[News] Kylington opens up about battle with mental illness, shares excitement for return

[TheScorpion]

https://twitter.com/user/status/1689673480436846592

Part of the interview translated from Swedish:

- It was a very challenging year for me personally. These are things that have been going on in the family for many years but which escalated to get worse and there were mental and psychological problems I suffered from, says Kylington after a completed ice session in Segeltorp.

- I think I deal with the problem like maybe everyone else does, by just sweeping it under the rug and putting the lid on but for me it led to mental illness and I felt very bad about how I dealt with my problems and almost went into the wall and felt that now it's enough... I needed to "face" these problems we had as a family and today I am incredibly grateful for this journey I started and then had to finish.

- I learned a lot about myself and I learned to understand that fears about one's problems are only guided by one's own shame and I had trouble putting my feelings into words because I was so ashamed of the problems I had with my family. I am incredibly grateful for how many people supported me and helped me get the right help. I really feel like I did myself a big favor.

- I just want to play hockey, but when something else in life eats you up from the inside, I just felt that I couldn't focus on the right things and I needed to go back and prioritize what needed to be fixed.

- I never understood how a process with a psychologist would behave, but it was also a journey in itself to understand and learn to put one's feelings into words and learn to communicate things to strangers. But I quickly understood that it was not a sprint but a marathon and it was hard on many different levels. I missed hockey and felt a big question mark on many levels what the hell really happened...it was CBT and that turn in psychiatry.

- It was definitely a fear to share things that are so close to one's heart but I have said that I do not want to go into details about what happened but it was a great shame I had to talk about things like this. Society is programmed not to display negative emotions. People think it's not okay to feel bad. I used escape behaviors when things get in front of one's face because it's the easiest way out. I quickly understood that when you dare to show yourself vulnerable to other people, you really get closer to people. It is more a sign of strength than weakness.

...

How are you today?

- Fantastic, absolutely fantastic. I feel great and it's fun to get started and I'm really looking forward to a new season. I've only felt commitment from the management in Calgary and my teammates and that helps for sure. It will be fun to get back to my everyday life. I have missed it very much.

[Jiri Hrdina]

Immense respect for him and his willingness to speak about this openly, and for the Flames to give him the time and space he needed.
I lost a friend/colleague to mental illness last week. The more this stuff gets talked about the more we can figure out how to avoid losing so many.
Too many men are killing themselves.

[Reggie Dunlop]

Glad that he's the road to recovery...

[Flamesfan05]

Hope it works out for him
Not many understand mental illness but it’s a real struggle.

[Scroopy Noopers]

Good for him. The fanbase is in your corner, glad the organization is too.

[Hey Connor, It's Mess]

We're all rooting for him. Such a fun and dynamic player to watch and his personal wellbeing is paramount. Hope he has a great bounceback season.

[tvp2003]

Great news. I'm happy for him personally and hopefully his example and willingness to speak out will help others as well.

[TheIronMaiden]

I had a hunch that this was related to some serious mental health problems. I am glad the Flames and the media, and 98% of fans were able to respect his privacy.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

As many of us suspected, had to do with mental illness. As others have said, glad to hear he handled this directly instead of covering it up, and even better news to hear that he appears to be on the other side of it.

Also, we have to commend the Flames organization for handling things the way they did. It obviously was serious enough that they allowed him to be away from the team for an entire season, also burning a year of a contract (and paying him fully too I imagine?). They also kept a tight lid on everything as an entire organization out of respect for Kylington's privacy. That's really hard to do, and I also want to commend the media members who likely knew about this, but said nothing as per Kylington's request. Just an absolute class act from everyone around the team to help him through this. It makes me proud to be a Flames fan.

[Bill Bumface]

Can't wait for the standing ovation when he hits the ice again.

[TheIronMaiden]

Is Kyllington the secret weapon that gives this team tope for next season?

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Cali Panthers Fan

As many of us suspected, had to do with mental illness. As others have said, glad to hear he handled this directly instead of covering it up, and even better news to hear that he appears to be on the other side of it.

Also, we have to commend the Flames organization for handling things the way they did. It obviously was serious enough that they allowed him to be away from the team for an entire season, also burning a year of a contract (and paying him fully too I imagine?). They also kept a tight lid on everything as an entire organization out of respect for Kylington's privacy. That's really hard to do, and I also want to commend the media members who likely knew about this, but said nothing as per Kylington's request. Just an absolute class act from everyone around the team to help him through this. It makes me proud to be a Flames fan.

Was gonna say, the Flames were all class on this one.

[devo22]

glad he got help and glad he's better. Rooting hard for him.

[Goriders]

It’ll be interesting to see how a year off effects his performance. Guess it would be similar to recovering from a major injury.

[klikitiklik]

Wish him nothing but the best. I've struggled with mental illness for the last few years and sometimes it feels like you are alone in your struggle.



Nothing could be further from the truth but when you are in that state everything seems hopeless. Macho hockey culture is not a place that is accepting of weaknesses like this so the fact he spoke out is praiseworthy.


Great to see him back!

[Kipper_3434]

Really relieved for Kyllington as it doesn't sound like anyone close to him died or is dying and that's really what I felt a lot of fans were worried for.

Excited to see him play again. Let's go!

[Ashes]

I must say I was surprised to see this pop up today, he didn't need to come out and say anything but I really respect him for it. One less question mark for the team heading into the season and now the media can stop speculating.

I think having Conroy, Iginla, and Huska in key positions will only help him to transition back into playing full-time and taking another step. He's going to be a crucial piece on the blueline for us this season, can't wait to see him back out there for training camp!

Also, for a franchise that has been starved for some good news lately, this feels amazing.

[bdubbs]

I'm so glad Kylington got the help he needed, and continues to get the support from everyone around him. I'm really excited to see how he performs in camp as I think he may have a bit of rust that will surely go away quickly once he's fully back.

[Bonded]

Originally Posted by Cali Panthers Fan

As many of us suspected, had to do with mental illness.
They also kept a tight lid on everything as an entire organization out of respect for Kylington's privacy. That's really hard to do, and I also want to commend the media members who likely knew about this, but said nothing as per Kylington's request. Just an absolute class act from everyone around the team to help him through this. It makes me proud to be a Flames fan.

I am just glad we won't have to read multiple posts about 'FaNs dEsErVe To KnOw'!1!1 when it was pretty clear that it was something serious and not related to drugs.

[DeluxeMoustache]

I agree. Glad I didn’t know until he disclosed it. Good on the organization

Looking forward to having our really good puck moving D man back!