Chiefs' Clyde Edwards-Helaire Opens Up About PTSD Diagnosis After Practice Absences

Kansas City Chiefs running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire spoke with reporters Thursday at training camp about living with post-traumatic stress disorder.

"Sometimes I'm admitted into the hospital, something like I can't stop throwing up and it's just, I [don't] know [anything] pretty much to stop it," Edwards-Helaire said, per ESPN's Adam Teicher.

"... Real bad dehydration ... but it's really just mentally just not being there. It is one of those things where early on guys who kind of pay attention like Travis [Kelce] and Kadarius [Toney] at times, they can even, they'll know ahead of time like, 'OK, Clyde's not laughing, he's not giggling, he's not himself.'"

Edwards-Helaire has missed multiple training camp practices, and he told his social media followers about living with PTSD, which has led to multiple flare-ups in July.

Edwards-Helaire revealed that a Dec. 22, 2018, incident, which he called "a self-defense situation," during his time at LSU is where a "majority of things stem from."

"I would say that's probably where a majority of things stem from," Edwards-Helaire said.

"I wouldn't necessarily say everything stemmed from that," he added. "I have best friends that passed away at young ages from gun violence and just not being in the right places at the right time."

Edwards-Helaire also spoke about how his viewpoint on responding to PTSD has changed over the years, from trying to block out everything to opening up more to others.

"My first couple of years, you just try to block everything out and it's like, 'Oh, at some point I'm going to get over it.' And you start to realize that that just doesn't happen. You get older and you realize, 'Hey, no matter the age, no matter the person, no matter the situation, everyone needs help at some point.' It takes courage to talk about it and having PTSD and dealing with it once people kind of bring it up, it is not something that I'd always want to talk about. I never really know how my body will react or my mind, it is just something that I can't really pinpoint or know exactly what's going to happen.

"I feel like talking is a big thing, but it is just getting over that hump personally, being able to know that honestly, just everybody goes through things good [and] bad ... It's a steppingstone. I'm just 25 years old and trying to live the rest of my life healthy."

Edwards-Helaire has spent all four of his pro seasons in Kansas City, amassing 2,610 yards and 19 touchdowns after the Chiefs used the No. 32 overall pick in the 2020 draft on him.

He starred at LSU before going to the pros, helping the 2019 Tigers go undefeated and win the national championship.