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Speaker 1: Levels to This is an iHeart women's sports production in

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Speaker 1: partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You can find

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Speaker 1: us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you

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Speaker 1: get your podcasts.

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Speaker 2: What's going on, everybody, it's your girl, Serrica Foston Brassy.

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Speaker 3: So she says, what's up, y'all? His sugar girl Cheryl swoops.

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Speaker 2: And this is the levels to this podcast, the show

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Speaker 2: when we talk about the real shit that women go through.

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Speaker 2: And I'm gonna tell you, Cheryl is laughing at me

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Speaker 2: right now.

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Speaker 3: Because you are definitely on a different level today.

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Speaker 2: Because we're recording this on a Monday, and we're actually

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Speaker 2: recording this pretty late on a Monday Eastern Time. In

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Speaker 2: about forty five minutes to this recording, WWE Monday Night

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Speaker 2: Raw is coming on, and I'm prepared because I got

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Speaker 2: on my jay Uso yeat glasses.

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Speaker 3: What do you want to say?

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Speaker 4: So?

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Speaker 2: So, j Uso is a wrestler and he has a

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Speaker 2: catchphrase and his little catch line or catchword is yeat like,

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Speaker 2: And so every time he talks and he says something,

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Speaker 2: the crowd goes, ye.

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Speaker 3: Hey does he wear does he wear? These yeat guesses?

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Speaker 3: He wears these glasses. Can you see?

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Speaker 2: I can see I can see perfectly fine through these classes.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, no, I'm good.

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Speaker 3: They look good on you though, I mean they look great.

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Speaker 1: They look amazing with the red hair and the white

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Speaker 1: yeep glasses.

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Speaker 3: Ye see what I'm saying.

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Speaker 1: So, okay, that's what I'm doing.

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Speaker 3: I'm gonna have to get me so I'm gonna have

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Speaker 3: to give me. So I like, is that does he do?

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Speaker 3: Do they do that too? So they like kind of

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Speaker 3: bout ye yes.

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Speaker 2: And in his intro there's a specific part of the

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Speaker 2: song where everywhere the whole crowd is doing this.

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Speaker 3: And they're ye see what I'm saying. He imagine people

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Speaker 3: doing that? What does yeat?

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Speaker 5: Mean?

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Speaker 3: It ease yet?

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Speaker 2: Just yet It's just like it's his thing. It's like

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Speaker 2: it's like, yes, good, I'm telling you. It's the it's

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Speaker 2: the bottom. Like by the end of this year, I

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Speaker 2: Am going to bring chryl Over to the w w

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Speaker 2: E world.

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Speaker 1: It is kind of catchy though, we matter of fact,

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Speaker 1: you see what I'm saying.

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Speaker 3: Oh my gosh, how was your week? What's going what's

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Speaker 3: going on? How was your week? My week was great?

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Speaker 4: Actually busy.

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Speaker 1: I'm like I had some time off and you know,

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Speaker 1: back to busy just doing the things. Yeah, grandson, I

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Speaker 1: can say son, I don't have to say. Maybe grandson

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Speaker 1: will be coming in July, which is.

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Speaker 3: Literally right around the corner of tea. That is so exciting. Yeah,

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Speaker 3: it's like a month from now, a little bit over

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Speaker 3: a month.

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Speaker 1: I keep saying I'm not ready, Like I don't have

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Speaker 1: the thing. He's ready in the house, do you know

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Speaker 1: what I mean?

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Speaker 3: You haven't baby prooved the house.

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Speaker 1: Shit, I feel like I haven't like shocked enough and

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Speaker 1: all the things.

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Speaker 3: But uh, it was great.

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Speaker 4: It was great.

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Speaker 3: It was great. How's your week?

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Speaker 2: My week's been great. Like WNBA kicked off this week.

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Speaker 2: So first game was Sunday against Washington, and I thought

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Speaker 2: it was a great game, but.

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Speaker 3: I thought it was a great broadcast.

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Speaker 2: Like I honestly thought that our game was the best

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Speaker 2: game of the weekend. And of course I should feel

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Speaker 2: that way because it's my game. So yeah, you know,

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Speaker 2: obviously you know I'm gonna be biased to my broadcast

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Speaker 2: and my squad, but yeah, I mean, other than that,

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Speaker 2: I've had a I've had a really good week. I'm

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Speaker 2: excited at the end of this week. I'm going to

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Speaker 2: see Beyonce where and met Life at MetLife Okay, Cowboy

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Speaker 2: Car in New York.

