Premiership Lion Jess Wuetschner has opened up the mental health battle that has kept her away from featuring in the AFLW in recent months.
While continuing to train with the club throughout this season, Wuetschner has been absent from the Lions' matchday duties since Round 4.
The 29-year-old revealed she has placed her mental health and wellbeing as a priority throughout the season, hoping to eventually step back onto the field with her teammates in the future.
“I’ve needed to focus on my mental health for a while now,” Wuetschner said, via the club's website.
“Football has been a huge part of my life for a very long time, so it was incredibly hard to make that decision.
“I’ve already made great progress in the last six weeks. Thank you to those that have reached out, I look forward to getting back out and playing football when I am ready."
Wuetschner has been a stalwart in Brisbane's successful AFLW era, booting two goals in all three of the club's grand final appearances and winning her maiden premiership medal in 2021.
The Lions star has played 38 games for Brisbane since making her debut in 2017, booting 37 goals to rank seventh on the AFLW's all-time leading goal-kickers leaderboard.
"I've always been super transparent on any mental health battles that I've had, so again I will be," she wrote to Instagram on Friday.
"I am not sad I am just scared, my fight or flight has been heightened and overactive for quite some time which has made it difficult for me to leave the house or participate in life.
"The anxiety this has caused has made my quality of life pretty sh*t. But I am currently doing EDMR therapy to work through some contributing factors.
"I'm feeling better than I have for a while."
The Zero Hanger team extend their support to Jess, a friend and contributor to our team, through this period.
