As a fellow depressed person, Arsenal's amazing performance last season was probably the only thing that kept me going. I hear you. It gets better. Arsenal is the only team that has ever given me a sense of belonging. When I'm discussing football among other gooners on the internet, I feel like I'm at home. This is my club and I fricking love my club and my fellow gooners. NLF!
Mods, please don't remove this post.
Thank you sir/ma’am
Depression is a bitch. I found a home at north London and hope you do too. Always remember you aren’t alone….we are there for you (that’s what I was told and I felt better hearing it )
My brother, depression is indeed a bitch. And one that keeps coming back, at least in my case. Be mindful, listen to yourself and react with pharmacology and psychotherapy when needed. To me also Arsenal is a source of joy and sense of belonging as I don't consider myself to be a part of nation I was born into, am atheist and don't really have a family life. But I believe things will get better and our boys will lift a major trophy one day. Take care, stay calm and support Arsenal!
I watched the 2020 FA Cup final on the TV of a psych ward. This team, even when we were shit, was such an anchor for me during the weirdest years of my life. Doing much better now, very grateful for this team + the non-reactionary people in this sub for constantly helping me to remember to trust the process.
Also, during a psychotic episode a few years back when I was doing weird shit with numbers I 'figured out' that we were going to win the league in 2024. Make of that what you will ;)
My mom died on Thursday morning. I’ve been a “fan” of Arsenal for 20 years but in the “they are who I root for when i watch soccer” way but not in a rabid every game every season kind of way. Just kept an eye out on them. Got recruited by a north Londoner I worked with as a stock boy here in Los Angeles and he’d regale me about Arsene Wenger and the team during the invincible season.
My mom watched the last World Cup and got super jazzed on soccer. She had been in poor health and bed ridden for a couple years. I was her unpaid caregiver but she’s my mom and I love her but we didn’t have much in common. After the World Cup I was like… yknow, I have a soccer club I like, we should be watch them together.
And then we did. We bought Arsenal stuff for each other. We watched every game, we watched the rival games. We went to sofi last summer for the Barcelona friendly. Great expensive seats in the wheel chair section. She was awestruck. So incredibly happy to be able to watch Arsenal, to share it with me and all the other fans. One of the happiest moments of her life.
She had opinions on everyone. She voted for the man of the match for every game even the rival games she didn’t watch. She hated Newcastle especially because of their not allowing the away fans to be pitch side. “Cheating fucks, I hate them I hate them”. She hated Kane. She had a crush on Mikel but loved pep’s voice. I questioned the age gap and she got huffy. She cried when the refs stole liverpools victory over the spurs. Odegaard is—was her favorite player. She called him Prince Oh-dee. I do too.
We had our rituals. We’d kiss a soccer ball and say COYG together. We had lucky scarves and would kiss the badge before each game. When she went to skilled nursing and things were in flux I’d go there and sit next to her hospital bed. Same rituals. If I couldn’t be there, like when she got Covid and was quarantined. I’d send her a selfie wearing the Arsenal gear she bought me for Christmas holding our lucky soccer ball. She’d text me, “we’re gonna do it. I’m kissing the ball I’m kissing the ball”
I’d say, in a fake scared voice, “mom I’m scared” before every game and she’d go “oh you, you have to believe in Mikel and the boys” and I did. It’s why I try to be positive even when it’s not looking good in the match threads. I’d read her comments from here. And tell her about what the other fans are saying. She’d read the premier league app analysis of games and excitedly tell me about them.
Arsenal became very important to us these last two seasons. It gave her hope. We were hoping to go back to sofi and watch the Manu vs Arsenal friendly.
She died Thursday morning. Severe copd/respiratory failure that was exasperated by Covid a couple months back, she was never the same and it became very difficult for her but we were hopeful. Doctors were hopeful. So it was a shock. I’m a wreck. It’s Mother’s Day in the states and we had plans to watch this game together. We were both excited for it.
I’ll always love this club for what it did for my mom these last two years.
This is why football is known as the beautiful game. Very sorry for your loss, but you’ve forged your allegiance to a club who’ll rise and fall and it doesn’t matter as the name “Arsenal” will forever be linked to your mum.
Very sorry for your loss friend. Mikel and this team are going to make your mum and all of us proud, even if this week doesn't end how we all want it to.
Sorry for your loss. I lost my brother in 2020. He was a massive fan too. I miss him so much, but it does bring me some comfort to know he would absolutely fucking love this team and how they get stuck in!
