The power of asking for help: Former Oregon Ducks lineman Zach Okun on his battle with mental health

.....Since he arrived at the University of Oregon two years earlier, the lineman hadn’t said a word about his anxiety, depression or thoughts of suicide. Worried that revealing his turmoil would be seen as admitting a weakness, he stayed silent.

“I thought it was the tough thing to do,” Okun said. “My biggest mistake was that I didn’t ask for help. I kept internalizing things, until it came out.”....

....That day, Skaggs delivered advice that remains vivid for Okun: If you were my son, I wouldn’t let you do this. Fundamentally, Skaggs said, his job is to ensure athletes are as healthy as possible. With Okun, it had become clear football and its pressures were hurting, not helping.

"To get to the point where these kids are, they’ve put so much time and energy into it and it’s so much of their identity is being an athlete," Skaggs said. "It’s so difficult a decision for them to finally decide that they can’t do this anymore, or shouldn’t do this."...

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Bethany`s Notes: Are you as a coach or parent ready to have that hard conversation if necessary? Should they still be playing competitive sports at the elite level? We need to put the priority of the person first to a make sure they are making healthy choices for their life long term.