Mitch Johnson On His Decision To Be Open About His Mental Health

On Triple M Cricket

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Aussie fast bowling great Mitch Johnson joined Dan Ginnane at lunch on day 2 of the Perth Test v the West Indies and explained why he made the decision to be open about his mental health.

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"I think as a cricketer you’re in the limelight… I wanted to be very careful with what I was giving out, what information," Mitch said.

"You have to be careful when you're in a team environment.

"But I think more towards the back end of my career, I was a lot more open… I think people can read the rubbish where you give them the one liner all the time.

"It's not creative, it's not interesting, so I think I just wanna be myself more than anything.

"I felt like early in my career you tighten up a lot and worry about what people are gonna think, and I was very much like that.

"So now it’s more like I'm just gonna be me, and I'm happy with what what I say, I'm gonna be honest."

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Mitch opened up about his mental health issues on SAS Australia in 2020, discussing his experiences with depression and finding out about after he transitioned out of cricket.

"I found out I've got depression… but I think the depression was something I've had even from a younger age," he said on the Channel 7 show.

"It (cricket) sort of blocked things out in a way. It sort of hid the depression, but there was a lot of times where you would go back to your room, you’re away from family and you start to dwell on things.

"Through my cricket career, I actually just dealt with it (depression). It’s just about me now actually moving forward and taking it upon myself to be active with certain things, to keep my mind going."