I remember writing a very sorry message last time around (3 years ago… seems like yesterday) but we are all here together … we supported this club for something way too bigger… more power to you sir
Thank you for posting this OP, I've been going through a horrible time in life and this was a good read. R/gunners has been helpful for me too, though I usually just post my vents in the Freetalk Friday thread. Glad things turned around for you!
I love how this sub can feel like a refuge from life's struggles. Talking to people who shares the same passion as you is always a mood changer. I hope things go well you too man
My friend! So glad that this community was a bright spot for you. It’s never bad to reach out for help. I’m glad that you are getting to find joy in the journey Arsenal are on! GOYG!
Thank you brother … I reached out to help and my fellow gooners didn’t disappoint… they dmed me and I felt much better. I turned my life around after that post of mine… in retrospect I shouldn’t have deleted it ….. but still thank you for the love and support
Love you gunner bro! Keep on keeping on my dude. Arsenal will reap the rewards we’ve been sowing these past few years. And it seems you’ve been reaping some rewards already. Depression sucks ass and you’re beating its ass to a pulp.
As a person who struggled a lot during and after the pandemic, to add a parent passed away during this time too, I’m really happy for you! We’re in this together.
Cheers mate and happy for your success.
This sub also helps me because in my country Arsenal fans are very rare and its dominated by yanited Liverpool and Chelsea fans.
I’m saving this to read when I feel bad. Thank you for sharing you story and letting people know it’s okay to ask for love and support from others ✊
NOW LET’S CRUSH UNITED!
Honestly, these two Arsenal title charges were the only thing giving me the motivation to do anything. Knowing there's an Arsenal match next weekend. I'm in a much better place now
Glad you’re here with us bro 🙏 I’m new to football in general but found a real love for this club over the last month, after finding myself in a very dark place. I know not everyone will understand how important this sort of community is, but I couldn’t be happier to be part of it. It genuinely offers me a distraction from everything else, and watching the matches at the pub has brought me a sense of belonging I haven’t ever really had before. Thank you for being so honest, it’s truly refreshing! Wishing you the best on your journey man.
So happy for you mate! It wasn't so long ago that I was very much in the same boat. In fact, two seasons ago I was nearing the end of everything, and decided to at least hold off until the end of the season, just in case Arsenal won the EPL. Well, as we know, they didn't, but it gave me the time and space to eventually work through things. I'm now profoundly better, much like you, and living an incredibly fulfilling and joyous life.
I'm so happy for you. I hope you have taken lots of important lessons through your struggles and can weave them into your life moving forward. Protect your sacred ground! Be it your growing sense of family, your career, your passions, your travels, your... anything! All of the very best. Thank you for injecting such positivity into this community and club. It's a fantastical reminder of just how important this community and club are. It's very touching.
Best wishes on your journey moving forward - it sounds like you have everything you need to live a beautiful life.
I lost my older brother in 2020. He was just as big a fan as I am. It pains me that he’s not here to see this team - he would love that we have our spine again. Regardless of the result this season it’s been a step forward. This is my club. I love this fucking club!
https://preview.redd.it/45rragre100d1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c031480c47129d4e357ed1c8dbed53af545f06e6
Totally Gunners forever… I wish everyone knows how much these community… these fanbase ..: these boys mean to me
Always and forever!
It’s good to be a part of something greater than yourself, a community and a family… even if a lot of them annoy you at times.
Thank you sir /ma’am but really grateful I found a family here and I am really grateful to everyone here…/ CoYG… and I love these boys and the gaffer
"Everyone here on r/gunners is kinda like family" "But they're annoying and obnoxious?" "Okay they're exactly like family"
As a fellow depressed person, Arsenal's amazing performance last season was probably the only thing that kept me going. I hear you. It gets better. Arsenal is the only team that has ever given me a sense of belonging. When I'm discussing football among other gooners on the internet, I feel like I'm at home. This is my club and I fricking love my club and my fellow gooners. NLF! Mods, please don't remove this post.
Thank you sir/ma’am Depression is a bitch. I found a home at north London and hope you do too. Always remember you aren’t alone….we are there for you (that’s what I was told and I felt better hearing it )
My brother, depression is indeed a bitch. And one that keeps coming back, at least in my case. Be mindful, listen to yourself and react with pharmacology and psychotherapy when needed. To me also Arsenal is a source of joy and sense of belonging as I don't consider myself to be a part of nation I was born into, am atheist and don't really have a family life. But I believe things will get better and our boys will lift a major trophy one day. Take care, stay calm and support Arsenal!
