A frank look at the causes and consequences of mental health in football and society.
In honour of World Mental Health Day, Liverpool and Jason McAteer have combined for a special documentary that will focus on the impact of mental health problems in football and the wider society beyond.
Jason McAteer: Through The Storm was officially unveiled on Liverpool's YouTube channel on Wednesday 10 October.
The hour-long documentary features candid, personal accounts of mental health struggles experienced by footballers, fans and their families.
It also includes content relating to suicide that some viewers may find distressing.
"It's not going to be an easy watch," noted the Republic of Ireland and Liverpool midfielder in advance of the film.
"In fact, it's going to be a very, very difficult watch with some very upsetting scenes.
"But we think it carries a message; an important message that just might help a lot of people."
The documentary arrives shortly after former Manchester United captain Michael Carrick revealed his struggles with depression following his team's defeat to Barcelona in the 2009 Champions League final.
“I thought I’d let myself down in the biggest game of my career," he told the
Times on Tuesday.
"I had won the Champions League the year before but that was totally irrelevant. It felt like I was depressed. I was really down. I imagine that is what depression is. I describe it as depression because it wasn’t a one-off thing."
Carrick went on to describe how he beat himself up over his own failures in that match, and how it all began to snowball into a much greater personal crisis from there.
“It was a tough year after that," he said. "It lingered for a long time. I kept it to myself most of the time. Even my family didn’t know the full extent of it.
“It’s not something that’s really spoken about in football. I have not spoken about it before. For the lads that I have played with that are reading this, this will be the first time that they know.”
That sentiment and desire to break down mental health stigma within sport is echoed in McAteer's documentary, which you can watch below in full.
https://youtu.be/QfzsD5S5dtY
Clip via Liverpool FC
