I’ve Been Battling Anxiety For A Year And A Half – Ronald Araujo

Barcelona captain Ronald Araujo has opened up about his struggle with mental health. He recently admitted that he played through depression and anxiety for over a year before reaching a breaking point.

According to him, seeking professional assistance has helped him to bounce back after hitting rock bottom, and he can only urge fellow victims to reach out to others when the pressure becomes too much to handle alone.

Araujo added that his cultural background and the machismo often associated with football have made it hard for him to admit vulnerability.

His words, “I’d been dealing with anxiety for a year and a half that turned into depression, and I was playing like that. That doesn’t help, because on the field you don’t really feel like yourself. You know your worth and what you can contribute on the field, and when I wasn’t feeling well, I knew something was wrong. That day I realised that was it, that I needed to talk to professionals and the club so they could help me.

You try to be strong, perhaps because of your roots, where you come from, you start to push forward, but I felt like I wasn’t okay. Not just in sports, but also in my family and personal life. I wasn’t feeling like myself, and that was when it clicked and I said: something’s wrong, I need to speak up and ask for help. I’m the type of person who keeps everything to myself, but you also have to understand that there are professionals who can help you, give you tools to know how to handle certain situations… I needed to speak up and say that something was wrong with me so I could recover.

Ultimately, we are people beyond just footballers. It’s not all about money, it’s not all about fame. We also suffer because of the things that happen on the pitch. We are lucky to do what we do, yes, but there is the person behind it all, there are the feelings.

I remember one day drinking mate with my wife. I saw her face change while looking at her phone and tears fell. I asked her what she saw… ‘I don’t understand the evil of people, they are wishing death on our daughters,’ she told me.

I think the worst is over. I’ve hit rock bottom. I’m well prepared, working with great professionals, and eager to face what’s next,” he said.

Barcelona is my home. The city is my home. The club is my home. I’ve spent almost my entire professional life here. I feel very comfortable, valued by the club and the fans. And I’m really looking forward to seeing things from a different perspective and showing what I can do, which is play. I understand that there are two worlds, a real world and a virtual world. And in the real world, I feel the support of the fans, the Barca supporters, and the club. That’s very important. I’m really eager to succeed here and win the important titles we all want.”

WOW.

Futbol Club Barcelona is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football.

Founded in 1899 by a group of Swiss, Catalan, German, and English footballers led by Joan Gamper, the club has become a symbol of Catalan culture and Catalanism, hence the motto “Més que un club” (“More than a club”). Unlike many other football clubs, the supporters own and operate Barcelona. It is the third-most valuable sports team in the world, worth $5.51 billion, and the world’s fourth richest football club in terms of revenue, with an annual turnover of €582.1 million.

The official Barcelona anthem is the “Cant del Barça”, written by Jaume Picas and Josep Maria Espinàs. Barcelona traditionally play in dark shades of blue and garnet stripes, hence nicknamed Blaugrana.

In March 2021, Lionel Messi overtook Xavi’s record of 767 games played for the club, and presently has made 778 official appearances in all competitions, while also holding the record for the most appearances in La Liga matches for Barcelona, with 520.