""The experience of going through it, but then also of coming out the other side and having a successful football career for 12 years - which I never thought I would do, largely because of the anxiety - has really given me the inspiration,""
""When I first signed for Exeter especially, I experienced extreme anxiety and often I was going into games having been sick or not eaten before the game,""
""I had this feeling I was under constant threat, that I wasn't good enough, and a similar kind of experience when I was a young player at Brighton - I think that was ultimately why I ended up getting released.""
David Wheeler experienced persistent imposter syndrome and severe anxiety early in his career, sometimes becoming sick or not eating before matches. He overcame those issues to play more than 400 professional matches across all three tiers of the English Football League and scored in a play-off final before retiring at 34. After being released by Brighton, he played non-league while studying sports science, later earning a trial and contract at Exeter. Wheeler now plans to train as a sports psychologist rather than pursue coaching or agency work, aiming to help others with similar anxieties.
Read at www.bbc.com
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