DT: Tim Smith leaves dark place for comeback

[carpe]

It is tough to deal with bipolar disorder. I myself have been fighting for quite sometime with mood swing. One of the major part of the mood swing is depression. The problem becomes traumatic when you as a patient try to explain anybody. If you do not find anyone to talk to you end up taking refuge in alcohol. Alcohol actually calms down the black dog. No amount of success can get you out of depression. There is no solution to bipoar. You just have to deal with it. It affects with what you do time to time. My experience with mood swing has disaster affect in my job and day to day activity. Sometime the depression is so severe that you pretty much loose control over your surrounding. You get total detachment to the surrounding.
I felt sorry when he left EELs. I was never angry with him. Some people in this forum said, he should join other club. I will always take him, not because he will be fantastic player but simply because he is a another human who faces a problem and need help.
I am with you Timmy, wherever you are , I hope you are doing well. I would like him to come to EELS as No7 ....That is my opinion.

 

[Grail]

I would like to see him play for a team outside of the Sydney fishbowl. I would like to think that he could get back to where he was, and I can't really see that if he were hounded wherever he went. Maybe Storm or Warriors could be a good place for him.

 

[hybrideel]

Replace a tackling half back with a non tackling one...Makes sense? Don't make me laugh........

yep. cause that is the most important trait to have as a halfback. kicking and passing game, vision, pfft. it's all about racking up 30+ tackles

 

[Avenger]

For his own sake Tim Smith should go somewhere other then Parra.

 

[FUIFUI_MOIMOI]

he will prob go to the titans...

 

[guruminga]

It is tough to deal with bipolar disorder. I myself have been fighting for quite sometime with mood swing. One of the major part of the mood swing is depression. The problem becomes traumatic when you as a patient try to explain anybody. If you do not find anyone to talk to you end up taking refuge in alcohol. Alcohol actually calms down the black dog. No amount of success can get you out of depression. There is no solution to bipoar. You just have to deal with it. It affects with what you do time to time. My experience with mood swing has disaster affect in my job and day to day activity. Sometime the depression is so severe that you pretty much loose control over your surrounding. You get total detachment to the surrounding.
I felt sorry when he left EELs. I was never angry with him. Some people in this forum said, he should join other club. I will always take him, not because he will be fantastic player but simply because he is a another human who faces a problem and need help.
I am with you Timmy, wherever you are , I hope you are doing well. I would like him to come to EELS as No7 ....That is my opinion.

Well said. Give the bloke a fair go.

 

[bartman]

Please explain how he didn't / doesn't behave appropriately for an NRL level player.

Mate, the game is now a product and a business, in a crowded sports marketplace. It needs to keep sponsors happy, and keep the media at bay.

This isn't a moral judgement on Tim, but the game can't afford its players to carry on he did in the past, in trying to win the PR battle against other codes, which now have plans to encroach on our traditional territories.

Many players have behaved worse than Tim, and this year we have seen the frenzy that has created in the media. Simple statement is that the game can't have any more of that, even if it is what the average 20-something year old gets up to on their weekends. Time will tell whether Tim has learnt that while he's been away from all this in the safety/anomity of northern England.

For the sake of his future career, I hope he has, and that he's now a cleanskin. And for the sake of him managing his condition better, it can't be a bad thing either.

 

[JessEel]

It is tough to deal with bipolar disorder. I myself have been fighting for quite sometime with mood swing. One of the major part of the mood swing is depression. The problem becomes traumatic when you as a patient try to explain anybody. If you do not find anyone to talk to you end up taking refuge in alcohol. Alcohol actually calms down the black dog. No amount of success can get you out of depression. There is no solution to bipoar. You just have to deal with it. It affects with what you do time to time. My experience with mood swing has disaster affect in my job and day to day activity. Sometime the depression is so severe that you pretty much loose control over your surrounding. You get total detachment to the surrounding.
I felt sorry when he left EELs. I was never angry with him. Some people in this forum said, he should join other club. I will always take him, not because he will be fantastic player but simply because he is a another human who faces a problem and need help.
I am with you Timmy, wherever you are , I hope you are doing well. I would like him to come to EELS as No7 ....That is my opinion.

Babe, i bet it must frustrate the HELL out of you when people dismiss bipolar as a nothing condition.
Applaud you for what you must have to go through, and for sharing that.

Sometimes people forget that Footy Players are humans too!

 

[sooperdooper]

i still fail to see what Tim ever did wrong?!?
His 'scandals' were a joke... he was crucified harder by the media for having a drink whilst inglis and stewart face court...

Tim Smith was cleared in wrong doing of events so i wish people would realise he never did a thing wrong... he just had personal problems!!

Tim is a good bloke....

If Tim came back to the eels for 55K he would be a walk up start for the number 7...
a shoe in! Keating could be on the bench...

Imagine the kicking game of Tim and Morts?
Morts can be the runner and tim the sublime passer....

We would be a stronger team on the field with him...


But for Tims sake i dont think the eels would be a good choice...

