West Coast defender Tom Barrass has given a brutally honest assessment of his 2019 season, saying he lost his love for the game as the pressure of performing consumed him.

Key points: Tom Barrass injured his foot and struggled for much of last year

Tom Barrass injured his foot and struggled for much of last year He spent the summer reassessing his balance between life and football

He spent the summer reassessing his balance between life and football It comes as the AFL places more of a focus on players' mental health

Barrass was one of the stars of the Eagles' 2018 premiership, but a foot injury in round four ruled him out for much of last season and he struggled to regain his form.

"I had to have the surgery and throughout that process, I probably just lost my enjoyment for the game," he said.

"The pressure and the expectation of performing to a premiership level, of winning another flag, of wanting to be a good player, I probably let that consume me a bit too much.

"Once that starts to snowball, you lose control a bit.

"Once your confidence goes, and you combine that with not really feeling passionate about your footy, your performance goes too."

Balancing life on and off the field

Over the summer, Barrass was forced to reassess the balance between football and other aspects of his life.

He switched from science to arts at university, began doing some work in radio and found a passion for gardening.

"It was a long off-season for me, I was trying to figure out how to do it and I think I arrived on having a better off-field balance," he said.

Tom Barrass has reassessed the balance between football and other elements of his life after an injury. ( AAP: Richard Wainwright )

"Really, it's about finding things that you're passionate about, that you can give your time to, to create an identity for yourself that doesn't depend on how many kicks and how many handballs you get.

"It's not an easy profession, so just trying to let go and [say] 'don't worry about it', it doesn't really work like that.

"You've got to distract yourself, and that's something that in itself takes a year or two to learn."

Mental health focus in AFL

The AFL has seen an increasing trend of players taking time away from the sport because of a decline in their mental health.

Fremantle Dockers star Jesse Hogan was the latest high-profile player to step away for the game, in January, due to mental health problems.

Fremantle Dockers forward Jesse Hogan is taking leave from the club to focus on his wellbeing. ( AAP: Julian Smith )

Barrass said the pressure could become too much if players were focused on football 24 hours a day.

"It's probably more of an issue as you get towards the end of the career," he said.

"If you don't work on things like this now, you come out of the game and you've developed habits that aren't sustainable for someone who's not getting paid great money.

"On top of it, your identity is attached to [football], and when it gets taken away from you, you're just completely out on your feet.

"I think that's something the AFL Players' Association has recognised and the AFL itself, the issues around mental health, and it's something that they've urged the clubs to start working at."