Over the last few years, many athletes have used their platforms to open up about their struggles with mental health and lead the conversation for others, and that shows no signs of stopping as a topic that becomes increasingly normal to talk about.
For the Las Vegas Aces’ Kayla McBride, she opened up about her struggles on Instagram during Mental Health Awareness Month in May, and chose to go into more detail with an essay for The Players’ Tribune published on Monday.
Describing a cycle of familial trauma, basketball being her escape and then her struggles during quarantine when she lost that escape, McBridge shares her story and the hard work of healing and working through those feelings.
“Mental health is a journey. It’s not a game that you either win or lose,” writes McBride. “But I just want everyone out there, who is struggling silently, to know that you are not alone. Those feelings you have, they are real, and they deserve to be heard and felt and worked through.”
It’s a powerful message, and to continually hear it from athletes goes a long way towards reminding everyone that they aren’t alone in their struggle.
McBride isn’t the only athlete to take to The Players Tribune with an essay on mental health recently, as Kevin Love, one of the most outspoken athletes on the topic, returned with another essay after in many ways starting the conversation on mental health in sports in 2018.
