The Prince of Wales has commended Dele Alli, a footballer for Everton, for his courage and inspiration in openly discussing his struggles with mental health.
Prince William took to Twitter on Thursday to share a personal message in response to Dele Alli’s revelation of experiencing childhood sexual abuse and overcoming a sleeping pill addiction, having recently completed rehab.
In his tweet, Prince William expressed admiration for Dele Alli, stating that discussing mental health should not be seen as a sign of weakness.
He encouraged the continuation of such conversations and assured Dele Alli of support and well wishes.
In an emotional interview with Gary Neville, the English international Dele Alli tearfully disclosed being sexually abused at the age of six and engaging in drug dealing by the age of eight.
He had recently spent six weeks in a rehab facility to address his sleeping pill addiction and mental health issues.
The decision to seek help and make a change came from within me; it couldn’t be imposed upon me. I realized that I was stuck in a destructive pattern, relying on things that were detrimental to my well-being.
Every day, I would wake up and put on a happy face, going to training and pretending that everything was fine. However, deep down, I was losing the internal battle. It was clear that I needed to transform my situation.
The footballer openly shared the challenges he faced during his upbringing before being adopted by the Hickford family.
Prince William has long been an advocate for promoting conversations about mental health, particularly among men, and he strongly believes in the significance of addressing mental well-being in football.
In 2020, as the president of the Football Association and a devoted Aston Villa fan, Prince William launched the Heads Up campaign in collaboration with the FA.
The aim was to utilize the sport as a means to spread awareness that everyone has mental health, just as they have physical health.
As part of this initiative, Dele Alli appeared in a short film narrated by Prince William, which was played at the beginning of FA Cup matches to encourage football fans to prioritize their mental well-being.
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