- Angus Crichton talks about his struggles over the past twelve months
- The Roosters star was diagnosed with bipolar disorder
- Talks about admission to a mental health facility
Sydney Roosters star Angus Crichton has lifted the lid on his mental health struggles after leaving rugby league last season while dealing with bipolar disorder.
On the eve of the 2024 NRL season, the 28-year-old forward has spoken about his admission to a psychiatric facility in France at the end of 2022 and his battle with the condition after returning home.
Crichton was rumored to have “fried his brain” on magic mushrooms abroad, but Crichton says those reports are inaccurate – although he doesn’t deny taking the substance.
“It’s called a manic episode,” Crichton said The Sydney Morning Herald.
‘I was just manic. I didn’t sleep. I wasn’t thinking clearly and making good decisions. No one got hurt, no one got injured, but I was super energetic and very different from my normal self.
Roosters star Angus Crichton has spoken out about his mental health struggles
Crichton says the “wheels started to fall off” while he was on holiday in France
‘When I was in Amsterdam, nothing happened in terms of reaction. We had a great time. When I was in France, I was sober. I wasn’t even drunk. I didn’t have any fabric there at all, but then the wheels started to fall off a little bit.”
Crichton was prescribed medication and treated at mental health facilities there. His parents later flew to France and soon put their son on a plane back to Australia.
The footy star did not respond well to the drugs he was given as his body metabolized them faster than the average person.
“People wanted to stay at my house all the time,” he said. ‘They wanted to come by to make sure I was taking medication.
“I had to FaceTime them and prove I was taking my meds. That was at a time when I said, ‘I don’t need to take medication. I don’t want to take medication.’
His family and manager had a rule that if Crichton had not made a video call before midnight every day to prove he had taken his medication, they would be forced to call the police.
Which brings us to the night he was tasered and taken to a mental institution.
“The police had just tasered me…they strapped me to a stretcher and tasered me. “Imagine a bunch of police officers and paramedics trying to tie you to a bed for no reason,” he said.
Crichton was tasered, tied to a bed and taken to a mental institution
“What I didn’t know at the time was that my father had called them because he was scared.”
The Roosters star also took the time to address some of the rumors circulating about him.
“I let the outside world try to figure out what the hell was going on,” he said.
‘It became a bit of a circus. People who create ridiculous rumors. I heard about the text messages. It was crazy. A lot of it wasn’t true and it damaged my reputation. It was some of the most far-fetched things.
“I can tell you now that I haven’t put on a Souths shirt since I left the club. Said I was going to training in a Souths jersey and asked where Madge (former Rabbitohs coach Michael Maguire) was.
“That flat out didn’t happen.”
Crichton will not feature in the Roosters’ first match in Las Vegas but is making great strides to get his career back on track.
“I’m definitely a more resilient person for what I’ve been through,” he said.
“And when my time at the Roosters comes to an end, I want to leave with people thinking, ‘That Angus Crichton is a bloody good player.’ I’m working on getting that.
‘I’m doing my best to regain some respect for my name.’
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