Kevin Love, an NBA player, has done parents and kids everywhere an important service. He went public about a recent panic attack and acknowledged that he has been unable to speak about his own feelings and struggles with anxiety and depression, even to himself.
In a letter to The Players’ Tribune he went further to point out that, “Everyone is going through something that we can’t see,” and that he has found real help in going to therapy.
It’s 2018, but the stigma and shame associated with mental health issues continues to keep many people from seeking help for both themselves and for their children. Boys and young men often have the most difficult time of all acknowledging a struggle and being willing to express those feelings and seek help.
[Read: What Parents Should Know About Teen Depression.]
Having a professional basketball player who is much admired for his talents reveal that he too has struggled goes a long way towards showing admirers that having a mental health problem is not something weird, is not something to be ashamed about, is not your fault, but is something to speak up about and get help with.
It also highlights something else that I hope parents and kids are paying attention to: Many of the most admired celebrities, in the arts, in sports, in sciences and in politics, do, in fact, struggle with a mental health issue, and often in higher numbers than people who have not risen to the top of their field. Today, some celebrities are choosing to open up publicly about their struggles.
The reason many high performers also face mental health challenges is that just as brain differences may result in symptoms that make some suffer, these differences may also underlie extraordinary abilities. Historically many of the greatest iconic contributors — Hemingway, Darwin, Van Gogh, Beethoven, Einstein, Lincoln — struggled with very real mental health issues. Their abilities were a result of the same brain wiring differences as their struggles.
[Read: How Parents Can Help Children Develop Their True Talents.]
Helping children to understand that mental health struggles are common and are often part and parcel of a mind that possesses extraordinary strengths is important in diminishing the stigma surrounding mental illness. It’s also important to encourage children who are having difficulty with anxiety or depression or distractibility to engage in treatment so that they can not only diminish their suffering but also find their particular strength and run with it.
I hope parents will discuss with their children the amazing abilities it takes to become a successful professional basketball player, abilities that are part of a mind that also has struggle. I hope they express their admiration for Mr. Love’s ability to speak freely of his struggles and do the hard work of therapy to manage them.
[See: 8 Things You Didn’t Know About Counseling.]
Kids are often looking for role models, and in today’s celebrity culture of bad behavior, these can be hard to find. This is an opportunity to give your child a window into the relief that can come from just acknowledging difficult feelings and talking about them. This is an opportunity to show your child that along with those difficulties comes a strength that they can mine and use to succeed.
More from U.S. News
How to Find the Best Mental Health Professional for You
11 Simple, Proven Ways to Optimize Your Mental Health
10 Concerns Parents Have About Their Kids’ Health
Showing Kids How to Find Strength in Adversity originally appeared on usnews.com
