star Junior Seau committed suicide. A 911 call reports shots his home. Various news sources are starting to confirm it.

TMZ (for what it's worth)

 

[UNH GH]

Re: He says he's not dead.

So sad to hear that. I liked Seau.

 

[ExileOnDaytonStreet]

Re: He says he's not dead.

The details are still coming in, and they're starting to drift into Dave Duerson territory. Very sad, and it makes you wonder what kind of support system (forget about money... how about a good friend?) that these guys need to have.

 

[geezer]

Re: He says he's not dead.

The details are still coming in, and they're starting to drift into Dave Duerson territory. Very sad, and it makes you wonder what kind of support system (forget about money... how about a good friend?) that these guys need to have.

If similar brain damage is found, Seau's got the name recognition that it could become a very big deal in the movement to ban, basically, contact sports. Although my own hunch is that it's likely that the realities of retirement and the "first death" of a world-famous athlete have more to do with the suicide than brain damage.

 

[MountieBoyOz]

Re: He says he's not dead.

If similar brain damage is found, Seau's got the name recognition that it could become a very big deal in the movement to ban, basically, contact sports. Although my own hunch is that it's likely that the realities of retirement and the "first death" of a world-famous athlete have more to do with the suicide than brain damage.

I think the more worrisome thing is the lack of support these players are getting after the careers are done. Look at Seau, Duerson and Mike Webster. They needed help and it seemed like the NFLPA is only concerned about getting theirs. Once a player is retired or outlives their usefulness, screw em. I know the new CBA is supposed to help, but they need to get moving to prevent stuff like this from happening again.

 

[Gurtholfin]

Re: He says he's not dead.

I don't doubt that these guys need more support than they're getting, but they need professional help - not a buddy and not the league.

If the league or NFLPA is going to get serious about this, they need to do screening and have a network in place that is specifically geared to help former players and the type of depression that these guys are experiencing.

Having dealt with bouts of depression myself (relatively minor, but crippling at times), I know that people who have it often conceal it, even from people as close as their spouses. I bet there's a line of people today who thought they were close to Junior who never saw this coming. Who didn't know anything was wrong.

There's a stigma associated with depression and many would rather suffer in silence than reach out for help.

What the league or NFLPA can do about this is unclear, but something needs to be done.

 

[Almington]

Re: He says he's not dead.

I don't doubt that these guys need more support than they're getting, but they need professional help - not a buddy and not the league.

If the league or NFLPA is going to get serious about this, they need to do screening and have a network in place that is specifically geared to help former players and the type of depression that these guys are experiencing.

Having dealt with bouts of depression myself (relatively minor, but crippling at times), I know that people who have it often conceal it, even from people as close as their spouses. I bet there's a line of people today who thought they were close to Junior who never saw this coming. Who didn't know anything was wrong.

There's a stigma associated with depression and many would rather suffer in silence than reach out for help.

What the league or NFLPA can do about this is unclear, but something needs to be done.

The NFL needs to get serious about making sure that ALL the former players have ALL the medical care (Both for physical and mental ailments) that they need. In the grand scheme of the billions the NFL brings in every single year (almost $250 million per team), they should be able to afford the few million annually that this would take.

 

[FreshFish]

Re: He says he's not dead.

I don't doubt that these guys need more support than they're getting, but they need professional help - not a buddy and not the league.

If the league or NFLPA is going to get serious about this, they need to do screening and have a network in place that is specifically geared to help former players and the type of depression that these guys are experiencing.

Having dealt with bouts of depression myself (relatively minor, but crippling at times), I know that people who have it often conceal it, even from people as close as their spouses. I bet there's a line of people today who thought they were close to Junior who never saw this coming. Who didn't know anything was wrong.

There's a stigma associated with depression and many would rather suffer in silence than reach out for help.

What the league or NFLPA can do about this is unclear, but something needs to be done.

Well, they do have "rookie school" don't they? In which they give them classes on the risks of sudden wealth and fame, how to find a money manager, how to recognize signs of sychophants not worthy of trust? Might they not have a similar "retirement school" each year for all players retiring that year?

 

[geezer]

Re: He says he's not dead.

The NFL needs to get serious about making sure that ALL the former players have ALL the medical care (Both for physical and mental ailments) that they need. In the grand scheme of the billions the NFL brings in every single year (almost $250 million per team), they should be able to afford the few million annually that this would take.

No doubt, if there are shortcomings in health care coverage, this needs to be done. But it doesn't address the points that Gurtholfin brings up. And I've been dealing with this a lot in my own family. Seau no doubt had access to any care that he wanted. How do you get him to want it and take advantage of it? The outreach idea is on the right track. And Gurt is also right that the stigma is damaging to people's chances of getting treatment for mental illness. I've been working to reassure those people who I come in contact with, that it will be OK. "I was there, I got treatment, I got better eventually. So can you." Though some might say I need further treatment.
Depression needs to be as easy to admit to as if you caught a flu virus.

 

[Kepler]

Re: He says he's not dead.

Depression needs to be as easy to admit to as if you caught a flu virus.

This can only come with time and education, but hopefully we are getting there. There have been enormous changes in just the last few decades. The shame and terror surrounding mental illness is one of those things humanity is very gradually growing out of.

