WTM NOTE: An article in the British Journal of Psychiatry recently suggested that male depression is set to sky-rocket around the world as economic and social changes will erode traditional sources of male self-esteem. The person most qualified to discuss male depression in the world of tennis is Cliff Richey.
Richey, the hero of the 1970 championship-winning U.S. Davis Cup team, has called depression among adult males as “the silent tragedy in our culture today.” He details his life-long battle with depression, the disease that afflicts approximately 121 million people around the world, in his book ACING DEPRESSION: A TENNIS CHAMPION’S TOUGHEST MATCH ($19.95, New Chapter Press, www.CliffRicheyBook.com) and discusses depression in this exclusive blog below.
I tried to study my personal brand of clinical depression like I would a tennis opponent.
Time.com‘s recent article (March 1, 2011) by Alice Park on the likely increase of male depression is encouraging because we are starting to talk about this disease that affects millions of Americans. The likely increase, however, is not good news.
I have had a blessed life of international pro tennis. By most standards, I was very successful. I played 15 years on the world tour and eleven years on the senior’s circuit. It was a long career. I have also had a long career with clinical depression. I am in good recovery and just recently had my book which I co-authored with my daughter, Hilaire Kallendorf PhD, published. Acing Depression: A Tennis Champions Toughest Match ($19.95, New Chapter Press, www.CliffRicheyBook.com) will hopefully shed some light on the disease and recovery. I wrote it with the idea of giving hope to those who suffer.
Clinical depression is a real disease. It is not just a dip in one’s mood. I was fortunate last year to talk to world renowned psychiatrists and some of the world’s leading researchers of mental illness. I asked them this question: “Is Clinical Depression a biologically based disease?” The answer–Yes.
It is an awful disease. Like a lot of illnesses, you can function at times fairly well with it, but it can also be a show stopper. I became so sick in the fall of 1996 that I taped black trash bags over the windows in my bedroom. I didn’t want to know if it was day or night. I went days without sleep. Many hours I spent just crying. I had become non-functional.
But – depression can be defeated. Clinical depression can be like the school yard bully. You have to fight back. There is hope and there is recovery. You have to take a stance and you have to own it. For me, recovery was first accepting that I needed help and being proactive.
My recovery is what I call my three-legged school. For me, that is antidepressant medication, cognitive therapy, and lifestyle.
I speak around the country as a mental health advocate and I’m always amazed at how few people know what meds actually do. They are not a cover-over pill. They correct a chemical imbalance in your brain. It’s like insulin for a diabetic. I don’t ever try to convince people to go on meds but it’s my opinion that some cases of clinical depression really need antidepressants. They can allow you to then use some new found skills at managing your life in a more productive way. That’s where cognitive therapy comes in.
To me, cognitive therapy has many facets. First you need to learn what the disease is. It’s usually associated with stress and losses we all suffer. Experts believe people who are predisposed can develop clinical depression when stresses and losses mount up. So get to know what your stressors are. We all have our personal stressors that we need to know about and own up to. A therapist can help with this but reading and studying it on your own is very important. I tried to study my personal brand of clinical depression like I would a tennis opponent. I wanted to know how and why and when it would attack me. What strategies could I deploy at these times? It can be a lot of hard work but it is worth it. Ten to 15 percent of the population at any given time has depression. Only 30 percent seek help. Of those, 80 percent get massive relief.Depression costs America $40 billion a year in lost productivity. I truly believe that we owe it to the rest of society to get proper help and fight back against a beatable opponent.
Lifestyle is of course your bread and butter approach. Sleep, diet, exercise and watch your stress levels if possible. The healthier you are physically, the better chance you have with your mental health. They are related.
I have what I call my “toolkit” I go to when I feel an episode coming on. A weapon I use is thankfulness. I literally some days write down all I have to be grateful for. From air-conditioning in house and car, the bed I sleep on, friends, food to eat, loved ones. I think we all have so much we tend to take for granted. Humor — a good laugh is good for the soul. I try to have days where I tell myself — today is not about me. Lift someone else up. Do unto others — the law of reciprocity — it works!
I could go on. But this I’m convinced of it can be defeated. A productive life can be had. There is hope. There is recovery.
My Dad was my tennis coach. Probably the biggest weapon he taught me in tennis — and I’ve used it in my battle with depression — it’s the last five words in my book — never, ever, ever give up. It can be done. Stay with it!
Co-written with his oldest daughter Hilaire Richey Kallendorf, ACING DEPRESSION ($19.95, New Chapter Press, www.CliffRicheyBook.com), is a first-hand account of the life and tennis career of Richey, providing readers with his real-life drama – on and off the tennis court. Richey’s depression is a constant theme, from his genetics and family history, to the tensions of his professional tennis career and family life, to his eventual diagnosis and steps to recover from his condition. During his darkest days, Richey would place black trash bags over the windows of his house, stay in bed all day and cry. With the same determination that earned him the nick-name “The Bull,” Richey fought against his depression that was not diagnosed until just before his 50th birthday during a routine visit to the skin doctor. Since his happenstance diagnosis, Richey has steadily been taking the anti-depressant drug Zoloft that has greatly improved his quality of life and moved him to become an advocate for mental health, speaking at numerous events and gatherings across the country.