Bailey Smith opens up on mental health struggle, leaving the Bulldogs and lost relationships

In a wide-ranging interview, Geelong star Bailey Smith has lifted the lid on his mental health battle while also revealing the struggles of leaving the Western Bulldogs.

Bailey Smith has opened up on his deep mental health struggle and the tools he has equipped himself with, revealing he spent six weeks in a health facility that he says got him back on track.

But while he remains a work in progress, the Brownlow Medal favourite said he had “never been more content and at peace than I am now”.

Smith said he is continually “to this day, chasing my own tail a little bit to keep distancing myself from those dark times” to “develop my armoury and tools to get through the sh** that is going to come my way”.

Bailey Smith lifts the lid on a challenging period of his life. Picture: Getty Images

In a wide-ranging interview, the Geelong superstar revealed the struggles of leaving the Western Bulldogs, hitting “rock bottom” and his realisation that he was “pretty f****d up” before seeking help that he says has changed his life.

“My teammates ended up sort of ... resenting me, I suppose, with all the talk of me moving,” he said on the Real Stuff podcast.

“I really fell into a bad spiral (after doing my ACL in 2023) ... I didn’t have the mask of footy and all that sort of stuff to really distract me about what was going on internally ... I went through a breakup.”

He said without external help, “that’s when you look inwards and realise, ‘sh**, I’m pretty f***d up, I need to sort my sh** out’”.

“I got into some bad ways going out flat out after my knee, and getting on the piss and being an idiot, which we all do, but that’s my coping mechanism. I really had to look inward and find that that’s when I found out that ‘f***, there’s nothing much to look inward here’, other than a bit of a s***storm. I’ve worked on myself a lot.”

Smith said he had worked on “new routines and new habits” including meditation.

“It was a pretty tough time, especially when you’ve got the media sort of burning some of your relationships, even though they shouldn’t be burned, and continue to be burnt,” he said.

“Let’s just wait for the trade period (to talk about players who might be moving).

“I lost a lot relationships over something that I literally didn’t have much control over.

“I wasn’t really at the club too much, I sort of trained on my own for about 10 or 12 weeks and got my own physio.

Smith playing against his former side. Picture: Getty Images

“We thought it was better for both parties, which was also kind of weird again, to just go ... and do that sort of stuff.”

He said that time and “looking inward” on himself “was f***ing hard”.

“But I got it done and I’m glad ... there were lots of times there where I didn’t think I was probably going to get through it because it was f***ing scary,” he said.

“Like, I’ve already had this bloody knee and I’ve got to get back to playing footy. It’s like, is this ever going to happen? I’ve just got this f***ing mountain to climb to get there. But then you learn to sort of broaden your support network ... and develop the tools to put one foot in front of the other.”

He said he wouldn’t change anything, but “it was a lonely, sh**ty period”.

Smith in his time at the Bulldogs. Picture: Getty Images

“PUPPET TO MY EMOTIONS”

Smith revealed the depths of the panic attacks and negative thoughts that have plagued him.

“I sought some professional help, intensively for a while,” he said.

“I was there for like six weeks, like f***ing working on my sh** every day, meditating and seeing psychs. And I think it gets demonised. You’re going to seek professional help and it’s either weak or you’re a fruit loop or something.

“But it really helped me, finding help and understanding that it’s not ... you’re not doing it alone, there’s actually people there to help you. My family, or professional help.

“I used to think, I’m not going to a psychologist and talking about my f***ing feelings. It’s not like that. Actually I found a really good one where I was more proactive.”

He said he now saw working with his psychologist as like training, to have the coping mechanisms to negate things like panic attacks with “healthier coping mechanisms”.

“There were multiple times where I thought (this is) ‘rock bottom’ but then you find out rock bottom keeps going for a bit,” Smith said.

“You never know how sh** it can get until it gets pretty f***ed. I was there for a bit ... and then sh** just keeps happening. You have to trust that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, regardless of whether you can see it or not and that’s what I think getting out of yourself and seeking help is the most important thing.”

BODY IMAGE

The most-followed AFL player on Instagram revealed his body image had been a struggle that had taken some work.

“It’s about not attaching self-worth with how I look. It’s hard, because I get this recognition for how you look and Instagram following for how I look, not football initially per se,” he said.

“It’s hard not to attach your identity to that and self-worth and worry about how many abs you’ve got and all that sort of bullsh**.

“It got a bit poisoned by feeling like I was doing it to live up to the expectations of others and not because I loved fitness and exercise.”

The move to Geelong couldn’t have gone much better. Picture: Getty Images

THE CAT LIFE

Smith, a self-professed “perfectionist”, said Geelong suited him not only for his football goals, but life.

He maintained that his Cotton On deal was not a factor, and that “it’s not any money”, but how living on the Surf Coast “makes me feel”.

“And they (people) throw around this sponsor Cotton On thing, they haven’t paid me any extra, they haven’t done any of that sh** which is what pisses me off,” he said.

“I’ve chosen to go just for bigger reasons and stuff that’s not tangible.

“It’s not any money, it’s just the way that it makes me feel.”

He has coffee at the beach with Cats legend Gary Ablett Jnr and teammates Ollie Dempsey and Sam De Koning every morning.

“(Being at Geelong) just given me some feeling that you can’t bottle up, and just the stress and pressure comes off my shoulders,” he said.

“I’ve got a nice 15 acres (property), got the dogs running around , kangaroos in the yard and just being able to sit and be zen, is that’s the priceless sh**.

“…but also the (footy) is the thing that drives me like I want to be great, I want to be a good footballer and that’s what people forget.

“It was for all the other stuff that helps me, Bailey the person, not Bailey the footballer.

“I’ve never been more content and at peace than I am now.”

Originally published as Bailey Smith opens up on mental health struggle, leaving the Bulldogs and lost relationships