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Speaker 1: And you know, I love Beyonce, but I haven't. I'm

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Speaker 1: not a big concert goer. Like I love Beyonce. There's

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Speaker 1: something about concerts that gives me anxiety.

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Speaker 3: Oh is it the people?

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Speaker 1: It's like the people, it's too big, too much, too

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Speaker 1: I got it too uptight.

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Speaker 3: And you're not the first person I've heard say that.

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Speaker 1: I can't, but I have something to tell you that

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Speaker 1: I think it ain't like that.

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Speaker 3: But so our good, says Cindy brun Say yes. She

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Speaker 3: was like, oh my god, Tarika is so good the

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Speaker 3: other day. You're in the game. Really, uh huh.

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Speaker 1: She she just said, you like you sound like it

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Speaker 1: looked like you're a lot more comfortable, but like you're

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Speaker 1: you're in your space, You're in your place where you're

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Speaker 1: supposed to be.

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Speaker 3: Yeah. I just wanted to share that with that. Thank

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Speaker 3: you so much. That is so good to hear, Cindy.

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Speaker 2: Let me tell you about Cindy for two seconds, Cindy.

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Speaker 1: Shout out Cindy Brunson, we love you, but we'll.

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Speaker 2: Shout out to Cindy Brunson holding it down in a

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Speaker 2: desert in az And let me tell you, Cindy was

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Speaker 2: one of the first people a few years ago when

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Speaker 2: I first started doing not sideline but like color analyst

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Speaker 2: and play by play, I was like, Cindy, I don't

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Speaker 2: know what the hell I'm doing.

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Speaker 3: Cindy was like, girl, I got you.

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Speaker 2: I got just talking basketball and literally like she would

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Speaker 2: text me throughout the game and say, this was great.

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Speaker 3: Try saying this, Try doing this.

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Speaker 2: And so I'm looking at my phone and my first

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Speaker 2: assignment I was color analyst with Angel Gray. So I'm like, y'all,

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Speaker 2: I got like this professional play by play here, and

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Speaker 2: She's like, girl, don't be intimidated. Just let your play

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Speaker 2: by play guide you. And I'm just like, Cindy, you

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Speaker 2: have no idea how just your guidance and your encouragement

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Speaker 2: just really helped me feel better about belonging here.

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Speaker 3: So Cindy, if you're listening, my girl love you.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, because Cindy is an OG in this game, right,

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Speaker 1: I get it, Tea.

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Speaker 3: Because when I really.

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Speaker 1: Got comfortable being a color commentator was working with Cindy

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Speaker 1: at AU and I loved it because I was the

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Speaker 1: same way, right, Like, uh, just nervous because that's not

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Speaker 1: what I've done a lot of and she made me

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Speaker 1: feel so comfortable, so like, like good at doing it,

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Speaker 1: because that's it. You're you're talking basketball, but you're also

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Speaker 1: you're also having fun while you're talking about it, and

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Speaker 1: you're doing it with somebody that's the damn og so

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Speaker 1: you know she gonna hold it down.

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Speaker 3: So I totally get it. Seebee, we love you.

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Speaker 1: You got to come on the show.

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Speaker 2: You have got to come on the show. Like it's

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Speaker 2: so funny how often I'm I'm talking to people or

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Speaker 2: I'm on social and I'm just like, y'all think it's

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Speaker 2: so easy to get on anybody's microphone, specifically on a

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Speaker 2: game and talk about that. Sure, we're talking about basketball,

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Speaker 2: but there are so many technical things and little things

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Speaker 2: that you've got to know and be on Q four.

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Speaker 2: It's just not for you know, for those who think

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Speaker 2: it's easy, it's just not easy.

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Speaker 3: But I'm gonna tell you what is easy. What is

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Speaker 3: easy is.

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Speaker 2: Having the opportunity to have somebody in your corner, on

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Speaker 2: your back, somebody that you can count on and depend

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Speaker 2: on to be like, girl, you got this, or to

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Speaker 2: be that person to be like girl, you can do it.

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Speaker 3: I believe in you. You got faith. And you know

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Speaker 3: what that does.

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Speaker 2: What that does for someone in our position is not

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Speaker 2: only does it give us confidence, but it gives us peace.

