efying the gme's 'hyprmasculine' clture of silence

A 32-year-old who's played for seven clubs and at every professional level below the Premier League, he has seen numerous team-mates suffering from depression, eating disorders and gambling addictions메이저토토사이트

The midfielder has also been witness to what he calls a culture of 'hypermasculinity' - "outdated perceptions of what it is to be a man" - preventing players from "admitting vulnerability".

It's a situation that Wheeler, now at League One Wycombe, feels the game needs to address quickly. With 2020 figures revealing a 50% rise in the number of players seeking counselling support from the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) between 2018 and 2019, his concerns seem well-founded.

As he puts it: "We're leaving메이저놀이터 open the possibility of a fire raging in someone's head."

But Wheeler's unease is also informed by his personal journey.

He has gone from seeking psychological support for panic attacks to leading a unique research project he hopes will help change what one manager describes as football's "Dark Ages" attitude to mental health.

Short presentational grey line

Dealing with nerves might be part of any player's pre-match preparation, but while many will be familiar with a tingling of 'butterflies' during the warm-up, fewer have to cope with bouts of vomiting. It's a routine Wheeler lived with for a long time.

"When I was growing up I had extreme levels of competitive anxiety," he says.

"There were times when I'd be sick in the toilet before going out for kick-off or at half-time, or I couldn't eat properly, which안전놀이터 obviously affected my performance.

"Because I didn't address it well, it ended up seeping into my personal life. On holiday, shopping or sitting in a restaurant, I'd start having panic attacks out of the blue. That's when I started seeking help."

Fortunately, thanks to a concerted effort to understand and manage the anxiety that affected the early part of his career, those days are behind him. As Wheeler says: "I'm able to feel those feelings of intense anxiety, but it doesn't overwhelm me anymore."

That effort led him towards an undergraduate degree and to his recently completed post-graduate research, overseen by former England women's football team psychologist Dr Misia Gervis. She describes its findings as "unique" because she believes Wheeler's status as a current player offers a "true reflection" of how psychology is seen within the game.

Wheeler met Gervis during his time at Queens Park Rangers and has also worked with her at Wycombe.

As the first sport psychologist appointed by the English Football Association to support any of its national teams, she accompanied the Lionesses to the 2007 World Cup and 2009 European Championship. She too believes a hypermasculine culture discourages players from asking for mental health support.

She recalls how on one occasion먹튀검증 a manager prevented her from working with a player she says was vulnerable and actively seeking help.

"It's easier to show butch manliness because then you create a barrier no one's looking behind," she says.

"But what I see is fragility and vulnerability that is never spoken about, never owned and hidden away because there's no safe space for it to be expressed, and that is really problematic."