Orioles reliever Rob Bell gets career, life on track after bout with anxiety

Bravo for Rob Bell…he did it without the help of Dr. Thorndyke and the PsychoNeurotic Institute for the Very, Very Nervous.

Bell’s breakdown was the result of an anxiety attack, a physiological reaction to the buildup of stress. Anxiety issues can manifest themselves in a variety of ways in athletes, most severely by inhibiting performance in what is commonly described as the yips.

...At first, none of it went well. He got wilder on the mound and frustration grew, the constant discussion of his issues nearly consuming him. Tired of tearing himself apart, he stopped seeing the doctors and taking the medications prescribed to him, trying things his own way instead.

“The more I was talking about it, the more I felt I was feeding the monster,” said Bell. “I just said I want to put this stuff in the closet, turn off the lights, lock the door and throw out the key. Whether it was right or wrong, I don’t know, but coincidentally things got better from there.

“How many people do I really want to let know how shitty I feel about myself or how embarrassed I am? Sometimes you don’t want to reveal your weaknesses. It’s painful. You feel vulnerable. It just sucked.”