Stokes opens up about taking drugs and medications for anxiety

Ben Stokes, the Test captain for England, spoke candidly about his issues with mental health and his use of anxiety drugs. Stokes discussed it in an amazon documentary, saying he kept taking the medications even after he returned from a six-month break from the sport last year to concentrate on his mental health.

"I never thought I would be on medication to help me with that kind of stuff [anxiety]. I am not embarrassed or ashamed to say it because I needed the help at the time," Stokes said in an Amazon documentary. "But it's not done just because I'm back playing. I still speak to the doc, not as regularly, and I'm still taking medication every day. It's an ongoing process."

Stokes break from cricket was welcomed by the English and Wales Cricket Board and he too constantly emphasised on the need to open up about mental health  

​​"I find sometimes people are a bit nervous to go into the details about that kind of stuff with me. It's perceived you can't feel a certain way - that's a sign of weakness to show that you are not mentally feeling great," he said. "People think they can't ask people who have struggled. No. It's fine. I'll happily tell you as much as I possibly can."

Joe Root praised Stokes for his candour in discussing a subject that is frequently viewed as difficult to open up about and said it displayed "amazing courage" on the part of the current Test captain.

"I think it's exactly what you've come to see from Ben as a leader," Root said. "How honest he is, what he expects of everyone else is stuff he would be willing to do himself. I think it shows great courage, great bravery to come out and speak openly about that stuff and some of the struggles he has personally been through.

"We were all there with him going through it, it's not easy to see a close friend and team-mate like that but look at him now. It's great to have him leading this team and making Test cricket so enjoyable to play and to watch."