Reading Women Defender Molly Bartrip Opens Up On Anoxeria and Depression
Joined by following Reading players and Ireland internationals, Paul McShane and John O’Shea, at the Royal Berks, Bartrip discussed how she overcame her struggles with mental health and how she fought through her challenges:
“I was diagnosed [with anorexia] when I was 14, it was really tough for my family and friends and for myself,” she explained.
“Mentally, I often struggle and this has always been my issue; in education, friendships, relationships, and football. Rejection and failure are hard to take and although disappointment is a fact of life, I did not always deal with it positively.
“It felt like emotional quicksand that dragged me down and zapped me of energy and enthusiasm.
“It took me a while to get through it, but I managed to come out the other side. It was a tough patch of my life, I used to love food so it was strange to go through something like that.
“As I said, I’m through the other side of that now, that was a proud moment for me. In the past year, I’ve suffered from depression and anxiety, I’ve not known what to do about something like that – it was a different thing for me to ever experience, the lows of the lows.
“Now I’m the happiest I’ve ever been and the strongest mentally I’ve been, but it was something I really didn’t know how to cope with initially – whether my family was the best option or being around my friends.
Bartrip believed that help from her club played a big role in her recovery and encourage others to find others to speak to, friends and/or family.
