The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
AFC Women defender opens up on fight with depression and anxiety
Aberdeen FC Women defender Amy Strath has opened up on “horrible” mental health struggles in the hope she can help others.
The centre-back, 25, has detailed her battle with depression and anxiety to the Press and Journal during Mental Health Awareness Week.
North-east native Strath – who studied and played in America for six years, before an isolating spell as a professional with Icelandic side Fylkir – signed for the Dons at the start of 2020.
She attributes the breakdown she suffered not long after her return to Granite City to the changes in her life and uncertainty over her future, as well as other stresses and strains – including dad Alex taking seriously ill with heart problems.
Strath said: “At the end of 2019-early 2020 I started to realise my thought processes and emotions were changing quite quickly.
“This is when I’d come back from Iceland, having been away from home for a long time in America.
“I was adjusting to being back home and everything had changed in six years.
“It was a bit of a transition and I had to change a lot of things in my life. It was probably the end of February 2020 when I had a breakdown.”
The Dons player was diagnosed with depression and anxiety by her doctor.
Strath revealed she began missing training and, although she was honest about her struggles with Reds Women cobosses Emma Hunter and Stuart Bathgate, she told her team-mates work commitments were to blame.
In reality, Strath had stopped exercising and describes waking up feeling numb. She said she did not leave her room, “not wanting to get in contact with anybody” and says she “put on a smile” if she did happen to bump into someone she knew.
The defender says she struggled to understand her feelings, which developed despite a dream few years playing football and her “great support system” of family and friends. Strath said her mental state was such she felt “so alone” even when “in a pub surrounded by friends at Christmas time” in 2019.
Strath started taking medication for her mental health problems and also started mapping out her day in a planner, checking off little achivements like “have a coffee” or “walk my dog”.
She also returned to exercising regularly but something Strath is keen to emphasise was the importance of talking.
She said: “There’s no easy way though this or direct plan – there are steps you can take and I think the main one is a conversation. It is OK not to be OK. You’re not going to be OK all the time.
“I want to try to bring as much awareness to this as possible. I know it’s a scary thing and it took me a long time to decide I wanted to, but the thought of helping just one person will make it worth it.”
● Samaritans offer free help to anyone who is struggling through its helpline on 116 123