I am pretty sure he will be a Rooster or Shark

 

[JessEel]

Todd Carney and Tim Smith halves pairing at the Chooks?

 

[bartman]

Very good two-part documentary on bi-polar was done by English actor Stephen Fry, interviewing other people who also manage the condition like Robbie Williams, Richard Dreyfuss and Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia).

While the attraction to alcohol anmd other drugs as a way of "self-medicating" the condition is understandable, that documentary detailed the range other, potentially better ways of managing life with bipolar.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/tv_and_radio/secretlife_documentary.shtml
Highly recommended viewing if you get the chance, I have the episodes on bodgy DVD if anyone is actually interested about learning more about this stuff, feel free to PM.

 

[sooperdooper]

Todd Carney and Tim Smith halves pairing at the Chooks?

that is not any inside knowledge but more a guess....
Pearce isnt looking to good and with Brian there it could be an option.

 

[MarkInTheStands]

While I am not Bi-Polar, I have been clinically diagnosed with Depression. Unlike those with Bi-Polar, my "Upswings" get me to normal, and not to "Ecstatic" or "Manic" as it would be for those suffering from this condition.

Carpe is right, that it is hard to find people to talk to. It is even harder to fight the quick fixes that society provides. I have been a victim of such as well. Luckily for me, I don't have a large NRL playing contract, or the fame and Notoriety that comes with it.

The thing is, discussing this, saying to someone, I have a mental problem, is hard to do. In my normal, self deprecating way, I tried to get on with my life by saying, oh well I am a mental patient now, know one will take me seriously (not that many every did).

But I have been lucky, in that my blood family, and the Family I have created around myself, were caring, compassionate and understanding. Indeed they deflected my self deprecation and asked honestly, if I was alright. They look out for me, they understand if I am not communicative, that it could be a down time, and indeed there are those around me that fight with the black dog as well.

The other problem is the culture, I went to myself deprecating humor as a defense, but others may well bottle it up inside and might not express it at all, or more dangerously might feel if they express it, that they will be seen as less, this can be particularly true of blokey cultures.

That is why I think there is some good luck and management with the beyond Blue campaign, especially with Movember and the clubs support of it. Jeff Kennett, the President of my other club is highly involved in Beyond Blue and pushing it to the footy codes at the Elite level can only help the understanding at lower levels as well.

It is alright to reach out, I just wish Tim would have reached out, about February 08, to someone and not bottle it up and try to feed the black dog.

 

[yy_cheng]

Wow, after reading all this, I would have no idea how scary this black dog is.

MITS, does hypnotism work?

 

[MarkInTheStands]

I personally wouldn't call the Black Dog, "Scary" as such, dangerous, destructive, debilitating, yes. If you were to walk around constantly scared of being depressed that would be a self fulfilling situation.

I don't know if I have heard of Hypnotism being used in cases of Depression. I am receiving CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Treatments) for it and an Eating disorder, but I know if my depression gets worse I am going to be refereed to a Psychiatrist for drug therapies instead of the Psychologist I am seeing now.

 

[bartman]

The drug therapies can be quite challenging in themselves, with various side effects. I've been on them in the past, and sometimes it is simply what has to be done when other methods aren't doing the trick.

Re-reading the article, I can't see any quote from Tim there about wanting to come back to the Eels, despite the byline?

 

[carpe]

I agree with you MITS. I find it quite hard to reach out to others. I am an immigrant. Finding myself alone bit struggle.
Yes Timmy could have reached out to somebody, but I guess the issue is to whom. There is a difference between listening and "listening". In second cases, you pretend to listen but actually not listening. Where as in first type you actually listen. I used to open myself to a person at work. I guess she was second type "listening". She moved on and I am where I am, struggling with it everyday, every aspect of my life. It hampers my family life because I cannot give 100% to my kids and my family. But I am getting around. I have learned to deal with it. yes it is mighty hard to tame it, but I have done it.
But, I think we should give Timmy a fair go. I will be happy if people like him find some window of opportunity for them.
Way back, I was quite angry when he left. I thought it is Lyongate. But as the years passed by I understood how much it can affect an individual.
So Timmy whereever you are .. best wishes from me.
About the game side -
I think given sometime he will be better than Jeff Robson.

 

[parra pete]

yep. cause that is the most important trait to have as a halfback. kicking and passing game, vision, pfft. it's all about racking up 30+ tackles

Set up three...let in four...That makes sense...

 

[The Colonel]

But for Tims sake i dont think the eels would be a good choice...

I am pretty sure he will be a Rooster or Shark

For Tim's sake I'd hope he was a Titan or a Bronco...... I don't think either of those two teams would be very suitable given their respective histories with player management. At worst the Tigers would be better if he stayed in Sydney.

 

[lucablight]

The origin halves in Thurston, Kimmorley and Lockyer (Origin and Australian halves) were all amongst the leaders when it came to missed tackles. I don't think Soward is famous for his defence either. Just a thought.