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Posted by Rodney Olsen
His footballing skills earned him the nickname of ‘God’ but his off field behaviour after retiring from football saw his life spiralling out of control.
Gary Ablett has now spoken publicly about his battle with depression and drugs as well as the shame and guilt he felt over the death of Alisha Horan.
Jon Anderson’s story at News.com.au is well worth the read. In it Ablett talks openly about his struggles and his battle to overcome them.
I have battled with bouts of depression right throughout my life and it got to a point where I was so desperate to relieve it I started to experiment with drugs.
Most people have no idea just how debilitating and painful depression is. It’s much worse than just feeling down, it’s mental anguish.
You can’t describe it with words, and it robs you of so much. It has so many devastating symptoms.
I started using cocaine thinking it was the answer, and for the first time in a long time I wasn’t depressed.
Gary Ablett has also spoken about the faith that helped to pull him back from the brink.
It’s only because of my relationship with Jesus, and God’s unconditional
love and acceptance of me in Christ, that I’m still here today – and I don’t say
that lightly.Sometimes it’s through the most difficult and painful times that we learn the most valuable lessons. There is nothing like failure to force you to examine the foundations of your life.
The Lord has taught me that the battle to feel good about myself can’t be won by simply trying harder. I had to completely change the basis of my self-worth and security.
For some time after it I used to worry about what people thought, until one day Jesus spoke to me and said, ‘Gary, most people don’t even know who they
are, let alone who you are, so why should you worry about what they think?’The Lord began to take me on a journey concerning the true basis of my
self-worth and security, and I’m learning that the true basis of my self-worth
is based on what God says is true of me in His Word. He created me. He alone
knows my true worth and value.This is setting me free from the fear of failure and rejection that comes from basing your worth and security on performance and other’s opinions.
Failure is hard to handle but thankfully it doesn’t have to be the end. I hope and pray that Gary Ablett can continue to overcome his past and move towards a brighter future.
Posted by Rodney Olsen
Technorati Tags: Gary Ablett – Depression – Football