TRIPLE premiership Hawk Josh Gibson has bravely opened up on his battle with “severe anxiety”, revealing he has seen psychologists in the past to help him with his mental health.

Gibson’s honest comments come after it was announced this week that Bulldogs power forward Tom Boyd would be taking an indefinite break from the AFL to continue treatment for clinical depression.

Bulldogs teammate Travis Cloke and Collingwood forward Alex Fasolo have also taken time away from their clubs this year to address similar issues.

Gibson said he was proud of players like Boyd and Fasolo and their bravery when it came to publicly announcing their mental health issues.

Round 18

The Hawthorn veteran admitted that he has had dealt with his own issues in the past and that triggers like negative “media scrutiny” can “pile up on guys”.

“There’s things sometimes that are out of your control and they can stress you,” Gibson told SEN’s Superbox on Friday night.

“It could be anything, it could be an article written about you ... you’ve got social media — I’m not one to really read what’s written about me on those forms, but there’s other guys that see that.

Josh Gibson has won three flags with Hawthorn. Source: Getty Images

“For me, there’s definitely been articles at times that have really heightened my anxiety.

“It’s about just being able to deal with it. The day and age we’re in now, it’s a lot easier to speak to people and feel confident about talking up those sorts of things as a footballer.

“On those forums you have keyboard warriors who say nice things when you play well but when things aren’t going your way they quickly turn on you.

“Players can get sucked into reading those things when you are doing well and it’s feeding your ego and then they turn on you and it can become brutal.”

Gibson owns some land near Daylesford north of Melbourne, which he makes use of to get away from the football bubble.

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“I like to get up there, get out of the city, up to the farm, got some horses up there — it’s definitely my release,” Gibson said.

“In Melbourne, we have got so many teams here. It’s in your face, it’s in the paper every day — especially when you’re at a club like Hawthorn and everyone in the street wants to talk to you about when you’re winning or when you’re losing.

“It’s my way of getting away.”

Gibson also revealed that he was still undecided about his playing future.

The 33-year-old is out of contract at season’s end, but said he would sit down with Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson and finalise his decision soon.

“I’ve got a really good relationship with ‘Clarko’. We talk constantly about everything,” Gibson said.