Author Topic: The Mental Health Support Thread  (Read 10538 times)

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Re: The Mental Health Support Thread
« Reply #15 on: October 22, 2021, 04:20:22 PM »

Offline Smartacus

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I've been putting in some work to address my mental health.

In college I was diagnosed with ADHD. I chose to forego the medication since I was considering the army after graduation and was told that you cannot get in if you are prescribed Adderall.

Struggled a bit after college. Was a bit directionless with no plans to do anything with my Communications degree. I had a short stint as a credit card processing salesman which lead to bar backing weddings for 3 years until I finally found my way to Logistics working for Amtrak. I've always been decent enough at it although i have been plagued throughout my career by careless mental errors that show up to this day. I was always good enough to get by but wasn't quite excelling.

Today I am an Operations Manager for the American branch of a Korean Biotech Firm. My boss who's wife is a social worker suggested I seek counselling to address the small errors that pop up, so for the last year I've seen a therapist once a month that's helped me work through a lot of my issues and in general provides something of a guiding beacon to keep me from straying too far off my path. In general my mistakes are down and most people in my life feel they seen a change in me.

I also do group therapy twice a month which has been a positive experience as well. That's been a trip because there's a responsibility to help others through their own problems as they work with you on yours.

If you are considering therapy I do highly recommend it. I haven't faced much of a stigma personally and in fact you may be surprised at how many people are rooting for you to go through some self improvement and discovery.

Thanks for the thread Nick. Always nice to have an outlet to get it off your chest.

Re: The Mental Health Support Thread
« Reply #16 on: November 01, 2021, 06:48:34 PM »

Offline nickagneta

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Calvin Ridley, star WR for the Atlanta Falcons, becomes the latest in a string of professional athletes going public with their mental health issues and taking time away from sports.

I am happy seeing that the more famous people that come forward with these issues, the less mental health is stigmatized and accepted as a real health issue in this country. People with mental health issues need to know they will be accepted by others and by society and not ostracized or stigmatized or felt to be considered weaker or less of a person simply because the have a mental health issue.

Re: The Mental Health Support Thread
« Reply #17 on: November 01, 2021, 07:09:32 PM »

Online Roy H.

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Calvin Ridley, star WR for the Atlanta Falcons, becomes the latest in a string of professional athletes going public with their mental health issues and taking time away from sports.

I am happy seeing that the more famous people that come forward with these issues, the less mental health is stigmatized and accepted as a real health issue in this country. People with mental health issues need to know they will be accepted by others and by society and not ostracized or stigmatized or felt to be considered weaker or less of a person simply because the have a mental health issue.

I'm curious what your thoughts are on this:  How do you handle mental health absences in a league of guaranteed contracts?  If a player wants to take time off because their mental health isn't right, should they still get paid?  What if the absence is a year, or two?  Depression can be chronic, and potentially career ending.  It's also almost based largely on self-report.  If Ben Simmons tells the Sixers he can't mentally play, are they on the hook for $160 million if his doctor says he's not getting better?

It's a really tricky situation to navigate, I think.  Mental health needs support, but is it an avenue for guys to force trades and not honor contracts?


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Re: The Mental Health Support Thread
« Reply #18 on: November 01, 2021, 07:23:16 PM »

Offline nickagneta

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Calvin Ridley, star WR for the Atlanta Falcons, becomes the latest in a string of professional athletes going public with their mental health issues and taking time away from sports.

I am happy seeing that the more famous people that come forward with these issues, the less mental health is stigmatized and accepted as a real health issue in this country. People with mental health issues need to know they will be accepted by others and by society and not ostracized or stigmatized or felt to be considered weaker or less of a person simply because the have a mental health issue.

I'm curious what your thoughts are on this:  How do you handle mental health absences in a league of guaranteed contracts?  If a player wants to take time off because their mental health isn't right, should they still get paid?  What if the absence is a year, or two?  Depression can be chronic, and potentially career ending.  It's also almost based largely on self-report.  If Ben Simmons tells the Sixers he can't mentally play, are they on the hook for $160 million if his doctor says he's not getting better?

It's a really tricky situation to navigate, I think.  Mental health needs support, but is it an avenue for guys to force trades and not honor contracts?
I think it needs to be handled much like physical ailments. If someone needs a mental health break with a game or two off, it should be handled no differently than someone getting sick or the flu and needing a game or two off.

Extended time off for physical ailments are almost always at the behest of team physicians who verify the injury and set a regimen for recovery and a timeline to return. Maybe have every team have a psychiatrist and psychologist to treat mental health issues and verify their existence and set about a plan to recovery and return to the team.

If the mental health issue is such that it's permanently going to impair the player's ability to perform, have the player retire and have it handled accordingly, like the Chris Bosh situation.

Just handle it like regular physical ailments. It might mean the 30 teams adding mental health professionals to their teams, if they don't already have them, and something put into the CBA that if you are claiming a mental health issue you must be seen by a team medical professional for treatment and verification.

Regarding Simmons, if he went to a mental health professional my guess is that professional could determine the veracity of his claim quite easily.