Grief Released

The recent case of Cincinnati Reds player Joey Votte is one every man should recall when going through the death of a loved one. Earlier in the season he was on the DL and the public didn't know why. He had been repressing the death of his father who had died last August (2008).

Votto's father is the one who taught him how to play baseball."From the beginning of the offseason till spring training I was pretty severely depressed," Votto said. "I was dealing with the anxieties of grief and sadness and fear and every single emotion that you can imagine that everybody goes through." "Going out on the field, I just couldn't do it anymore," Votto said. "The stuff I was dealing with off the field finally seeped its way into the game. I just had to put an end to it because I really couldn't be out there. I physically couldn't do my job."

Votto's teammates had been unaware what was wrong until he spoke to them last week. Talking about his emotions has helped deal with his grief, he said.

"I really hadn't acknowledged how important it is to express the things I had been dealing with on the inside."

Votto received professional grief counseling to help him confront and express his feelings related the the death of his father.

He returned to the Reds and was hitting hard.He will finish this season in grand style.

Comments

Emackmsw said…
Great story. Most people don't realize what anxiety, grief and depression can do to people, especially to us men because it makes us feel weak to talk about what's bothering us emotionally.
Thursday, May 5, 2016 at 7:41:00 PM EDT
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