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Speaker 2: You have to be in a good mental space to

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Speaker 2: be a broadcaster. You have to be like you can't

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Speaker 2: go on TV, Yes, you can't go to work a

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Speaker 2: game and not in the right headspace, like it will

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Speaker 2: come across on air. And I think it's fear to

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Speaker 2: say that with any profession that you've got to be

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Speaker 2: in the right headspace. And I bring this up because

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Speaker 2: it is Mental Health Awareness Month and this episode we

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Speaker 2: are going to be speaking with someone who is really

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Speaker 2: going to get us right as it relates to understanding

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Speaker 2: being an athlete or just being in any profession, and

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Speaker 2: how important mental care and mental health is to be

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Speaker 2: in the best of you, which in turn makes you

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Speaker 2: the best at what you do.

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Speaker 1: So I'm excited, you know, we've talked about just wanting

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Speaker 1: to have this conversation and get into mental health and

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Speaker 1: what that looks like, what it means. I'm excited, not

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Speaker 1: just for like the nuggets she's gonna give us and

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Speaker 1: for other people to be very honest with you says, Yeah,

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Speaker 1: I need this. I need this conversation today for me.

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Speaker 1: So I am super excited about our guests and uh can't.

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Speaker 3: Wait, can't wait to hear what she has to say.

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Speaker 2: Absolutely well with the no further adode, let's just go

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Speaker 2: ahead and take this thing to the next level. So,

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Speaker 2: like we told you guys to start the show, May

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Speaker 2: is Mental health Awareness Month.

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Speaker 3: And we certainly do our best.

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Speaker 2: Charla and I definitely do our best to kind of

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Speaker 2: talk about various different health issues or not even issues,

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Speaker 2: but just health topics throughout every month on our show,

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Speaker 2: but this month, we definitely wanted to make sure that

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Speaker 2: we dedicated some time to talk about mental health specifically,

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Speaker 2: and to help us do that, we have the amazing

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Speaker 2: doctor Kinza Gunter joining the show today.

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Speaker 4: I'm so excited. We always have to be extra love it.

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Speaker 2: Doctor Gunter and I met a few years ago because

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Speaker 2: my girl the China and I had a podcast around

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Speaker 2: the rim and we also wanted to give some love

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Speaker 2: to mental health and just everything that doctor g as

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Speaker 2: we're gonna call her on this show does. We wanted

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Speaker 2: to get a better understanding of how mental health plays

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Speaker 2: into professional athletes high performance athletes, their well being, their culture,

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Speaker 2: and doctor Gunster has done that. She has provided various

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Speaker 2: different counseling and consultations to different individuals, different teams, different organizations.

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Speaker 2: She's been the director of the NBA and WNBA Mind Health.

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Speaker 3: So we're gonna talk about all of that.

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Speaker 2: So first, you know, not only welcome to the show,

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Speaker 2: but just give our fans and our listeners a little

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Speaker 2: background about who is Kenza Gunter.

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Speaker 5: Well, again, let me just say thank you so much

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Speaker 5: for being here. I appreciate any opportunity to talk about

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Speaker 5: mental health in a very real way to kind of

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Speaker 5: help dispel some of the myths and misconceptions. And so

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Speaker 5: I know we'll get into all that. But to your question, So,

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Speaker 5: Kenza is is just a hometown girl from Athens, Georgia.

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Speaker 5: I happen to be a clinical and sports psychologist. I'm

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Speaker 5: currently based in Atlanta. I have a private practice. I

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Speaker 5: have been practicing in this field for eighteen years at

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Speaker 5: this point, which is just bizarre for me to say

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Speaker 5: out loud, but I've had an opportunity to work in

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Speaker 5: collegiate spaces, in college counseling centers, in college athletic departments. Again,

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Speaker 5: I have a private practice, and as you mentioned, I

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Speaker 5: currently serve as the director of mind Health, which is

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Speaker 5: the NBA's mental health, wellness and performance program that spans

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Speaker 5: across all of our leagues including the w the G League,

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Speaker 5: our Basketball Africa League.

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Speaker 4: We have touch points there.

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Speaker 5: So I just feel very fortunate to be in this

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Speaker 5: position and in this moment of having.

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Speaker 4: This real conversation.

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Speaker 5: So I'm I'm just a grateful, a grateful person who's

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Speaker 5: just trying to help impact the world in any way

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Speaker 5: I can in.

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Speaker 4: This area of mental health.

