Junior Seau Dead

[corporatejay]

Originally Posted by Drake

http://www.latimes.com/sports/sports...,1280862.story

Good on them. Let me be clear, I don't think there should be blame on the NFL for not educating players or "protecting" players etc.., but I think it's good for us to know the risks associated with concussion so that athletes can make informed decisions.

[Stay Golden]

Originally Posted by transplant99

5 years ago my wifes lifelong best friend stayed with us while she was renovating her house for 3 weeks...day after day she came back in time for supper and whatever else the two of them were planning...til one night she didnt and we went to check on her.

We found her at the end of a rope.

Simply the most devastated i have ever seen another human being when i saw my wifes eyes afterwards.

So dont ever EVER suggest that "someone would have noticed" because i lived it man....and there was absolutely no sign that anything that drastic was about to occur.

had a good friend last year who lost his Dad the same way. Noboby knew he was suffering from severe depression after being retired only 2 months.
His wife found him in the basement. That day ripped the family apart. Very sad he was such a cheerful guy too. Watching Seau's mother on TV reminded me so much of that whole tragedy.
My friend tells me that besides the memories and dates that everytime in the news this occurs he relives that nightmare all over again.
Thoughts and prayers to anyone on CP that has had to deal with this same kind of loss.

[valo403]

Originally Posted by corporatejay

Good on them. Let me be clear, I don't think there should be blame on the NFL for not educating players or "protecting" players etc.., but I think it's good for us to know the risks associated with concussion so that athletes can make informed decisions.

Agreed, I think we're in an interesting time period right now where the consequences of concussions are just being realized, but the guys out there suffering them have for the most part made the decision on the path they would take before that knowledge really existed. I'd imagine that 10-15 years down the road there will be more and more people who will make the decision to avoid contact sports due to the impact of concussions.

I'm actually going to an Intelligence Squared debate next tuesday where the issue is 'Should College Football be Banned?' with the focus being on the risk of serious injury. Malcolm Gladwell and Buzz Bissinger are on the for side, with Jason Whitlock and Tim Green (former player). This news will undoubtedly be part of the discussion.

[CaptainCrunch]

Tim Green is a very interesting player to talk to.

He put out a book, I think it was called the Dark Side of the game, it was an amazingly deep look into the dressing room in the NFL. If you can find it you should read it before the debate.

One thing about depression is that one of the big false coping mechanisms is to internalize it and deny it, the person sitting next to you, or a family member that you're having dinner with will try to cope with or hide the symptoms, you might never know that your mom is depressed, or your sister is depressed, because most of the symptoms occur when they're alone.

People don't want to talk about depression, most feel that they can work their way out of it, and that's why you see a lot of self medication.

Most people don't know what to look for, most people expect depressed people to mope around the couch, shut themselves away, cry for 20 hours at a time, or just not function.

Those symptoms may be true, but a depressed person will hide those incredibly well.

Until it overwhelms them.

[Drake]

"There is no exit strategy from the NFL," Plummer told this newspaper from his San Diego home Thursday. "It's: 'You're done.' You don't even get an apple and a road map."

"You can grow up and live your childhood dream and be a hometown hero and then feel, 'Is this all there is?' when it's over," Plummer said.

Said Plummer: "In the 1990s, I did a concussion seminar. They said a Grade 3 concussion meant you were knocked out, and a Grade 1 meant you were seeing stars after a hit, which made me burst out in laughter. As a middle linebacker in the NFL, if you don't have five of these (Grade 1 effects) each game, you were inactive the next game.

"Junior played for 20 years. That's five concussions a game, easily. How many in his career then? That's over 1,500 concussions. I know that's startling, but I know it's true. I had over 1,000 in my 15 years. I felt the effects of it. I felt depression going on throughout my divorce. Junior went through it with his divorce."

"The NFL has made great strides in having an independent evaluator on the sidelines for concussions. What needs to happen now is, and Junior is a perfect example: You're judged not just on the way you played the game but the most revered characteristic is how tough you are. You're taught that you need to be a tough guy, and not just physically."

"Junior obviously had been facing demons for at least 18 months. That's no longer speculation. People can take pills, run their car off the road, and that's a cry for help. He was crying out for help. Yet he was too proud to ask for it."

"What needs to happen is mandatory counseling. In 15 years as a middle linebacker, I never would have thought of seeing a counselor. I saw one in my divorce, and I just called my counselor today. It can't be optional, because macho players are taught to be invincible, and they're not going to do it. Make it mandatory.

"When we're forced out, try to give us tools (for) what we're going to face. I've talked to former teammates who've struggled mightily. Not just within a year of being out but several years. One guy felt he was wandering aimlessly.

"It needs to come to light that this was not an isolated incident."

When they saw each other last month at the golf tournament, Plummer asked Seau how he was doing, and after an upbeat response, Plummer pulled Seau off to the side to ask again.

Plummer said Seau gave the same response: "Good, really."

http://www.mercurynews.com/49ers/ci_...ource=autofeed

[FlamingLonghorn]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

I have severe depression, I take Ciprolex every day to keep it at bay. I was involved in a very bad car accident in 1999 that left me with a closed head injury. Not once no matter how depressed I have been have I ever thought of suicide because I am aware of what it would do to family and friends, I could never do something that would destroy the lives of my family like that. Maybe other posters should wait to see if it was concussion related before defending his actions too. Did he ever think about what the impact of his actions would be on his kids? On his mother? On his friends? And don't give me any B.S. about being so depressed that you can't see anything else but ending your own torment, if he was that bad I am sure somebody would have noticed. Didn't his ex wife say that he seemed fine last they talked? When I was severly depressed people knew it, I didn't leave me room, had no interest in anything and they convinced me I needed help. This to me sounded more like a snap decision to not deal with his issues and if that is the case he is selfish, what he has done to his family is unforgivable. Even if he has depression from post concussion syndrome it is still treatable, there is zero excuse not to get help in this day and age and especially with the resources somebody of his financial stature has. Look at Michael Landsberg of TSN and his story, he also battles severe depression and he got the help he needed because he knew he needed it and anybody suffering from depression will be told by friends and loved ones they need help, it is very easy to see in somebody. Depression is a disease but it is a treatable one and taking your own life is not the right answer, it is a selfish one.

Well in your treatment you should have learned that there are all kinds of severe depression. I have a friend who is still alive today thanks to medication, whose entire being was telling himself constantly all day long to kill himself. Luckily a small part of him realized that those thoughts were not normal and he went and got treated. The comedian Rob Delaney has a similar story and I always encourage people to read this article and share it as it might save lives:

http://robdelaney.tumblr.com/post/41...n-getting-help

PS You should also follow Delaney on twitter because he is hysterical.