Tui reveals how Ferns struggle in face of anxiety
Job security – many female athletes either do not have it or they do not take for granted.
Black Ferns Sevens star Ruby Tui is passionate about mental health in New Zealand and says one of the main stress triggers is often job security.
When she started playing sevens being a contracted professional was only a dream for Tui.
This became a reality in 2015 when the New Zealand Sevens team was issued contracts by New Zealand Rugby.
There are 20 fulltime professional Black Ferns Sevens and a further three part-timers. The Black Ferns 15s have 30 individuals on lesser part-time contracts.
However, living contract to contract and relying heavily on form and skill can take its toll on one’s mental health.
‘‘My goal was to have professional contracts for women and that came alive in 2015,’’ Tui said.
‘‘The 15s now have contracts, but I will tell you now it is not enough to live on. Those girls may have contracts, but they are still working fulltime jobs – they’re cops, they’re teachers.
‘‘Think about contracts you know – living contract to contract can be quite stressful and in our team we try to provide as many platforms as possible for people to feel safe in the environment.’’
Tui is not on a personal mission to get more pay for her 15s friends or herself.
She wants others to be aware that being a paid professional athlete still comes with stress and it’s important to have coping strategies. Tui learnt this the hard way. Earlier in her career she suffered a season-ending concussion and was left bored and anxious.
‘‘There is more to life than just rugby. Even I struggled with that, at the start it was always rugby, rugby, rugby.
‘‘I couldn’t leave the house and it affected my mental state hard out. I’ve learned to have something and focus on something post rugby.’’
Studies show job insecurity rates high as one of the main causes of depression.
An Australian study by Roy Morgan Research in 2015 shows one in three employees suffering anxiety/ depression and stress over job security. The rate of depression increased to 46 per cent for those who rated their security as ‘‘very poor’’.
For rugby players it is part and parcel of the job, but Super Rugby players and All Blacks often sign on for three, four or five years with NZR.
The Black Ferns received their first contracts this year and will reassess every season under current conditions.
Tui said it did play heavy on minds of the players.
‘‘I think the worst thing you can do is think that you are alone in this journey, this battle, because you are never alone.
‘‘I’ve got a whole team of strong women all going through their own battles and I think that is what the makes our culture so strong.’’
Tui says it is important to check in on your friends, family and colleagues’ mental health. She knows all too well the very worst of what mental illness can do to someone.
‘‘I’ve had family members, very close friends, ex-partners, who have committed suicide. Think of our environment, our high pressure environment. We have anxiety, all sorts of stuff. Our team are really affected by this stuff.
‘‘Everybody knows someone who has either committed suicide or attempted self harm or are struggling in the mental space. It definitely has hit home for me for a number of reasons.’’
Tui’s own upbringing was one of hardship. Her mother was involved in women’s refuge, but she chooses to keep an optimistic outlook on most aspects of her life.
‘‘We do have an amazing job, I am living the dream, but there are moments that you feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders. There are so many people pulling for you, wanting this and that.’’
The 26-year-old uses coping strategies such as escaping to the outdoors and getting in to nature, having ‘‘me time’’ and just chilling out with her team-mates without rugby on the brain.
‘‘You have to look at things from a positive state of mind because if you don’t you are in danger of falling down the ladder of depression. I have a choice of how I look at things.’’