Before you think "Oh poo! Not another thread about the Crows Camp!" and "when will this camp-talk ever stop?!"; please understand this thread will be a highly informative one, and a discussion tackling this issue from another angle. This thread is for those who have a genuine interest in mental health and a genuine respect for those suffering from mental health and trauma experiences.
The background:
Sam McClure and Caroline Wilson are the 2 journos, being the 2 biggest proponents of claim that there was much turmoil going on in that particular camp. It was claimed to be a "debacle" or "disaster" of such massive proportions. The fact they used such sinister terms and the fact that they've persisted with multiple articles that just seems to carry on up until present day, what it boils down to is that they are insinuating the Crows camp in 2018 had caused a traumatising effect on the players and the team morale as a whole.
The facts/rumours:
- Some cultural clash relating to the use of an Aboriginal talking stick
- players blindfolded listening to the Richmond theme song (and on repeat, although of an unknown duration)
- players tied to ropes and trees
- a player felt physically unwell (Lynch)
- some players didn't feel it had much benefits; some felt it was a worthwhile experience
- a player said it wasn't the worst camp he had been involved in (ex-Carlton player)
- the AFL had investigated and felt there was nothing illegal going on
- no players demanded an immediate trade since the camp had occurred, and in fact by the end of the year, only one player had asked to be traded (Mitch McGovern).
So John, why do you seem to have a thing against McClure/Wilson?
The truth is, I honestly believe McClure/Wilson not only are being sensationalists with their reporting of this Crows camp, but they are being extremely demeaning to those who've suffered mental illnesses, and in particular, those who've suffered actual traumatic experiences.
I can explain further..
I work in the health field and have a special interest in mental health. To better understand the narrative of the articles surrounding said camp, we need to understand the differences between "stress", "mental illness" and "trauma".
Stress vs Mental Illness vs Trauma
Stress = worries/concerns that are often happening to each and everyone of us on a near day-to-day basis; when relaxing, doing hobbies, going on a weekend trip, usually the stress disappears and we don't think of it as much.
Mental Illness = stress on a more pervasive, persisting level; often it can get worse and worse if we don't attend to our stress triggers and ignore an attempt at improving or resolving these stress triggers; with the mind being persistently weakened/overloaded/distorted, this often eventuates in less enjoyment in hobbies, work, family and life in general.
Trauma = (According to the DSM-5) “actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence” .
Stressful events not involving an immediate threat to life or physical injury such as psychosocial stressors (e.g., divorce or job loss) are not considered trauma in this definition
So what's really your point John?
It really boils down to this:
Stress is something that only an individual can feel and hard for anyone else to quantify.
Mental illness and emotional Trauma, on the other hand, it is often more than just someone saying "I feel down/anxious". Much like physical illness or physical injury, there are objective measures that need to take place in order for us to know that someone is physically unwell/injured. Often you need a doctor's report with his examination findings and then a scan (Xray, ultrasound or CT scan) to evaluate further the extent of the condition. So in a similar vein, for a mental illness or emotional trauma to be diagnosed, it actually requires a mental health clinician (GP, psychologist, psychiatrist) to properly evaluate. Often the diagnosis might also need collateral history from family/friends/work mates to have a clearer understanding of the psychological condition.
So what has any of the above got to do with you bagging McClure/Wilson?
What these 2 journos are doing is that they're reporting on the activities of the camp, merging some loose facts that some players had felt unpleasant or stressed, and they've ended up concluding that the players have been traumatised. Effectively what they've done is they've come up with their own conclusion that the players were traumatised from the camp, when it really needed an official clinician to report this, not some journos who don't seem to have any clue on what mental illness is all about.
It would be like you telling me you felt unhappy at work today, and then I turn around and tell your best friend you have a Major Depression! That is being irresponsible and to be perfectly honest, totally demeaning to the players and disrespectful to people who have suffered from actual mental illnesses.
