Running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire has been part of the Kansas City Chiefs for four years. The ball carrier has collected two Super Bowl rings during that time. However, he has also been noticed for missing training sessions. The reason is now known: the NFL star suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. Edwards-Helaire has now given deep insights into his inner life.
“Sometimes I get hospitalized because I can’t stop throwing up and I don’t know how to stop it,” the 2020 first-round pick said.
“Really bad dehydration, but it’s really just mental, just not being there. It’s one of those things where guys who are paying attention, like Travis Kelce and Kadarius Toney, sometimes even know in advance, ‘OK, Clyde isn’t laughing, he’s not giggling, he’s not being himself.'”
Attempted robbery as trigger
The origin of his PTSD was on December 22, 2018. At that time, Edwards-Helaire and a fellow student said they found themselves in a “self-defense situation,” as the running back himself describes it.
Details of this situation have now become known. Two LSU students – one of them was Edwards-Helaire, according to the Associated Press – tried to sell an electronic item, but the buyer tried to rob them. One of the two students fatally shot the 18-year-old buyer, confirmed police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. However, they did not release the names of the two students.
“I would say that’s probably the reason for most things,” said Edwards-Helaire, who himself did not give details of the story.
Edwards-Helaire “tried to suppress everything”
Instead, Edwards-Helaire gives deep insights into his inner life: “In the first few years you try to suppress everything and think, ‘Oh, I’ll get over it someday,'” he said.
“And then you realize that just doesn’t happen. You get older and you realize, ‘Hey, no matter how old, no matter who, no matter what situation, everyone needs help at some point. It takes courage to talk about it, and when you have PTSD and you have to deal with it, when people bring it up, it’s not something I always want to talk about. I never really know how my body or my mind is going to react, it’s just something that I can’t pinpoint or know exactly what’s going to happen,'” said the running back.
“I feel like speaking out is a big deal, but it’s also a personal struggle to realize that honestly everyone goes through good things and bad things. It’s a stepping stone. I’m only 25 years old and I’m trying to live the rest of my life healthy.”
Source: www.sport.de
