{"id":411632,"date":"2026-01-14T05:32:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T05:32:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/411632\/"},"modified":"2026-01-14T05:32:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T05:32:08","slug":"james-graham-opens-up-on-rehab-stay-and-mental-health-battle-nrl-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/411632\/","title":{"rendered":"James Graham opens up on rehab stay and mental health battle – NRL News"},"content":{"rendered":"

James Graham<\/a> has opened up on a vulnerable time in his life, pushing for more honest communication around mental health.<\/p>\n

He revealed he spent time in a mental health rehabilitation facility last year, speaking up on a deeply personal battle that led to his sudden disappearance from the airwaves during the 2025 NRL<\/a> season.<\/p>\n

The former NRL<\/a> and Super League<\/a> enforcer, now a media personality, said the past 12 months had been \u201cparticularly hard\u201d as he quietly sought help away from the public eye.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot many people know about this\u2026 I made the decision to go to rehab,\u201d Graham said on his podcast, The Bye Round.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I said I was away on holiday, I was actually a week in a facility for mental health, which wasn’t long enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

Graham enjoyed a decorated playing career spanning more than 400 first-grade matches with St Helens<\/a>, the Canterbury Bulldogs<\/a>, and the St George Illawarra Dragons<\/a>, before transitioning seamlessly into media with Triple M and podcasting.<\/p>\n

But behind the scenes, Graham admitted he was struggling to balance work commitments with his own wellbeing.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou’re supposed to stay there for three weeks, but due to the job, I couldn’t disappear for that long,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cDisappearing for one week was difficult enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"JamesBRISBANE, AUSTRALIA – DECEMBER 02: James Graham of England looks on during the 2017 Rugby League World Cup Final between the Australian Kangaroos and England at Suncorp Stadium on December 2, 2017 in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Graham said stepping away from the game had seen him slip back into unhealthy patterns, including excessive alcohol use.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnnecessary drinking and abuse of alcohol,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople talk about balance in life, [but] I don’t have that.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, it’s just go hard at everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also revealed a confronting conversation with a close friend had been a turning point.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe said, \u2018Lad, I genuinely worry you’ve done something when I don’t hear from you,’\u201d Graham said.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo hear your best mate say that, it’s eye-opening.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the challenges, Graham said seeking help had changed his outlook and encouraged him to speak publicly in the hope others would do the same.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can’t recommend it highly enough,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the week I spent there, I learnt so much and started to see things differently.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following the episode, tributes and messages of support flooded in from across the rugby league community, with fans praising Graham’s honesty and courage.<\/p>\n

Graham said if sharing his story helps even one person seek support, it will have been worth it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"James Graham has opened up on a vulnerable time in his life, pushing for more honest communication around…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":411633,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-411632","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411632","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=411632"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411632\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/411633"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=411632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=411632"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=411632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}