In this article it talks about Lane Johnson and his battles with mental health. I encourage everyone take the time to read this short article but I can cover a brief overview as well.
For those of you who don’t know, Lane Johnson is a professional football player for the Philadelphia Eagles, and he is BIG STRONG MAN. Obviously known for his physical strength on the field but most recently know for the strength of publicizing his mental health battles with Anxiety and Depression. Lane spent two weeks away from the team to really address his health first.
A great takeaway from the article was when Lane mentioned how common this was for players; "We're all human. We're not monsters," Johnson said during the Eagles' Super Bowl run in 2017. "I think I heard it at the combine: 50% of guys have dealt with anxiety, depression. It's not foreign. It's just something that's not talked about. It's a stigma where it's seen as a weakness. When you bring it to light, a lot of people in this world have it." He is absolutely right that this stigma is really holding people back from being their best self.
I can relate on a smaller level of being a collegiate athlete dealing with mental health and for me I felt like I could muscle through anything. Now picture this giant human beings, who get paid to push people in the opposite direction in front of thousands of people every Sunday. But that is what needs to be reminded to everyone! It doesn’t matter how big or strong you physically are, YOU ARE NOT ALONE and don’t need to muscle through these challenging times. Lane has seen success on all levels and mental health is a TEAM SPORT just like Football. Can’t be handled by just one person. And thats okay.
Everyone should be more like Lane these past couple weeks. True strength is showing vulnerability and accepting love, help and faith from others and know you are lucky to have it. I challenge everyone to talk about their mental health (on any level) and be STRONG to end this stigma!
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