I don't lay claim to know what really went on in the camp, but if emotional trauma is being insinuated as a result of said camp, it really needs to have some level of objective evidence of emotional trauma.
Were there any objective signs of trauma by the Crows players in the immediate aftermath of the Camp?
From my personal experiences with patients who've suffered from trauma, be it childhood abuse (physical, verbal, sexual), domestic violence or unresolved grief; often these groups of people have significant sets of symptoms. For example: insomnia, loss of weight/appetite, reduced memory/concentration. They also might have flashbacks and nightmares relating to the traumatic experience. With such overwhelming mental disturbances, often this will lead to a decline in physical functioning and/or work performances. Often, traumatised victims will find it very hard to perform their usual work, or will likely find their work performances have declined immediately after the traumatic experience.
I've studied a lot of footage of players and team morale in the 3 months after news of the camp had come to light. Here's some articles/footage:
* Feb 15, 2018: https://www.afc.com.au/news/148918/crows-take-out-aflx
* 29/3/2018 Rd 2: beating Richmond (mighty feat despite supposedly being traumatised by listening to the Richmond theme song...on repeat..)
* 8/4/2018: Eddie tells his team mates the wife just given birth to twins:
www.afc.com.au
* 23/4/2018 Rd 5: beating Swans in Sydney (when the team was starting to be injury-riddled with the hamstrings)
*18/5/2020 Rd 9: sitting on 4th spot with 6 wins, 3 losses.
No objective evidence whatsoever that this was a team in mental disarray, in the 3 months immediately after the camp incident.
----------------------------------------------------
TLDR - Without any objective evidence of a traumatised team/players, and without a definitive report that emotional trauma had occurred, what ground does McClure/Wilson have that emotional trauma had occurred because of camp? Remember, the key issue being that unpleasant feelings DOES NOT mean the same as emotional trauma (formal diagnosis needed by a mental health worker).
So all this talk about what players did what to each other, or how many ropes were tied to how many trees, the end point is if McClure/Wilson were the ones who self-determined it was emotional trauma, then they're simply being irresponsible lame-ass journos.
The background:
Sam McClure and Caroline Wilson are the 2 journos, being the 2 biggest proponents of claim that there was much turmoil going on in that particular camp. It was claimed to be a "debacle" or "disaster" of such massive proportions. The fact they used such sinister terms and the fact that they've persisted with multiple articles that just seems to carry on up until present day, what it boils down to is that they are insinuating the Crows camp in 2018 had caused a traumatising effect on the players and the team morale as a whole.
The facts/rumours:
- Some cultural clash relating to the use of an Aboriginal talking stick
- players blindfolded listening to the Richmond theme song (and on repeat, although of an unknown duration)
- players tied to ropes and trees
- a player felt physically unwell (Lynch)
- some players didn't feel it had much benefits; some felt it was a worthwhile experience
- a player said it wasn't the worst camp he had been involved in (ex-Carlton player)
- the AFL had investigated and felt there was nothing illegal going on
- no players demanded an immediate trade since the camp had occurred, and in fact by the end of the year, only one player had asked to be traded (Mitch McGovern).
So John, why do you seem to have a thing against McClure/Wilson?
The truth is, I honestly believe McClure/Wilson not only are being sensationalists with their reporting of this Crows camp, but they are being extremely demeaning to those who've suffered mental illnesses, and in particular, those who've suffered actual traumatic experiences.
I can explain further..
I work in the health field and have a special interest in mental health. To better understand the narrative of the articles surrounding said camp, we need to understand the differences between "stress", "mental illness" and "trauma".
Stress vs Mental Illness vs Trauma
Stress = worries/concerns that are often happening to each and everyone of us on a near day-to-day basis; when relaxing, doing hobbies, going on a weekend trip, usually the stress disappears and we don't think of it as much.
