Dele Alli bravely opens up on sleeping pills addiction and checking into rehab
Dele Alli has bravely opened up about checking himself into a rehab facility after becoming addicted to sleeping tablets.
The Everton midfielder was previously hailed a generational talent but suffered a sharp decline in form and left England for a loan spell in Turkey last season.
The move failed to yield any positive results as Dele battled problems in his personal life and from his childhood. The England international became addicted to sleeping tablets as a result and made the brave decision to check himself into a mental health facility, confessing he "felt like it was time" to tackle what he'd been trying to bury.
Dele Alli has opened up to Gary Neville (TheOverlap/Youtube)Dele opened up to Gary Neville just three weeks after leaving rehab and told the Overlap: "Going into rehab sounds scary, but I could never have imagined how much I'd get from it and how much it would help me mentally. I was in a bad place, a lot happened when I was younger that I could never figure out and understand.
"It was never really in my control and it has helped me a lot with other things to do with my blood family, I let go of some bad things." He also added: "You can talk to people, it doesn't make you weak to be vulnerable, there's strength in that."
Teen 'kept as slave, starved and beaten' sues adoptive parents and authorities
The 27-year-old has admitted to facing huge struggles as a child. Dele claims he began smoking at seven and dealt drugs at eight before he found stability with his adopted family, whom he praised by saying: "If God created people, it was them."
Despite his rapid rise as a footballer, which led to plenty of individual accolades while at Tottenham, Dele was struggling with a sleeping pill addiction. He used it as a way to bury his emotions.
He said: "It's been going on for a long time (my addiction), the things I was doing to numb the feelings I had. I didn't realise it was for that purpose, whether it be drinking or whatever.
"Maybe me speaking will help because don't get me to work they work. You have a game, you've got to be up early to train, you've got the adrenaline so sometimes to take a tablet to sleep is fine. But when you're as broken as I am because it works for the problem you're dealing with - it works until it doesn't.
"Yeah, I definitely abused them too much. Don't get me wrong, I'd stop sometimes and go a few months without them but I was never really dealing with the problem. It got really bad at some points. I didn't understand how bad it was, but I was never really dealing with the route of the problem."
* If you're struggling and need to talk, the Samaritans operate a free helpline open 24/7 on 116 123. Alternatively, you can email [email protected]_ or visit their site to find your local branch.
* The NSPCC's confidential 24-hour helpline is 0808 800 5000; Childline is 0800 1111. Police urge victims of sexual abuse, no matter how long ago it took place, to call 101.
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
