Junior Seau was a Hall of Fame type of football player. He was known for his intensity of play as a linebacker. The story is told of a teammate asking why he practiced so hard. Junior answered that he was paid to practice and played on Sundays for free.
Junior committed suicide a few weeks ago. There is much talk of studying his brain to see if the suicide was a result of head injuries. As I consider things, it seems obvious though that there was a loss of identity. He was a football player. He was excellent. And then who was he?
Loss of purpose is a significant thing. Loss of identity is a significant thing. Head injuries may make it more difficult to deal with the emotional, but I think the loss of identity is significant enough in and of itself.