by Kelly Muratorri,, LMHC, LPC
Hulu knows me well. Cooking shows, true crime, and mental health. Recently in my recommendations was a show called Tackling Mental Health. In this show, Michael Strahan, a Good Morning America co-anchor, sports legend, and all-around great human, spoke with a group of black athletes about their struggles with mental health. If you don’t have Hulu, you can watch it here for free.
New York Jet’s Solomon Thomas began struggling with his mental health after his sister died by suicide in 2018. In an article about Thomas by the Associated Press, he was said to be “lost, stuck in a dark place mentally while desperately trying to overcome the anxiety, depression and sadness that gnawed at him”. His general manager saw his struggle. He approached him and let him know they had help for him. Thomas eventually learned that the right therapist can validate our emotions and help us realize we are not alone.
Olympian Anna Cockrell was struggling with what some call “high functioning” depression. She felt embarrassment and shame for not feeling “fine”. In a 2021 Yahoo Sports article, she said she had decided in her freshman year that “the way to cope was to bury her sadness and work harder than she’d ever worked before, keeping an unreal schedule … that became overwhelming”. Her coach recognized changes and helped her connect with a mental health therapist. Cockrell acknowledged the benefit of therapy during a crisis, but also pointed out the importance of consistent participation and digging to find answers.
Minnesota Timberwolves Karl-Anthony Towns began “deteriorating” after experiencing the heartbreaking loss of his mother to COVID. The head of the team’s medical department supported him through his grief. Towns stated he evolved and learned to take his time and know himself. In a recent news report earlier this month, Towns noted that “sitting on a couch, talking openly about mental struggles and how to heal from them, can change the perception of mental health in the Black community.
Strahan is a staunch advocate for mental health. An article in the U.S. Sun describes Strahan as “very forthcoming about the challenges he's faced in his life”. In Tackling Mental Health, he pointed out some of the barriers to individuals in the black community reaching out for or receiving mental health care. Of the ones he mentioned, stigma and shame stood out to me. Did you know that only one-third of black adults struggling with mental health issues seek help? A likely contributor to this statistic is the cultural aspect of mental health, which includes stigma and shame. That should not be a barrier to possible life-saving mental health care.
So what can we take away from this short, but powerful show?
Vulnerability is not a weakness.
No one is to blame for mental health struggles, and everyone deserves to heal.
No one has it “worse” than you. Your struggle is your own, and you do not deserve to minimize your struggle.
There is nothing “bad” about negative emotions. You are allowed to feel more than the “good” emotions.
You are not crazy. You are human.
If you need help, you can message me. I can help with resources if I am unable to help you personally. If you need to talk to someone now, you can call 988 or click here to chat immediately with a crisis counselor.
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Kelly is an EMDR-Trained trauma counselor. She is licensed in the states of Iowa, Oregon, and Texas.
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