Not long ago, Mitch Marner talked about the "dark times" he faced while he was with the Toronto Maple Leafs. At least, he was going to share his story if the Vegas Golden Knights won the Stanley Cup. Unfortunately, the Golden Knights didn't do that and lost to the Carolina Hurricanes in six games.
Mitch Marner's response? "Nah, I'm gonna do it anyways."
"Mental health is a super important thing to me. I’ve been really trying to take care of my mental health for the last five years or so and I’m really thankful that I had some unbelievable teammates around me in Toronto that I was able to talk to and express myself. "Mitch Marner
As someone who's gone to therapy for the past two months, I get it. It's tough to talk about overbearing people in your life and those who are too stubborn to shift their own world view. So, I get where Marner is coming from.
But here's the thing. Marner had a strong support system that helped him. That included his family, his mother, his brother, his father, and his wife.
"Also my family, my brother, my mom and dad, my wife. There were some really dark moments there where the thought of playing hockey was really tough, honestly in a lot of ways. Just a dark kind of vibe and a dark hole and I’m really thankful I had a lot of people around me teammates to ask me how I was doing and knew I was going through something. I just think it’s really important to check in on your friends, your family, and the people around you’s mental health."Mitch Marner
You can only imagine how he felt when the weight of delivering a city's first Stanley Cup since 1967 was on his shoulders. It must feel rough to deal with people asking you what you're doing to contribute, especially when you have the fifth-most playoff points in playoff history.
Why Mitch Marner's talk about mental health matters in life
Let's be honest for a second. We all suck at opening up about things. It doesn't matter which stubborn political side you're on or what gender or race you are. Our society doesn't do enough to talk about mental health. Even Marner agrees with this sentiment.
"It’s a thing that in this day and age gets talked about but I think still overlooked in a lot of ways. A lot of us are addicted to the social media aspect of things and seeing a lot of comments and a lot of things about yourself. I’ve tried to check myself out of that the last two or three years, tried to get off of it, to get away from it. I think that’s helped in a lot of ways."Mitch Marner
It sucks even more when you look on social media, when you compare your lives to others. Suddenly, you feel insignificant and you feel like you're not doing enough.
That's never good, especially when you're trying to live your best life. Such a problem can contribute to those dark times, leaving you to feel insignificant.
What can we learn about mental health?
Talk with someone. If you have a friend and you feel like doo-doo, talk to them. Tell them everything that you're feeling and don't hold back. It's important that you get it off your mind and put it out in the open. If your friend's not receptive? Well, they're not your friend, are they? That's what family is for if you have it.
"You have to be able to talk about it. People want you around, people want you in their life. You can never be afraid to talk about your emotions and talk about your fears. So I’m super thankful that I had a lot of people in my life that I could talk to and share things and make me better."Mitch Marner
If you're looking for an alternative and need emotional support, go to the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. They're open 24/7 and you can call, chat, or text them. I've used this line when I was down and it's helped immensely.
Here's one more thing that you should take in. You're not alone in the world.
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