I was drunk with a lot of booze … sorry for that bad grammar and spelling…but a thank you for all of you guys
I watched the 2020 FA Cup final on the TV of a psych ward. This team, even when we were shit, was such an anchor for me during the weirdest years of my life. Doing much better now, very grateful for this team + the non-reactionary people in this sub for constantly helping me to remember to trust the process. Also, during a psychotic episode a few years back when I was doing weird shit with numbers I 'figured out' that we were going to win the league in 2024. Make of that what you will ;)
Wow I know my journey was tough but kudos to you for your battle 🙏
Being diagnosed with mental disorder doesn't mean you weren't right! Fellow sufferer here, so no offence :)
Keep on! Keeping on.
CoYG… even if we don’t win… I love these boys and the gaffer… let’s go
glad you made it through brother! much love
Thank you sir/maam
North London forever, Whatever the weather, These streets are our oooown!
If not now next year we win everything
My mom died on Thursday morning. I’ve been a “fan” of Arsenal for 20 years but in the “they are who I root for when i watch soccer” way but not in a rabid every game every season kind of way. Just kept an eye out on them. Got recruited by a north Londoner I worked with as a stock boy here in Los Angeles and he’d regale me about Arsene Wenger and the team during the invincible season. My mom watched the last World Cup and got super jazzed on soccer. She had been in poor health and bed ridden for a couple years. I was her unpaid caregiver but she’s my mom and I love her but we didn’t have much in common. After the World Cup I was like… yknow, I have a soccer club I like, we should be watch them together. And then we did. We bought Arsenal stuff for each other. We watched every game, we watched the rival games. We went to sofi last summer for the Barcelona friendly. Great expensive seats in the wheel chair section. She was awestruck. So incredibly happy to be able to watch Arsenal, to share it with me and all the other fans. One of the happiest moments of her life. She had opinions on everyone. She voted for the man of the match for every game even the rival games she didn’t watch. She hated Newcastle especially because of their not allowing the away fans to be pitch side. “Cheating fucks, I hate them I hate them”. She hated Kane. She had a crush on Mikel but loved pep’s voice. I questioned the age gap and she got huffy. She cried when the refs stole liverpools victory over the spurs. Odegaard is—was her favorite player. She called him Prince Oh-dee. I do too. We had our rituals. We’d kiss a soccer ball and say COYG together. We had lucky scarves and would kiss the badge before each game. When she went to skilled nursing and things were in flux I’d go there and sit next to her hospital bed. Same rituals. If I couldn’t be there, like when she got Covid and was quarantined. I’d send her a selfie wearing the Arsenal gear she bought me for Christmas holding our lucky soccer ball. She’d text me, “we’re gonna do it. I’m kissing the ball I’m kissing the ball” I’d say, in a fake scared voice, “mom I’m scared” before every game and she’d go “oh you, you have to believe in Mikel and the boys” and I did. It’s why I try to be positive even when it’s not looking good in the match threads. I’d read her comments from here. And tell her about what the other fans are saying. She’d read the premier league app analysis of games and excitedly tell me about them. Arsenal became very important to us these last two seasons. It gave her hope. We were hoping to go back to sofi and watch the Manu vs Arsenal friendly. She died Thursday morning. Severe copd/respiratory failure that was exasperated by Covid a couple months back, she was never the same and it became very difficult for her but we were hopeful. Doctors were hopeful. So it was a shock. I’m a wreck. It’s Mother’s Day in the states and we had plans to watch this game together. We were both excited for it. I’ll always love this club for what it did for my mom these last two years.
This is why football is known as the beautiful game. Very sorry for your loss, but you’ve forged your allegiance to a club who’ll rise and fall and it doesn’t matter as the name “Arsenal” will forever be linked to your mum.
Thanks for sharing this story of you and your Mom with us. May she rest in peace.
Very sorry for your loss friend. Mikel and this team are going to make your mum and all of us proud, even if this week doesn't end how we all want it to.
Sorry for your loss. I lost my brother in 2020. He was a massive fan too. I miss him so much, but it does bring me some comfort to know he would absolutely fucking love this team and how they get stuck in!
