Blog: Braden Smith returns after missing time last year with mental health issues

This is one of the best stories of training camp. Smith was a desperate soul, but he sought and found help. Now he is `spectacular'.

WESTFIELD, Ind. -- A year ago, the walls were closing in on Colts right tackle Braden Smith. His OCD, specifically a form of it called religious scrupulosity, was scrambling his existence, leaving him deep in the throes of a depression he couldn’t fully explain or understand. He sat out the final five games of last season, chasing answers to questions that didn’t seem to have any answers.

One year later, at Colts training camp Monday, I asked him how he was doing physically and emotionally, and this was his answer:

“I’m in a spectacular place honestly,” he said confidently. “I’ve learned a lot about myself. I’ve learned different tools and strategies. I’ve had a great support system here and at home.”

There is nothing like psychological pain. A physical ailment, you know you will eventually heal, that nature will do its thing and there will be an end date to the suffering. Psychological pain is different. It is worse. It is frightening because you don’t know how to end it. How bad did it get for Smith? He not only thought about quitting football, he also considered suicide. It was a very dark time.