Read on Twitter
Short thread about the incredible person the @nyjets are getting in @8kMike. I’m sure people who follow me know about my depression how my life has changed since I went public with it. But less people know that I would not be here without Mike.
tw // suicide & depression
tw // suicide & depression
Mike was the only one who knew about my struggles with mental health for years and I placed an incredibly unfair burden on him to keep it between us. He reluctantly listened to my wishes and became my lifeline throughout college.
My mental health continued to deteriorate as the years went by, despite Mike honoring my wishes. And then, in January 2019, two weeks after writing my first short story, I attempted suicide for the second time in my life.
After stepping off of the ledge and coming back to our dorm, I was in complete disarray. I felt the crushing weight of my depression continue to get heavier and heavier...until Mike lifted it.
He looked at me and said, “You need to start telling people. I don’t want to be responsible for your death by keeping your pain a secret.”
That was the wake up call I needed.
For years, I never considered that Mike shared my burden. That was something I couldn’t allow.
That was the wake up call I needed.
For years, I never considered that Mike shared my burden. That was something I couldn’t allow.
And I listened to him, I started telling people. I told my parents, my friends, my coaches. I told my therapist and, most importantly, I told myself. I faced my reality for the first time in my life and embraced the help and support I so desperately needed.
