Graham Thorpe’s tragic end was the highlight in the world of cricket. A sad end to one of England’s finest batters, Thrope’s family reveal details of Graham’s death.
This is a sensitive topic for the readers—trigger warning for suicide. If you are unable to go through such a topic, please go back.
The former England batter has ended his own life. According to Graham’s family, the Surrey cricketer was battling with depression and anxiety before he was struck by the train at Esher railway station in Surrey. His wife, Amanda, revealed that Graham had been battling major depression and anxiety for the past two years which has impacted his life and was prolonged stay in an intensive care unit.
Graham Thorpe has represented England in 100 Test matches and 82 ODI matches. Graham was part of the successful coaching staff of England which won the 2019 World Cup. He was to take charge of the Afghanistan team after he was appointed in March 2022 but was unable to fulfil the role as his health got worse and was hospitalised in May of that year.
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Graham Thorpe’s tragic end: “Mental illness is a real disease”
Mental illnesses are important to be discussed. These are disorders that vary in severity, impacting a person’s cognition, emotions, and actions. Nearly 20% of adults are living with a mental illness. Several factors play a part in mental health issues, such as Genetic elements, trauma or mistreatment.
Cricketers have opened up about mental health and how they have affected their personal lives. This includes Virat Kohli, Ben Stokes and Glenn Maxwell.
For Graham, many treatments were tried to cure him but unfortunately, none of them seemed to work as quoted by Amanda Thorpe.
“Graham was renowned as someone who was very mentally strong on the field and he was in good physical health. But mental illness is a real disease and can affect anyone. Despite having a wife and two daughters whom he loved and who loved him, he did not get better. He was so unwell in recent times and he really did believe that we would be better off without him and we are devastated that he acted on that and took his own life.”
Graham’s eldest daughter said that they were not ashamed to talk about his death and they wanted to raise the awareness.
“He had loved life and he loved us but he just couldn’t see a way out. It was heartbreaking to see how withdrawn he had become. He was not the same person. It was strange to see this person trapped in the body of Dad. That’s why we’ve been so happy that the many reflections have been about his life before this illness took over. I’m glad that’s how everyone does remember him, rightly so, as the complete character he was.”
A special note from the Sportanic team; If you are going through such a mental condition, visit the International Association for Suicide Prevention website. Open up to your loved ones. Know that they love you.
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