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Kudos to a Tennis Player Who Admits to Depression

This is not really about Tennis, but about depression and how we deal with a major public health issue. A young player on the international circuit, Naomi Osaka, has backed out of a major tournament, because she is extremely stressed by press conferences, and admitted that she suffers from depression. The first response by the mainly male-dominated Tennis administrators was to threaten her with a lot of punishment. Only after a lot of public push-back from renowned tennis players and others, did they retract their threats. I just want to add my thoughts as a now-retired Pediatrician, on Depression, that it is common, and too often people are afraid to admit it or seek help.

A few years ago, before Christmas, I was so depressed I could hardly get out of bed in the morning. I would get up, walk my dogs, then go back to bed until noon. Finally I decided I needed to see someone for my depression or it would just get worse. I asked a friend at my church, who I knew to be a child psychologist, if she knew someone who would see adults. I took her advice. The difference was night and day. My soul was bleeding, and the therapist she recommended helped me stop the bleeding. I began to understand why and what my past had meant and where I was now in the present. If I had asthma and suffered an attack I would go to a doctor to help me. I realized that this is no different.