New Zealand Super Rugby star Solomon Alaimalo reveals mental health struggles in candid social media post
The pressures of being a professional rugby player are undeniable and one Super Rugby star has opened up on the impact said pressures have had on his mental health.
Solomon Alaimalo shifted south from the Chiefs to the Highlanders at the beginning of 2021 but finished the season with just two appearances to his name, despite many expecting the ranging outside back to take hold of the starting No 15 jersey for his new team.
With injuries continuing to barrage the Highlanders, Alaimalo’s absence was all the more curious – but explained as ‘personal issues’.
In a candid post on social media, Alaimalo has now revealed why his appearances were so limited this year, with the 25-year-old explaining that he has struggled with anxiety and depression for a number of years, and his mental health took a further significant blow in 2021.
“I had a lot of messages throughout the season asking ‘why are you not playing?’ and some I ignored and some I just said my shoulder still wasn’t right,” Alaimalo wrote on Instagram. “But truth is I really struggled this year with depression and anxiety for multiple reasons.
View this post on Instagram
“For me I’ve been going in and out of it for a while now growing up but ever since my joining of professional footy it got worse. Always judging myself as a person off how I’d played, letting the game I love dictate my mood for the day and week until we’d get to play again.”
Alaimalo explained that his mental health deteriorated to the point where he “didn’t want to be around anymore” and that he stopped enjoying playing rugby – despite always putting his best forward.
He also admitted that he was afraid of being judged for his thoughts or people suggesting he was ungrateful, given he was working in his “dream job”.
In 2021, things reached a tipping point for the 25-year-old, and Alaimalo and his fiancee reached out for help through the Highlanders’ doctor and player development manager.
“Looking back now I’m very grateful I did,” Alaimalo wrote. “It took away the game I loved for months but I understood that what was important at the time was my mental well-being. With the help I needed from counselling and my psychiatrist I slowly started to understand why I was so depressed and that I wasn’t being ungrateful but that my feelings are valid.”
Solomon Alaimalo was nearing an #AllBlacks call-up in 2018 but has been largely sidelined with injury since. A move to the @Highlanders could be just the tonic he needs to reignite his career.
The former Chief spoke to @TomVinicombe ahead of his move.https://t.co/ZlXQj1hkcT
— RugbyPass+ (@RugbyPassPlus) December 20, 2020
Alaimalo acknowledged that while he was now getting the support he needed, it wouldn’t all be “sunshine and rainbows” moving forward, but that he now has a better understanding of his mental health.
He finished the post by thanking his support group, including the Highlanders, his close friends and family, and his fiancee.
Alaimalo has touched upon his mental health in the past, revealing to The XV earlier this year that a long run of injuries had hampered his love for the game.
“The main thing for me, at least for the next wee while, is just getting back to enjoying my footy,” he said. “And it’s about having that balance too – getting life right outside of footy. That’s why I think moving down to Dunedin and having me and my partner’s families a bit closer and being able to visit them will be a good thing.
“I know Anton [Lienert-Brown] talks about it a lot, just finding that balance. He’s talked about how a lot of players after games, if they’ve had a bad game, they can think it means that they’re a bad person.
“I’m pretty bad like that and that’s something I’m still working on. It’s all good to invest yourself into the game. I just think I probably invest myself too much to the point where it’s almost not enjoyable to me. That’s why I think having a fresh change and like I said, bro, being closer to our families will make things a bit easier.”
Alaimalo has played almost a half-century of Super Rugby matches collectively for the Chiefs and Highlanders and will represent Southland in the upcoming NPC.
Comments on RugbyPass
Bar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
9 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
35 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
2 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
35 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
49 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
35 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
35 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
17 Go to commentsI'm not listening to a guy moralise over others when this is the guy who walked out mid season on Canterbury RLFC when he had a contract with them, what a hypocrite. All the Kiwis sticking up for this unprincipled individual because they can't accept justified criticism, he has zero credibility or integrity. Those praising him are a joke.
17 Go to commentsI’d put Finau at 6 instead of Blackadder but that’s the only change I’d make. Can’t wait to see who Razor picks.
35 Go to commentsTamati Williams, Codie Taylor, and Same Cane? Not sure about Hoskins Sotutu at test level. Wasn’t that impressive last season. Need a balance between experience and talent/youth.
35 Go to commentsInteresting insight. Fantastic athlete, and a genuine human being.
17 Go to commentsThey played at night in Suva last weekend and it’s an afternoon game forecast for 19 degrees in Canberra this weekend. Heat change is a non issue.
2 Go to commentsWishing Rosie a speedy recovery
1 Go to commentsObscene that SA haven’t been knocking
1 Go to commentsChances of Blackadder being injured seem too high to give him serious consideration. ABs loosie combination finally looked good with 2 committed to tackling and clearing rucks in the centre and Ardie roaming. Hoskins/Ardie together would force one of them into where they don’t excel and don’t get to use their talent, or require a change in tactics. If we continue to evolve last years systems I would take Papali’i and Finau at 6 and 7 (conceding that Blackadder will be injured) and Ardie at 8.
35 Go to commentsArdie’s preferred position 7? Where do they get these writers from? I've no idea where he's playing in Japan, but the previous two seasons he wore the 7 jersey exactly twice.
18 Go to comments