Stress, depression and stigma

[chickenfeet]

From the BBC:

Graveney said there was no intention of picking Marcus Trescothick "in the foreseeable future" after the Somerset man's various stress-related problems.

Given England's track record of rushing the chosen ones back into the international team after physical injury with little or no evidence that they were in any shape to perform at the highest level this seems somewhat inconsistent. After all, Trescothick has been scoring runs like they were going out of style. It's hard to resist the idea that Trescothick is being punished for having mental health problems in a way that a player with a dodgy back, like Vaughan, isn't.

Comments

[topicaltim.livejournal.com]

To be fair, I think Trescothick himself has said he shouldn't be considered until he's fairly certain in his own mind that he's in the right shape to face not just a home series but whatever winter tour follows that.

It would be great to see him back, but I think he's been well advised: unless they show a remarkable improvement, this West Indies side are no better than some counties, and if he came back now I don't think he'd be tested any more by them than he has been by anyone else so far this season. Which would mean there was every chance he'd be selected for far more arduous assignments in Sri Lanka without anyone being certain he was up to it again mentally.

However, I hope this means they treat players with physical injuries equally cautiously, in a way that didn't happen in the last few years.

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

Ditto. I think both Trescothick and the ECB are being much more cautious this time. After his breakdown in Australia, there was a sense of their being rather apologetic for their naivety in assuming he'd recover in the same way and at the same speed as he might from a groin strain.