 

[MountieBoyOz]

Re: He says he's not dead.

Here's a thought. I know when you leave certain jobs you are given an exit interview. Why not do one when your career ends in the NFL? It would consist of a physical exam (complete with brain scans) and an interview by a psychologist. It would give the league a better idea of what they are up against. Just some ideas I was kicking around.

 

[geezer]

Re: He says he's not dead.

43 years old. I'm sick.

 

[huskyfan]

Re: He says he's not dead.

how sad...

 

[Gurtholfin]

Re: He says he's not dead.

This can only come with time and education, but hopefully we are getting there. There have been enormous changes in just the last few decades. The shame and terror surrounding mental illness is one of those things humanity is very gradually growing out of.

The thing is that it can actually be something fairly simple or at least a part of it can be fairly simple.

I had an Omega-3 deficiency that was the main part of the problem.

Certainly environmental factors played a part in making me feel worse, but the problem with my diet made me far more likely to have environmental factors dig in and take root.

Fish Oil = much better now.

I was never suicidal, but it was hard at times to get out of bed or off the couch. I kept telling myself, "Get up. Suck it up. You're fine."

Unfortunately, it wasn't as simple as mind over matter. You can't just will it away. My brain was saying "Give me fish." Only not in such easy to recognize language.

You know how I found out? I didn't go to a doctor - at least not for that. Having worked in the insurance field, I knew that I didn't want diagnosed depression on my rap sheet.

So how did I find out? My triglycerides were off the chart. I mean CRAZY, I should be dead, off the charts. So was my cholesteral. One of the remedies for triglycerides was to increase my Omega-3 intake... fish oil.

Before this, I knew that I was suffering from relatively minor depression (if it can ever be minor) because I had many of the easily recognized symptoms. Now having researched depression on the internet, I had heard of Omega-3's before along with staying active, getting sun, getting sleep etc. I had dismissed the Omega-3 thing because I eat pretty well and assumed that it couldn't be the problem.

So putting the two together, I tried fish oil. I tried a goodly amount - 4-6 capsules per day - which was the dose that I found in numerous articles to fight Omega-3 imbalance as it relates to depression.

Maybe it's just a placebo effect, but life is different now and has been for some time. The crappy things that happen in life (and they're just as plentiful as ever) no longer keep me in bed or in the house. In addition, my triglycerides are back to the normal range along with my chloresteral (taking a statin for that).

I was getting really close to biting the bullet and going to the doctor, but I needed to up my life insurance amount by 500k and knew without a doubt that I wasn't gonna qualify if I answered yes to "Have you in the past ten years been treated by a physician for depression?"

Was gonna go after the life policy was issued, but seems like I found the problem on my own. Time will tell.

Most people aren't so lucky.

Have talked "off the record" to a psychiatrist that I play hockey with and he says that I should come see him if things revert (actually, he'd like me to come in anyway - just to be sure, but trusts that I am on top of it and grudgingly understands my insurance concerns although dismisses them in the big picture). He told me though that Omega-3 is one of the things that they will often try before medicating someone. While he doesn't want to say that I've cured myself, he believes "off the record," that I may have. "Cured" may not be the right term though as I will be tied to fish oil indefinitely.

Oh yeah, and guess how many people knew that I was depressed? One - my wife. Didn't tell my parents, friends or co-workers. Had I busted a cap in my head, they would have never seen it coming. I didn't want to burden them.

 

[Kepler]

Re: He says he's not dead.

I was never suicidal, but it was hard at times to get out of bed or off the couch. I kept telling myself, "Get up. Suck it up. You're fine."

This molecule probably saved my life:

I spent 30 years thinking I just needed to "shake it off," partly because of our "pull yourself up by bootstraps" culture and partly because the chemical knowledge took that long to permeate into the general public. Also, I never shared it with anybody, and the only reason it even occurred to me to see a doctor was because my wife had experience in the field. And even though my sine wave occasional dipped towards suicidal thoughts, my diagnosis is mild. It blows my mind (so to speak) that most people at my level (or worse) are still suffering without any diagnosis (and still assuming it's "character," not brain chemistry).

 

[Old Pio]

Re: He says he's not dead.

Very sad. For sure, that previous incident involving driving off the cliff will require a second look.

 

[jericho]

Re: He says he's not dead.

I, like apparantly alot of other posters, have suffered through this as well. I was able to finally admit to it, with help from my friends. I'm doing much better now. What's curious to me is that many people will say that he must have not been thinking right, he reached rock bottom and couldn't take it anymore, and he must not have known what he was doing, but what I think is very interesting is the dichotomy between killing yourself, but still having the awareness of not damaging the brain for donation.

 

[SteveP]

Re: He says he's not dead.

50's British actress Patricia Medina, age 92. Widow of Joseph Cotton and was married to Richard Greene, who played Robin Hood on TV.

The actress' friend Meredith Silverback told the Los Angeles Times that Medina died on Saturday at Barlow Respiratory Hospital, but had been declining in health.

"She was a stunning woman," Silverbach told the Los Angeles Times. "In her youth, they called her 'the most beautiful face in England.'" Medina appeared in films like "Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion," "Botany Bay," "Phantom of the Rue Morgue," "Sangaree" and "Plunder of the Sun."