zarathustra
RefChat Addict
I wasn't sure where to post this, so mods please move if necessary.
The match i was supposed to be refereeing this afternoon kicked off about five minutes ago, and unfortunately I had to pull out at the last minute, I actually called the league secretary from my car whilst sat in the car park at the local received where the match is taking place, luckily they were able to find a last minute replacement.
I appreciate that the title of the thread might be a bit ambiguous, however, at the risk of "outing myself", I will share a bit of personal history.
I served in an infantry regiment of the British army from 2002 - 2014. In 2007 I was injured during a tour of Afghanistan, and was subsequently diagnosed with PTSD and Depression.
The physical injury healed, with a bit of left over nerve damage, and over time the symptoms of the PTSD reduced, however the depression remained, eventually leading to me being medically discharged.
I manage my condition well, I rarely drink, and when I do never to excess, I take my meds and have counselling etc when needed.
It had never affected my refereeing before, until october/November time last year, when I saw the Dr and things improved, and I finished my refereeing for 2016 on a high.
However, despite feeling fine this morning, but by the time I got to my match at 13:00 I was in serious clip, and I was in no fit state to referee a game of football, so I phoned the league secretary and explained the situation, and he was great, got everything sorted out with a replacement, and then called me back to make sure I was ok, and to let me know that I am part of the league family.
I'm probably going to cry off my Sunday game when I get home (I'm still sat at the rec in my car at the moment), and as I believe it extremely unlikely that I'll be able to get my games in for promotion I'll also be emailing my RDO to withdraw. Though I will try again next season.
All of this waffle leads to the point of my thread, what are people's experiences of things like depression in grass roots football, either as a sufferer or as a friend or relative of a sufferer?
How does it affect your refereeing, and how do you manage/cop with it?
If you have had to inform someone such as a league about the issues how did they respond?
Or just any other comments people would like to make, either on the thread or via PM.
I would like to finish by saying refereeing has helped me with certain aspects of my condition, such as confidence, fitness, something that gets me out of the house and not to mention the friends I made through refereeing.
The match i was supposed to be refereeing this afternoon kicked off about five minutes ago, and unfortunately I had to pull out at the last minute, I actually called the league secretary from my car whilst sat in the car park at the local received where the match is taking place, luckily they were able to find a last minute replacement.
I appreciate that the title of the thread might be a bit ambiguous, however, at the risk of "outing myself", I will share a bit of personal history.
I served in an infantry regiment of the British army from 2002 - 2014. In 2007 I was injured during a tour of Afghanistan, and was subsequently diagnosed with PTSD and Depression.
The physical injury healed, with a bit of left over nerve damage, and over time the symptoms of the PTSD reduced, however the depression remained, eventually leading to me being medically discharged.
I manage my condition well, I rarely drink, and when I do never to excess, I take my meds and have counselling etc when needed.
It had never affected my refereeing before, until october/November time last year, when I saw the Dr and things improved, and I finished my refereeing for 2016 on a high.
However, despite feeling fine this morning, but by the time I got to my match at 13:00 I was in serious clip, and I was in no fit state to referee a game of football, so I phoned the league secretary and explained the situation, and he was great, got everything sorted out with a replacement, and then called me back to make sure I was ok, and to let me know that I am part of the league family.
I'm probably going to cry off my Sunday game when I get home (I'm still sat at the rec in my car at the moment), and as I believe it extremely unlikely that I'll be able to get my games in for promotion I'll also be emailing my RDO to withdraw. Though I will try again next season.
All of this waffle leads to the point of my thread, what are people's experiences of things like depression in grass roots football, either as a sufferer or as a friend or relative of a sufferer?
How does it affect your refereeing, and how do you manage/cop with it?
If you have had to inform someone such as a league about the issues how did they respond?
Or just any other comments people would like to make, either on the thread or via PM.
I would like to finish by saying refereeing has helped me with certain aspects of my condition, such as confidence, fitness, something that gets me out of the house and not to mention the friends I made through refereeing.