“Maybe see a therapist.”
“Dude, time to get the prescription refilled.”
“CVS closed today?”
Over the past few weeks, the above juvenile comments regarding mental health have been made on the D1 Women’s Lacrosse board. It got me thinking. These days, you have to have your head buried in the sand to not have heard of Morgan’s Message in women’s lacrosse circles and the general mental health crisis in this country among teens and others.
Making jokes about mental health, or worse, using mental health topics to insult people, is not only shameful, but ignorant and irresponsible. That snide remarks about a persons mental health are spit out due to something as trivial as a disagreement about a women’s lacrosse topic is an embarrassingly sad state of affairs.
I thought the words of coach McInturf (below) might be educational to help remove the stigma* of mental health on these boards and make everyone feel welcome here; whether they go to therapy or not, and whether they are on prescribed medication from their physician or not. I doubt any parent who has experienced this—for themselves or their family—would appreciate reading the above childish remarks while perusing this forum.
“November is Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month. Men are 3.5 times more likely to commit suicide and are 36% less likely to seek professional therapy than women. The stigma surrounding men’s mental health needs to change. Admitting that everything isn’t okay and seeking help from loved ones is a display of strength rather than weakness.
As a high school lacrosse coach I am around dozens of athletes that could be fighting the same mental battles I did when I was their age. I wanted to share my experience with mental health in the hopes that others don’t feel isolated.
In my high school years I suffered from depression and had suicidal thoughts. Being around family and friends and playing lacrosse we’re my outlets allowing me to channel my emotions. In college I suffered through intense anxiety, feeling inadequate in every aspect of life, always being my own harshest critic. I described as an always looming darkness around me. I was able to find peace in working out, playing lacrosse and being around friends.
After graduating I fell into a long and exhausting period of depression as I felt helpless and unfulfilled in my first job after school. I used to hide my feelings and emotions and cage it in putting up a facade that I was okay to avoid people asking how I felt. I resented the thought that I was different or broken. I wasn’t broken. I was a victim of a stigma that mental health was my fault, that I was abnormal.
Mental Health will be this generations greatest obstacle and it starts with changing the stigma. Therapy doesn’t mean you’re crazy. It’s no different than a check up at the doctors.”
Coach McInturf - Defensive Coordinator for Olentangy Orange High School Varsity Boys Lacrosse
And this article regarding Morgan’s Message:
https://www.whsv.com/2021/04/19/morgans ... athletics/
* “Stigma - a mark of disgrace associated with a particular circumstance, quality, or person.”
* “Social stigma is the disapproval of, or discrimination against, an individual or group based on perceivable social characteristics that serve to distinguish them from other members of a society.”
