Ben Stokes - Modern Day Hero
Peter Langston | October 19, 2023
There’s lots to admire about England's Test captain Ben Stokes.
Everything he does, he does well and he has already outstripped Botham and Flintoff because he has made the transition from player to inspirational leader, something neither of them achieved. He's a better batsman than Botham and a better bowler than Flintoff and can now lay a serious claim to being England's greatest allrounder. He is a ferocious, fearless competitor who doesn't accept defeat as an option …
... yet, he has been crippled in the past by anxiety and panic attacks, even in the 12 months leading up to the recent Ashes. His honesty in dealing with his mental health is the most compelling reason to be an admirer, regardless of your team allegiance.
Director Sam Mendes has captured his battle with his demons.
Perhaps a way of honouring Ben Stokes might be to support a mental health campaign in our own neck of the woods.
Australia has had their own share of players whose lives have been ruined by mental health issues: Sidney Barnes, and Jim Burke took their own lives, unable to cope with depressive mood disorders. We've watched, in our own time, the mercurial Michael Slater's fall under the influence of bipolar. England's Jonny Bairstow lost his father to suicide follow years battling bipolar. Although never officially diagnosed, Peter Roebuck may also fit into this category.
I set myself the target of 100kms walking/cycling in October to raise awareness of mental health issues and to secure sponsors for funds to run practical programs for sufferers, research and education programs implemented by the Black Dog Institute. Based in Sydney, they are Australia's leading research and education organisation in the area of mental health. In fact, their research is world leading. Twenty years ago when I was hell bent on killing myself, it was their help with diagnosis and support programs that gave me a chance at life. Years later, I volunteered for them, providing community, business, medical and sporting groups with presentations of my lived experience and ways in which those who were in great emotional need and mental disarray could access help. It was such a rewarding experience.
I bought up my ton yesterday with a 13km ride around my hometown of Tamworth, NSW. To date, thanks to fabulous sponsors, many of them cricketers and a lot of them the very people who held my hand as I got back on my feet, we have raised more than $3,000 of the $1,000 target I set!
If like me, you are aghast that in 2021, in the midst of the worst pandemic in a century, more people died from suicide than Covid or than every year for the past twenty, more people die at their own hands than as part of the road toll. There is something you can do about it. Right now, where ever you are reading this, 1 in the 5 people near you may have a mental illness - anxiety being the most common but depression not far behind and then eating disorders, social disorders and the heavy duty bipolar and schizophrenia. Is it him? Is it her? Is it maybe even closer to home? How are you going?
Are You Okay is a great place to start but make sure you are ready for the answer. It may not be one that makes you comfortable. BDI and Beyond Blue have great resources to help you support those who tell you they aren't, as do the Are You Okay campaign.
At a base level, what is needed is $$$ to fund the research, the education programs in school and cricket clubs and hospitals and service clubs and workplaces ... and the practical programs that help people find their way.
If you'd like to be in my starting team this October, its as simple as following the link before it destroys more lives, relationships and drags down business even further. I won't be stopping until Nov 1. I'm 67. Who knows how many kms I'll walk/ride by then or how buggered my knees will be! The link will take you to a website that will tell you everything you need to know and give you the chance to play a useful dig for your team mates.
Peter Langston - One Foot Forward Challenge, Black Dog Institute.