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Speaker 3: Listen, you are doing just that.

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Speaker 1: Just to listen to to everything you just said, it

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Speaker 1: takes me back to my playing days, which was a

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Speaker 1: long time ago. And I love the space we're in

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Speaker 1: today because back then we mental health existed. It always has,

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Speaker 1: but we didn't have like, we didn't talk about it.

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Speaker 1: We didn't have a doctor g around these types of programs,

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Speaker 1: so we just kind of dealt with it on our own.

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Speaker 1: But my question to you is how did you get

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Speaker 1: involved with the program you just talked about.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, it's a really good question, and I appreciate the

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Speaker 5: point that you made.

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Speaker 4: Mental health has always existed, and.

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Speaker 5: In truth, these conversations have always been had they just

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Speaker 5: weren't had publicly, and we might not have had words

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Speaker 5: to actually describe what was going on with our experience.

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Speaker 5: But spoiler alert for everybody listening, we all have mental

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Speaker 5: health and we all.

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Speaker 4: Even think about the ways in which we take care

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Speaker 4: of it.

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Speaker 5: And so for me and how I got into this field,

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Speaker 5: I kind of fell in love with psychology during my

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Speaker 5: undergraduate studies and so that really piqued my interest in

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Speaker 5: trying to understand people and what makes people tick and

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Speaker 5: why do they do the things that they do, And.

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Speaker 4: I took a role.

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Speaker 5: At first, I was going to go into the world

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Speaker 5: of forensic psychology. If anybody had seen Silence of the Lambs,

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Speaker 5: I wanted to be Clarice.

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Speaker 3: And the.

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Speaker 4: Exactly right.

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Speaker 5: But I understood working at that intersection of psychology and

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Speaker 5: the criminal justice system might be a bit much for

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Speaker 5: me long term. And so I had always loved sports,

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Speaker 5: and as I was going into my doctorate program, that's

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Speaker 5: when I entered into this field of sports psychology. And

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Speaker 5: to your point, I was practicing in collegiate spaces in

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Speaker 5: private practice for six years before I even stepped into

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Speaker 5: the professional sports space. But I think when I did

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Speaker 5: and that was back in two thousand and thirteen was

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Speaker 5: my first foray into professional sports within the NFL. I

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Speaker 5: think there was a growing awareness of if we're not

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Speaker 5: attending to what's happening from the neck up, we're missing

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Speaker 5: out on a huge part of what contributes folks wellness

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Speaker 5: their performance, just their capacity to function on and outside

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Speaker 5: of whatever proferbial feel they play in. And so that's

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Speaker 5: really how I got into it. I think there was

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Speaker 5: a growing awareness, and I think we've seen that awareness

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Speaker 5: can continue to grow over the last few years.

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Speaker 4: And even decades.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, it's funny that you mentioned that too,

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Speaker 2: because I think a phrase that we hear a lot

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Speaker 2: of is this level of mental toughness that someone has

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Speaker 2: to have, or you know, the cliche phrase of mind

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Speaker 2: over matter. I think we often use it so much

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Speaker 2: that it feels like it's just something that people say.

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Speaker 3: But I think in your line of work and.

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Speaker 2: What you continue to do improve is that there is

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Speaker 2: so much truth behind that saying. Can you give us

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Speaker 2: a bit more detail in how your mental health and

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Speaker 2: wellness really correlates to like healing and recovery, especially for

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Speaker 2: athletes that are like trying to make their way back

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Speaker 2: from injuries.

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Speaker 5: Well, let's think about the mind and body are connected, right,

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Speaker 5: And so when you think about the ways in which

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Speaker 5: you try to focus on promoting health, we often only

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Speaker 5: think of physical ways.

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Speaker 3: Right.

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Speaker 4: If you don't exercise, drink.

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Speaker 5: Water, get enough rest, move like you don't do those

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Speaker 5: things because you're necessarily feeling physically ill. You do those

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Speaker 5: things to promote health. It's the same thing when we

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Speaker 5: think about the mental health aspect.

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Speaker 2: Right.

