Charles Haley

• Haley was diagnosed with bipolar disorder several years after his NFL career ended. He has said the diagnosis followed a period in which he was struggling with suicidal thoughts and increasingly recognized that he needed help. [3]
• He later spoke publicly about the diagnosis in interviews and in his 2016 memoir Fear No Evil: Tackling Quarterbacks and Demons on My Way to the Hall of Fame. Haley has said that stigma and his reluctance to admit he had a mental illness had previously made it difficult for him to seek help. [2]

• Haley has described struggling with severe mood and behavioural changes throughout much of his life and NFL career. He said that problems that had been present since childhood worsened in college and again in the NFL, where he became known for an intense temper, confrontations and difficulty trusting or allowing people close to him. Looking back, Haley has said that an earlier diagnosis might have improved his relationships with teammates and coaches. [2]
• He has also spoken openly about suicidal thinking during and after his football career. Haley said there were many times when he considered killing himself, including thoughts of driving off a bridge or making his death appear accidental. After retirement, a frightening outburst in front of his children helped convince him that he needed to seek treatment. [2]

• After deciding to seek help, Haley said he went to a diagnostic center, where he stayed while clinicians adjusted his medication. He then attended a bipolar depression treatment center in Minnesota, where he learned strategies for managing his illness. [3]
• Haley has acknowledged that he initially resisted taking medication. He later said that accepting that he had a mental illness, getting professional help and taking his medication were important turning points in his treatment. [4]

• Haley has said that finding effective medication and learning how to recognize his mood cycles helped him become more stable. In 2012, after years of difficulty with treatment, he entered the La Paloma Treatment Center in Memphis and found a treatment approach that he said worked for him. [5]
• He has described managing bipolar disorder as an ongoing process rather than something that has disappeared. He pays attention to changes in mood, stress and how much he is taking on, and has said that medication remains central to maintaining stability. [7]

• Since speaking publicly about his diagnosis, Haley has become an advocate for mental health awareness, particularly around the stigma that can prevent men from seeking help. He has said that fear and shame kept him from acknowledging his illness earlier and has encouraged others to seek professional help rather than hide what they are experiencing. [2]
• He has spoken about bipolar disorder at mental-health events, including programs with the Menninger Clinic and the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Haley has emphasized that bipolar disorder is something he expects to manage for the rest of his life and that he no longer feels ashamed of the diagnosis. [6]

“Silence is a killer. Being bipolar is something I'm going to deal with for the rest of my life and I'm not ashamed of it.”

— Charles Haley [6]