Archana Puran Singh and Parmeet Singh’s son Aaryamann Sethi has opened up about the time he was forced to give up his promising football career after suffering a leg injury. During the time of Archana recent vlogAaryamann spoke at length about the same and also revealed how deal with depression and faced racism in London, which shattered his dreams. He played with Queens Park Rangers in England and was looking for a possible career in the English Premier League.
Talking about the difficult period of his life when he was just 14, he said: “The difficult part was leaving home, and I just decided that I wanted to leave home and play football in England and you made it possible. I left home when I was 14. I stayed there for three weeks and just when I settled down, I broke my leg. Then it became very difficult for me. Then I came back to India and was in hospital, they put me on crutches and I had surgery.”
Aaryamann did not give up and the following year he tried his luck in football again. “I went back there next year and it was 10th level, so I had to study a lot too. I wasn’t playing well because I was still recovering from my surgery. Seeing everyone around me growing faster and stronger in the era when people are supposed to do that, I was going backwards. I couldn’t catch up with them,” he admitted.
Aaryamann on confronting racism
When Archana asked him how he felt when his football career ended before it really started, he said, “It wasn’t a moment. It was a slow realization, my dream was breaking. It was difficult to deal with it. And because of that stress I had eczema all over my skin. I used to cry a lot, and I even cried on the field because people would look at me and think how did I get here, but I used to play very well before the injury.”
Speaking about facing racism, he added: “I experienced racism too, but I didn’t care because you guys made me confident in myself. Once a man said to me, ‘Did you come on a donkey to train?’ I told him: ‘Yes, the donkey has a Mercedes sign.’ What are you going to do about it?’”
“I had depression attacks, panic attacks, I stayed in the room all day”
Aaryamann spoke of falling into depression after having to give up football. “When that dream disappeared, I went into depression. I still deal with depression. I had panic attacks, anxiety attacks, my hands shake, I have had episodes of depression so bad that I wouldn’t even leave my room and I would stay there all day. London was hard on me,” he said.
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Sharing how his family supported him during the difficult phase, Aaryamann said, “Reassurance doesn’t help in depression, just spending time with that person helps, and you all spend time with me. Mom has been the most supportive.”
“I was desperate to succeed”
Archana shared that she too was deeply affected seeing her son suffer and remembered the words Zeenat Aman told her. “Zeenat used to say that children are a pain in the heart when they are away from you, and they are a pain in the butt when they are close to you,” he said.
Aaryamann revealed that he developed fear of failure during that phase. He said: “My parents gave me this fear of not being successful. Every year when I didn’t conform, I started to feel worse. After a while I got desperate and was like kuch bhi chalega, kuch bhi kaam karunga. That’s when I realized that I want to do music and I’ll be happy if I keep doing that. I don’t have depression anymore, which is great. My anxiety is 50% to 20% of what it used to be. I don’t understand attacks of panic, I don’t get stressed.”
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talking to indian expressThat Culture Thing’s existential psychotherapist suggested how parents can help children if they’re facing anxiety and withdrawal, and how to spot the signs: “It’s important to observe without jumping to conclusions. Watch for changes in sleep, eating, energy, or mood. If they stop doing things they once enjoyed or seem emotionally bored, it’s a sign they may be struggling. The key is to remain available and make them feel safe enough to share what’s really happening.”