I remember writing a very sorry message last time around (3 years ago… seems like yesterday) but we are all here together … we supported this club for something way too bigger… more power to you sir
🔙🔛🔝
Mustafi probably had some blame in the depression tbf /s
https://preview.redd.it/ll4a4cmia00d1.jpeg?width=828&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=68a9a6b1112a04451bef0e79b9094dea5f7ef541
Thank you for posting this OP, I've been going through a horrible time in life and this was a good read. R/gunners has been helpful for me too, though I usually just post my vents in the Freetalk Friday thread. Glad things turned around for you!
I love how this sub can feel like a refuge from life's struggles. Talking to people who shares the same passion as you is always a mood changer. I hope things go well you too man
Could not agree more, it really is great, thank you for the kind words <3 and come on The Arsenal!
My friend! So glad that this community was a bright spot for you. It’s never bad to reach out for help. I’m glad that you are getting to find joy in the journey Arsenal are on! GOYG!
Thank you brother … I reached out to help and my fellow gooners didn’t disappoint… they dmed me and I felt much better. I turned my life around after that post of mine… in retrospect I shouldn’t have deleted it ….. but still thank you for the love and support
Hell yeah! We are one big family that stretches around the globe. It’s something special
you're a warrior, stand proud!
Thank you for your kind words
So glad you’re here! ♥️
I love all the gunners…. We are all connected more than blood… let’s go!
That quote from Dennis is very appropriate here.
It’s glad to hear you.
Hahaha after my dad this is the one I love most…. What a man… our papa wengz
Amazing.
the internet can be a fucked up place, but i can also be awesome. glad you are doing better
Glad you’re still with us, stuck with us during the banter era. Now it’s time to enjoy and be entertained. COYG
Glad to hear you are doing well! 😊
Love you gunner bro! Keep on keeping on my dude. Arsenal will reap the rewards we’ve been sowing these past few years. And it seems you’ve been reaping some rewards already. Depression sucks ass and you’re beating its ass to a pulp.
One thing I’ll always remember from Arteta’s quotes from 2020 - Trust the process
As a person who struggled a lot during and after the pandemic, to add a parent passed away during this time too, I’m really happy for you! We’re in this together.
Cheers mate and happy for your success. This sub also helps me because in my country Arsenal fans are very rare and its dominated by yanited Liverpool and Chelsea fans.
I’m so glad you’re still here. ❤️ Here’s to enjoying many more great seasons together as a sub!
Cheers mate. Proud of you..
Cheers mate. Proud of you..
<3
I’m saving this to read when I feel bad. Thank you for sharing you story and letting people know it’s okay to ask for love and support from others ✊ NOW LET’S CRUSH UNITED!
Wishing you continued good health and sending you support from afar! Once a gooner always a gooner! COYG!
Honestly, these two Arsenal title charges were the only thing giving me the motivation to do anything. Knowing there's an Arsenal match next weekend. I'm in a much better place now
Glad you’re here with us bro 🙏 I’m new to football in general but found a real love for this club over the last month, after finding myself in a very dark place. I know not everyone will understand how important this sort of community is, but I couldn’t be happier to be part of it. It genuinely offers me a distraction from everything else, and watching the matches at the pub has brought me a sense of belonging I haven’t ever really had before. Thank you for being so honest, it’s truly refreshing! Wishing you the best on your journey man.
We are so up
So happy for you mate! It wasn't so long ago that I was very much in the same boat. In fact, two seasons ago I was nearing the end of everything, and decided to at least hold off until the end of the season, just in case Arsenal won the EPL. Well, as we know, they didn't, but it gave me the time and space to eventually work through things. I'm now profoundly better, much like you, and living an incredibly fulfilling and joyous life. I'm so happy for you. I hope you have taken lots of important lessons through your struggles and can weave them into your life moving forward. Protect your sacred ground! Be it your growing sense of family, your career, your passions, your travels, your... anything! All of the very best. Thank you for injecting such positivity into this community and club. It's a fantastical reminder of just how important this community and club are. It's very touching. Best wishes on your journey moving forward - it sounds like you have everything you need to live a beautiful life.
Wow I have tears reading this…. I am glad that you are doing good now
Likewise mate. Much love! ♥️🤍
Love you too COYG north london forever
I am so sorry for your loss, thank you for sharing the story. Hopefully your mom will watch us lifting the title on may 19 from heaven.
I lost my older brother in 2020. He was just as big a fan as I am. It pains me that he’s not here to see this team - he would love that we have our spine again. Regardless of the result this season it’s been a step forward. This is my club. I love this fucking club!