<p>England test captain Ben Stokes kept the dialogue on mental health going as the all-rounder revealed he was still on anxiety medication after returning from a six-month break to focus on his wellbeing.</p>.<p>The 31-year-old took a rest from the sport last year to focus on his mental health as he was suffering from a series of panic attacks following the loss of his father to brain cancer almost two years ago.</p>.<p>He announced in July he would retire from one-day cricket citing the "unsustainable" rigour of <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/sports/cricket/three-formats-unsustainable-for-me-ben-stokes-announces-retirement-from-odi-cricket-1127808.html" target="_blank">playing all three formats</a> of the game.</p>.<p>"I never thought I would be on medication to help me for that kind of stuff. I am not embarrassed or ashamed to say it because I needed the help at the time," Stokes said in an Amazon documentary, which will be released on Friday.</p>.<p>"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."</p>.<p>Stokes said he felt deep resentment towards cricket when he took the break because he had been unable to visit his dying father as much as he wanted.</p>.<p>"So I had a real thing with cricket at the time I took a break. I was really angry at the sport because it was dictating when I could see my dad," he told the Telegraph in an interview.</p>.<p>He stressed the importance of opening up about mental health, adding it was not human nature to pretend to be fine.</p>.<p>"I find sometimes people are a bit nervous to go into the detail 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.</p>.<p>"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."</p>
<p>England test captain Ben Stokes kept the dialogue on mental health going as the all-rounder revealed he was still on anxiety medication after returning from a six-month break to focus on his wellbeing.</p>.<p>The 31-year-old took a rest from the sport last year to focus on his mental health as he was suffering from a series of panic attacks following the loss of his father to brain cancer almost two years ago.</p>.<p>He announced in July he would retire from one-day cricket citing the "unsustainable" rigour of <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/sports/cricket/three-formats-unsustainable-for-me-ben-stokes-announces-retirement-from-odi-cricket-1127808.html" target="_blank">playing all three formats</a> of the game.</p>.<p>"I never thought I would be on medication to help me for that kind of stuff. I am not embarrassed or ashamed to say it because I needed the help at the time," Stokes said in an Amazon documentary, which will be released on Friday.</p>.<p>"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."</p>.<p>Stokes said he felt deep resentment towards cricket when he took the break because he had been unable to visit his dying father as much as he wanted.</p>.<p>"So I had a real thing with cricket at the time I took a break. I was really angry at the sport because it was dictating when I could see my dad," he told the Telegraph in an interview.</p>.<p>He stressed the importance of opening up about mental health, adding it was not human nature to pretend to be fine.</p>.<p>"I find sometimes people are a bit nervous to go into the detail 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.</p>.<p>"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."</p>