In Conversation With... Callum Skinner & Helen Richardson-Walsh | Mental Health Awareness Week

I was like I'm not even in I don't want to, I don't want to, I don't want to be that person, yeah, and I think that's why when maybe I talk about it now. Sometimes I wonder if I had depression research for this and I was sitting in the car and it's like maybe it's not like that after all. I got to witness my entire support network just coping. I think you already know. it's like you know you've talked about that kind of grief cycle, it's like the Nile, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance is a

mental

model, yeah, definitely, definitely, and because when you feel good, you're well, it's like, well, I was.

It's not that and when you know our memories aren't good, they are and he seemed angry, but when you really remember and think about those moments when you know you're curled up on the floor and you can't move because whatever and you know, so you think what you know, it was kind of fun, but kind of bad, you might think like those coping strategies, those coping mechanisms, whatever, you know, everyone's talking about it right now. I think you just know that I still think I'm going through something else. Obviously, now I stopped playing hockey and by choice, you know, it was the end of my career.

I finished in the best possible way, but it was still difficult because you know the identity of a hockey player was very strong and there are other amazing things that I'm doing and things like that, but it's still a transition and a change and it's difficult again in 2014, one of the things that I learned this is one of the most embarrassing things that I learned, that I needed to spend time with friends and when I say that I'm just saying it's very stupid, but we're all guilty of it, you know, it's like our diary will be filled. with work and all the things that we think we should do instead of just making sure I see my colleagues on a Friday night or, you know, a Saturday afternoon or sometime and making sure I put that in my diary and I learned in 2014. and spending time with my friends, so yeah, my friends were a very important network at the time, probably even more so because Kate was going through her own things at the time, you know, the World Cup wasn't well and the type of equipment.

The atmosphere wasn't great and there was a lot going on and I needed to find my own support, but since then you know Kate and I support each other because we understand where we've been. We can be any day like you know, I don't feel good today, I don't know why I don't feel good and the other one would say, "Okay, you know, go sit down." I'll bring you a cup of tea and you don't have to explain it, which is quite nice and I think hopefully where a lot of people go we'll both be pretty good at recognizing the signs and triggers that Didn't you know we actually did a lot of things about that within the team, but you know you always need that little extra support to acknowledge it a little bit?

What's more, it's more just supporting the supporting side when it starts to work. a little bad I think every experience I've had really shaped the kind of way I'm training now. I'm just taking a club team in Cambridge and you know, I've had so many different coaches and and how I've experienced the kind of my

mental

health

journey really allowed that. I think my mental

health

journey, but also being gay, that has really given me a perspective of difference and that everyone is different and I definitely didn't. I appreciated that when I was younger and yeah, I really appreciate that we all need different things and I try to make room for that when I train.

I think I have been, so I've only been the head coach one year and for half that time. I was actually pregnant, but yeah, I think being much better off is trying to be as understanding as possible with all the different situations that are going on. It's a cup team, they have full-time jobs, you know, whereas my experience, you know you come to training every

week

and you give it your all and because that's where I was an athlete and that's what I was doing, but For these guys it's about having fun first and foremost. It's winning, you know, if you win you have fun, but that was where I wanted to go this season with my team and really build an environment where people could be themselves and just enjoy spending time together, so yeah, that kind of

awareness

. of difference and allowing that, I think it's a fantastic note to end on and it really illustrates the legacy, it can take two forms, it's not necessarily just about the medals, it's about sharing those life experiences and memories with people with the training that and building on that legacy so thank you so much for joining so that was our first episode of Team Jeebies in

conversation

with Helen Murchison Walsh.

I think you'll all agree that it was very insightful and hopefully some answers that you may not have heard before. I think Helen admitted it was a very inspiring journey and seeing where she came from and where she is now and hopefully she will continue to pass on all that experience to the people she coaches in the future. Next, we have part two with Alex. The Davis rugby sevens player now, unlike Helen, unfortunately did not watch the video of the competitive camp, suffered a fairly serious ankle injury in the warm-up. Now we talk about that and we also talk about a very personal tragedy in his life with the unexpected and quite. the sudden death of his father, which eventually led Alex to question Timon and give up the sport a bit and fall out of love with uh P, but the real positive towards the end is when we hear how he improved and fell in love again. a sport fell in love with rugby again and is still committed to that Olympic dream, so make sure we have a premiere on the Team Jeebies YouTube channel coming soon, as there was for this first episode, so subscribe and share so far . and as wide as you can