Mark Selby: I've been suffering for years and bottling it up but speaking out has helped depression battle

Mark Selby has revealed that he has been “suffering for a few years” with depression and “bottling everything up” – but feels “half the battle is won” after speaking out. World No 1 Selby admitted he was struggling with depression after his 6-1 defeat to Barry Hawkins in the Masters quarter-finals last month. Ad/> He made the decision to speak out after consulting his wife Vicky about the best way to move forward.

Welsh Open‘You have got to be joking!’ – Selby loses frame in ‘extraordinary’ circumstancesAN HOUR AGO “I feel as though I should have done it a long time ago,” Selby said in the Eurosport studio after beating Chen Zifan in the first round of the Welsh Open. “I’ve been suffering for a few years and bottling everything up and not really saying anything. I’ve been on medication for probably four or five years now.

“Vicky kept saying to me, ‘I think you should probably say it’. But I’m not one to say it and just make it an excuse. There was never really a right time and I never felt it was the right time to say it.

O'Sullivan joins Selby in revealing mental health struggles Robertson beats White at Welsh Open “We were travelling home after the Masters, Vicky had gone into a service station to get a drink and I just sat there staring out the window and felt I couldn’t just carry on, keep bottling it up and trying to hide it all. Basically wearing a mask. “Rather than say it in an interview, I thought if you do it on Twitter obviously there’s a lot of people on there, it’s probably the best way.