Mental Illness = stress on a more pervasive, persisting level; often it can get worse and worse if we don't attend to our stress triggers and ignore an attempt at improving or resolving these stress triggers; with the mind being persistently weakened/overloaded/distorted, this often eventuates in less enjoyment in hobbies, work, family and life in general.
Trauma = (According to the DSM-5) “actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence” .
Stressful events not involving an immediate threat to life or physical injury such as psychosocial stressors (e.g., divorce or job loss) are not considered trauma in this definition
So what's really your point John?
It really boils down to this:
Stress is something that only an individual can feel and hard for anyone else to quantify.
Mental illness and emotional Trauma, on the other hand, it is often more than just someone saying "I feel down/anxious". Much like physical illness or physical injury, there are objective measures that need to take place in order for us to know that someone is physically unwell/injured. Often you need a doctor's report with his examination findings and then a scan (Xray, ultrasound or CT scan) to evaluate further the extent of the condition. So in a similar vein, for a mental illness or emotional trauma to be diagnosed, it actually requires a mental health clinician (GP, psychologist, psychiatrist) to properly evaluate. Often the diagnosis might also need collateral history from family/friends/work mates to have a clearer understanding of the psychological condition.
So what has any of the above got to do with you bagging McClure/Wilson?
What these 2 journos are doing is that they're reporting on the activities of the camp, merging some loose facts that some players had felt unpleasant or stressed, and they've ended up concluding that the players have been traumatised. Effectively what they've done is they've come up with their own conclusion that the players were traumatised from the camp, when it really needed an official clinician to report this, not some journos who don't seem to have any clue on what mental illness is all about.
It would be like you telling me you felt unhappy at work today, and then I turn around and tell your best friend you have a Major Depression! That is being irresponsible and to be perfectly honest, totally demeaning to the players and disrespectful to people who have suffered from actual mental illnesses.
I don't lay claim to know what really went on in the camp, but if emotional trauma is being insinuated as a result of said camp, it really needs to have some level of objective evidence of emotional trauma.
Were there any objective signs of trauma by the Crows players in the immediate aftermath of the Camp?
From my personal experiences with patients who've suffered from trauma, be it childhood abuse (physical, verbal, sexual), domestic violence or unresolved grief; often these groups of people have significant sets of symptoms. For example: insomnia, loss of weight/appetite, reduced memory/concentration. They also might have flashbacks and nightmares relating to the traumatic experience. With such overwhelming mental disturbances, often this will lead to a decline in physical functioning and/or work performances. Often, traumatised victims will find it very hard to perform their usual work, or will likely find their work performances have declined immediately after the traumatic experience.
I've studied a lot of footage of players and team morale in the 3 months after news of the camp had come to light. Here's some articles/footage:
* Feb 15, 2018: https://www.afc.com.au/news/148918/crows-take-out-aflx
* 29/3/2018 Rd 2: beating Richmond (mighty feat despite supposedly being traumatised by listening to the Richmond theme song...on repeat..)
* 8/4/2018: Eddie tells his team mates the wife just given birth to twins:
Adelaide Crows Latest Videos | Videos Home | Adelaide Football Club
The latest videos from the Adelaide Football Club.
* 23/4/2018 Rd 5: beating Swans in Sydney (when the team was starting to be injury-riddled with the hamstrings)
*18/5/2020 Rd 9: sitting on 4th spot with 6 wins, 3 losses.
No objective evidence whatsoever that this was a team in mental disarray, in the 3 months immediately after the camp incident.
----------------------------------------------------
TLDR - Without any objective evidence of a traumatised team/players, and without a definitive report that emotional trauma had occurred, what ground does McClure/Wilson have that emotional trauma had occurred because of camp? Remember, the key issue being that unpleasant feelings DOES NOT mean the same as emotional trauma (formal diagnosis needed by a mental health worker).
So all this talk about what players did what to each other, or how many ropes were tied to how many trees, the end point is if McClure/Wilson were the ones who self-determined it was emotional trauma, then they're simply being irresponsible lame-ass journos.
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