Young footballer writes on coping with anxiety

Paul Fitzpatrick

A 20-year-old student from Ballyjamesduff has written a book detailing his recovery from a battle with anxiety issues.
Jamie McGrath, a talented footballer with the Castlerahan senior team, began to experience anxiety during his Leaving Cert year and, happily, is now coping much better with the illness. An English and Media student in UL, Jamie decided to pen the 8,000-word book – entitled 'Let’s Talk Anxiety: A 20 Year Old’s Journey’ – in order to share his experiences with others.
“I still do [experience anxiety] but not as I used to. I got to grips with it, I went through the hurdles like everyone has to,” he told The Anglo-Celt.
“The book is just my own personal story and people I interviewed, dealing with daily negatives and daily positives. It probably won’t appeal to everyone but hopefully it will help at least one person.”

Talk
Playing football – he lines out at corner-forward – is a release, he said, but the main advice he offers to anyone experiencing similar issues is to talk about it.
“When you’re on the field, or training, you have nothing else to think about, you’re not over-thinking, you’re just getting the work done. Sport is a massive help.
“Talking about it, definitely, is very important, and having that support around you. But you really have to go through the hurdles and see what works for you. Going to the doctor might suit one person, going to a counsellor might suit another.
“It’s just really my story and then I interviewed two girls I know who got through it. It’s an all-round basis of what to do and what you can do, but definitely talking would be the main point about it.
“At the start I hadn’t a clue what was going on. It wasn’t like I was a nervous person who wouldn’t have been going out to social events, I was very confident. It was a bit of a puzzle at the start, and mental health probably is to most people.”

Grand
The writing process, he said, was therapeutic in itself.
“It wasn’t like I was slaving away at the book, I wrote it freely – it’s nothing too formal, it’s easy to understand. Writing it was a help but I’m not going to tell everyone to go and write a book, it was grand for me because I’m an English student anyway. Everyone will be different.”
The book will be launched in Eason’s, Cavan on Saturday, August 8 from 12 noon and proceeds go to Sosad.