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Speaker 5: If I think about an athlete, they are focusing on

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Speaker 5: their strength, endurance, their capacity to be flexible from a

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Speaker 5: physical standpoint. You need strength, endurance and the capacity to

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Speaker 5: be flexible from a mental and emotional standpoint too. And

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Speaker 5: so when we think about the ways in which your

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Speaker 5: thoughts influence what you do, and what you do and

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Speaker 5: how you're capable of moving influences your thoughts. So there's

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Speaker 5: a bi directional relationship. Your mind influences your body, your

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Speaker 5: body influences your mind. So as you talk about healing,

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Speaker 5: you need to have healing from a top depth, from

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Speaker 5: the top of your head to the bottom of your

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Speaker 5: feet approach and thinking about how your perspective, thinking about

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Speaker 5: what you say to yourself in terms of self talk,

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Speaker 5: thinking about the ways in which you think about healing,

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Speaker 5: the way you think about success, the way you think

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Speaker 5: about performance, thinking about how you think about all those

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Speaker 5: things will impact what you do. And so it really

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Speaker 5: is a very clear connection between our mind and our body.

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Speaker 4: And I'll just say one more thing.

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Speaker 5: When we talk about or when we say physical health,

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Speaker 5: we do not automatically think illness. When we say mental health,

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Speaker 5: people tend to automatically think illness. And so what I

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Speaker 5: would think my definition is mental health, by definition from

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Speaker 5: the World Health Organization, is a state of well being.

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Speaker 5: So one of the things if your listeners take away

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Speaker 5: nothing else, I would have them take away this. Whenever

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Speaker 5: you think about mental health, it's not the absence of illness,

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Speaker 5: and it's not about how ill you might feel. Mental

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Speaker 5: health is a state of well being. How well do

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Speaker 5: you feel, how equipped do you feel, how ready do

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Speaker 5: you feel to be able to function in your life right?

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Speaker 5: And if you're not where you want to be, there

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Speaker 5: are absolutely things you can.

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Speaker 3: Do to enhance that. Can I follow up with that, Yeah,

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Speaker 3: because that was good. Yeah, because I'm really happy that

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Speaker 3: you said.

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Speaker 2: You said about mental health does not necessarily equal or

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Speaker 2: equate to.

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Speaker 3: An illness because if we keeping it a bug.

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Speaker 2: Mental health has really been a taboo subject in a

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Speaker 2: black community for a long time. And I can see

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Speaker 2: that the culture is changing, which is a good thing.

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Speaker 2: But when I think about sports and athleticism, majority of

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Speaker 2: our leagues are predominantly black athletes. And when you try

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Speaker 2: to combine that taboo of mental health and being able

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Speaker 2: to discuss and being able to acknowledge that mental health

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Speaker 2: does exist along with the black athlete, it feels like

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Speaker 2: there's a consistent push there. Can you maybe share like

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Speaker 2: how you know in so many ways not only are

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Speaker 2: you like fighting that stigma, but just how that can

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Speaker 2: sometimes clash because it feels like it does. Yeah, you

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Speaker 2: said a phrase a moment ago when you asked about

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Speaker 2: the concept of mental toughness, right, And so if in

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Speaker 2: the world of sport we constantly received this message that

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Speaker 2: we're supposed to be mentally tough, what's the opposite of

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Speaker 2: that weakness?

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Speaker 4: Right? So if I'm not tough, then does that mean

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Speaker 4: I'm weak?

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Speaker 5: And we know in the world of sport there are

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Speaker 5: all kind of phrases and sayings that promote this idea

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Speaker 5: of tough grit, grinding it out without any room for recovery,

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Speaker 5: rest or pause. So suck it up, right, like you

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Speaker 5: gotta you can. I've heard the phrase of you can

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Speaker 5: rest when you're no longer here, right, But if you're

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Speaker 5: not working, somebody's outworking you.

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Speaker 3: Like.

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Speaker 5: It's this idea of constantly grinding, constantly pushing, constantly hustling,

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Speaker 5: constantly moving, constantly doing more and more and more and

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Speaker 5: more and more in order to be perceived as tough

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Speaker 5: without this recognition that toughness is not about how how

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Speaker 5: much you can do per se. Toughness is about sustainability.

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Speaker 5: How often can you do what you need to do

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Speaker 5: when you need to do it in a sustainable way?

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Speaker 4: Right, And so we have to expand our idea tough.

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Speaker 5: But that clash, I think is because we've always position success,

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Speaker 5: performance and toughness as existing outside of challenge, struggle, adversity, right.

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Speaker 5: And so you had to be tough, not weak. You

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Speaker 5: had to be the boss, not a good teammate or

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Speaker 5: a good follower, like, you had to be this person

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Speaker 5: who was able to function independent of challenge. And that's

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Speaker 5: just not the truth, right, Any great athlete that you know,

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Speaker 5: any great person that you know, got to their greatness

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Speaker 5: not because they never experienced adversity, because they.

