CNN
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Tom Brady He said he has used physical and mental therapy to address his mental health in recent years so he can “be good to the people around me.”
Speaking in his “Come on!” podcast alongside co-host Jim Gray on Monday, the 45-year-old attack player spoke about the “intense amount of stress” he has faced during his 22 years NFL career.
“Each one has different situations in their life and in their children and you worry about their mental health. you worry about your parents [and] obviously yourself,” Brady said.
“I think I have had to learn a lot of things over a long period of time in the sport. I think there’s a lot of stress that we all deal with, and how do you relieve stress so that you’re not inflicting as much damage on yourself through the type of stress response?
He added: “So [it’s] something I’ve always kept trying to work on, and obviously it’s a challenge for me and different forms, whether it’s physical therapy or mental therapy, all those things I’ve definitely done over the years.”
Brady has endured an unusually bumpy start to the 2022 NFL season, with issues on and off the field.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneer quarterback retired in February only to later reverse that decision. In the middle of training camp in August, Brady took an 11-day leave of absence to “deal with personal issues,” according to Brady’s head coach Todd Bowles.
In September, Brady twice hinted that retirement was not far off, saying he was “near the end” of his NFL career.
Earlier this month, a source close to Brady and his wife Gisele Bündchen he told CNN that the estranged couple have retained divorce attorneys and are “exploring their options” regarding their marriage.
CNN reported last month that Brady and Bündchen have been dealing with “marital issues,” according to a source close to the couple.
On the field, Brady’s Bucs have had a rough start to the season. They currently have a 3-2 record and sit atop the NFC South, but have had some bad losses and some disappointing performances.
Brady said Monday that the importance of addressing mental health in sports is often underestimated.
“I think there was a part of us where we wanted to suck it up and deal with it,” Brady added. “And I think you realize there’s a lot, especially in today’s age, with how quickly things in life happen for all of us and how many responsibilities we have.
“You hear this a lot from people who say, ‘I’m human.’ We are only human. We are not inhuman. We are not immune to many of the things that life brings us. We are not robots.
Brady said having a “great support system” has helped him cope with the pressure he’s been under during his storied career, during which he won seven Super Bowl titles.
“You wake up every day trying to do the best you can do, understanding that life has its stresses and dealing with them with a great support and understanding system and having some insight into your life where you can look at yourself and say, where? What should I spend my time and energy on? He explained.
“And how can I decrease some of the stress and decrease the burden on myself so that I can be good to the people around me? So those are all different things that you work on. I worked on them when I was 20 years old.
“There were a lot of things I was going through when I was in my 20s. There were a lot of things that he was going through when he was 30 years old. There are things I’m going through at 40.
“And it is life. And you learn to grow and you learn to deal with life. And that’s what we’re all trying to do. We are trying to do it in the best possible way.”
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