Strikeout the Stigma
On Tuesday, May 23, 2023, our therapeutic staff, and their families enjoyed a night supporting mental health awareness at the ballpark. The Philadelphia Phillies have adopted a “Strikeout the Stigma” series this summer as they support mental health awareness with panel discussions prior to games once a month. We attended this event as a group and were fortunate to hear Philadelphia Eagles safety and hall of famer Brian Dawkins speak on the topic of mental health in sports. After being introduced, Dawkins stated, “It’s important for us to have this conversation of something that we all have. We all have mental health, but not all of us have a mental illness. As much as we can begin to separate the two, the better we’ll be able to handle these things and deal with the things and knock the stigma completely down.”
Dawkins spoke openly and vulnerably regarding his own battle with mental health while being a successful member of the NFL. He is passionate about paying it forward and sharing his story to assist others in getting help and disregarding the stigma that has surrounded mental health for so long. Since Dawkins's retirement in 2012, he has become open about his experience early in his career with alcoholism, depression, and suicidal ideations. He identifies that during his rookie season, he experienced a lot of change as a professional football player, newlywed, and father.
Dawkins began his speech on May 23, by sharing that he prefers to discuss mental health with the phrase “cerebral wellness” as he believes this combats the stigma associated with mental health. He offered, “The problem is that when I say mental health, what usually happens is a person will think of depression. They’ll think of stress. They’ll think of negative things when you say mental health, but we all have it. There’s such a negative stigma when it comes to mental health. That’s why I changed it to something else.” Dawkins’s speech also focused on his faith and how this is an integral part of his “cerebral wellness” program. He shared that he has a “blessed pack” that he relies on for support and prayers when he is struggling and that he offers the same to them. Dawkins feeds his cerebral wellness with journaling, prayer, meditation, and gratitude daily. He also spoke about the boundary of keeping your support circle small and not blasting your business to the entire world on social media. Although he has worked through the fear of judgment from his peers by speaking openly about his battle with mental health issues, he cautions that one must be able to trust who they are sharing intimate details of their lives with. He advised, if your friend is gossiping to you about someone else, they are probably sharing your stuff with others too.
Dawkins described his time battling depression in the NFL as a time when he had to wear a mask and hold his feelings and thoughts in. Without talking about this or allowing anyone to know that he was struggling he began drinking excessively. Dawkins acknowledged that his upbringing played a role in his struggle as well. He discussed an expectation in his neighborhood to be tough and not let anyone see the emotion in you. He also shared that many influential people throughout his adolescence doubted his ability to succeed due to his size. These experiences contributed to an approach to life where Dawkins presented a “tough guy” that could handle life without support or assistance. He encouraged the crowd to fight through and past the stigma and reach out for help. He shared that going to therapy and taking medication was part of his recovery and he hopes that others will see how it has worked for him and be willing to make similar choices for their own “cerebral wellness”. Dawkins offered, “The first step in the right direction comes from recognizing negative thoughts in our mind that could abuse who we are deep inside.”
Shortly after Dawkins’s induction into the National Football Hall of Fame, the NFL and NFLPA agreed to increase mental health resources for its players by requiring each team to hire a clinician dedicated to supporting players’ mental health. The NFL currently has a Comprehensive Mental Health and Wellness Committee comprised of experts in the field that develops programs to support mental health and wellness. Part of the committee’s mission is to reduce stigma related to mental health and promote suicide prevention and awareness. They now support players transitioning into and out of the NFL, navigating injury, education efforts, and peer support. The committee partners with NFL Total Wellness, Player Care Foundation, and NFL Life Line to support players and their families.
As we left the media room on May 23 and found our way to our seats in the stadium to watch the Phillies compete against the Arizona Diamondbacks we were in awe of Brian Dawkins’ energy surrounding such a delicate topic. He is inspiring in his message to combat stigma and attend to our “cerebral wellness”. It is clear after spending an hour listening to B Dawk share his story, advice, and encouragement, as well as his dynamic personality that he is a natural leader and achieved his status in the Hall of Fame through hard work and dedication not only to his career but also his team, fans, family, friends, and overall, his faith. With a short taste of what his teammates were lucky enough to experience weekly while playing alongside him, we are energized and inspired to strike out the stigma and care for our cerebral wellness.
Thank you B Dawk! And please keep doing what you do!
