Even when at the top Mental Health exists

Back on March 16th of this year Dan Burn, a defender for Newcastle United, started ‘The Toon Army’ on their way to their first major trophy since 1969. His powerful header from a corner kick at the end of the first half felt like destiny as he has supported and played for Newcastle when he was younger. Through his trials and tribulations as professional he recently opened up about his challenges with his mental health when he was younger. At the the time he stated finding it hard to talk about his mental health and expressed embarrassment at the thought of opening up about it. The part that struck me the most was his thought process at the time being that he was playing in English Premier league, arguably the best league in the world, and how could he be struggling with his mental health. Regardless of the what you do and who you are there no boundaries stopping athletes from being human and experiencing mental health challenges. Indeed, there is a line of thinking in society that if you have fame and money then how could one be struggling with their mental health? Yet, mental health is part of being human and how one navigates their world will always be impacted by experiences that are helpful or otherwise. The fact that Burn had a good network around him was a major factor in managing what he had been experiencing. His is a great example for all athletes that you can seek to perform your best and be aware of your mental health for well-being in all parts of your life. 

On May 10 and 11 all English Premier Matches focused on mental health awareness and to check in on the wellbeing of others. See the following powerful video that has previously been put out by Norwich City Football Club about this (please note that this involves the topic of suicide, therefore you may wish not to view this):