England rugby star reveals his OCD was so bad he feared parents would DIE if he didn’t switch lights off the ‘right’ way
HENRY SLADE has revealed how his obsessive compulsive disorder was so bad he feared his parents would DIE if he failed to switch off the lights the ‘right’ way.
The England centre, 31, developed a number of rituals which hugely impacted his life on and off the pitch.
These included an hour-long bed-time routine, tapping his toes on the floor before putting his socks on and tieing his bootlaces in an intricate manner.
All of them affected his life as he constantly worried about what would happen to his family and friends if he did not perform them.
Slade said: “It would add stress and worry. Throughout my childhood I would have to do certain things to feel safe and to have peace of mind that nothing bad was going to happen to my friends and loved ones.
“The light switch on the wall I would have to click on and off in the right way.
“If I didn’t, I would have to do it a certain amount of times. Getting changed I had to tap my toes on the floor, left foot first — I had a certain order of getting changed.
“I had a bed-time routine which took an hour. I would think if I didn’t do it, something bad would happen to myself, my family, my friends, they would hurt themselves or die or get ill.
“It got worse over the years and I’d have to keep doing more and more things.”
He finally got help from a psychologist after opening up to his Exeter Chiefs team-mates and now concedes his OCD was “ridiculous”.
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In a Sky Sports interview, Slade, also a Type 1 diabetic, added: “As soon as I got help, I was able to help myself more than anything.
“The way you turn off a light switch isn’t going to mean your parents die but my mind was making me think that.
“It was engrained in my life and it progressed into my rugby. The big one was boot laces. A very specific way I had to tie my laces, amount of loops, tightness.”
However, after getting help, the FIRST time he tied his laces “normally” before a game resulted in a horrific broken leg against Wasps.
He required a plate and wiring in what Chiefs head coach Rob Baxter described as “a pretty major operation”.
Premiership and European Champions Cup-winning star Slade recalled: “It was one of the worst injuries I have ever had. It knocked my confidence and I burnt the boots.
“In sport you always have to do baby steps and it’s very much the same with controlling OCD.
“I got more agitated before the World Cup camp but I’m in a good spot now.
“I enjoy life much more than a few years ago. If things are confronted and spoken about you can address them.”