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Speaker 4: Learned how to mapage.

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Speaker 3: Yeah yeah, yeah, Oh that's good. You dropping some gyms today?

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Speaker 1: Like this is a conversation though, that one I think

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Speaker 1: should be had in every home, right, It's something that

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Speaker 1: we should absolutely talk about.

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Speaker 3: I have so many questions for you.

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Speaker 1: My first question, though, is how does someone know if

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Speaker 1: they're dealing with mental health issues versus.

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Speaker 3: Just dealing with life or do you know what I mean?

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Speaker 4: Yes, I do.

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Speaker 5: So the idea of mental health that set us a

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Speaker 5: state of well being, right, but that exists on a continuum. Right,

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Speaker 5: So when we think about mental health, you can think

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Speaker 5: about it as arranged from times when you feel exceptionally

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Speaker 5: great and well to times where you might actually feel ill. Again,

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Speaker 5: no different than physical health, right, And so I use

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Speaker 5: physical health because we have an understanding of physical health

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Speaker 5: in a different way. But to your question, like life

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Speaker 5: is going to happen, we are going to experience stressors.

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Speaker 5: There may be times where we wake up and we

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Speaker 5: don't feel one hundred percent right. Maybe my mood feels down.

404
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Speaker 5: Maybe I don't feel as connected to my community or

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Speaker 5: as connected to my friends and family.

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Speaker 4: Maybe I'm just having.

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Speaker 5: An off day and I don't have the energy to

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Speaker 5: engage and to do the things that I normally do. Right,

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Speaker 5: all of us will experience those moments. That doesn't mean

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Speaker 5: I'm unwell. That could just be a day that's just

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Speaker 5: an off day.

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Speaker 4: We all have those.

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Speaker 5: But when you think about when does it move into

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Speaker 5: that range where it might be more than an off day, right,

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Speaker 5: it might be more that I need to think about

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Speaker 5: and consider. And the way that we tend to think

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Speaker 5: about that is a couple of ways. So if that

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Speaker 5: off day becomes an off week, or off two weeks

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Speaker 5: or a off month, like, that's the time. So if

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Speaker 5: there's a if it starts to extend for an extended

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Speaker 5: period of time, like if you start to not quite

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Speaker 5: feel like yourself for an extended period of time two

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Speaker 5: weeks so longer, that can be an indication that something

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Speaker 5: else may be going on. If you start to notice

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Speaker 5: that you are truly unable to function and do the

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Speaker 5: basics in multiple areas of your life. So you're not

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Speaker 5: able to attend to what you need to do at home,

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Speaker 5: you're not really functioning well at work, You're not really

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Speaker 5: engaging with your social support network in the way that

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Speaker 5: you normally would. So you notice that disruption in multiple areas,

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Speaker 5: that's another sign something might might be going on more than.

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Speaker 4: An off day.

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Speaker 5: And then the last one is the intensity of symptoms,

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Speaker 5: Like if something comes fast and furious and feels like

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Speaker 5: it is overwhelming you and you cannot get out from

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Speaker 5: under whatever that is, that's another sign. So the length

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Speaker 5: of time or the duration, the intensity of the symptoms,

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Speaker 5: and the amount of disruption and dysfunction that it causes

439
00:22:16,760 --> 00:22:19,040
Speaker 5: in your life are three of the things we really

440
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Speaker 5: look for to determine is this normal stress or even

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Speaker 5: maybe a little bit more than normal stress, or is

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Speaker 5: this a situation where you might need to go and

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Speaker 5: see somebody? And I'll offer let me give an analogy. So,

444
00:22:29,680 --> 00:22:31,840
Speaker 5: for example, you wake up one morning, maybe you feel

445
00:22:31,840 --> 00:22:33,919
Speaker 5: like you've developing a cold. So maybe you know you

446
00:22:34,440 --> 00:22:36,720
Speaker 5: take a day off, just a rest. I need some rest, right,

447
00:22:36,720 --> 00:22:38,320
Speaker 5: I'm gonna get some fluids in me. I'm gonna get

448
00:22:38,359 --> 00:22:38,640
Speaker 5: some rest.

449
00:22:39,200 --> 00:22:40,040
Speaker 4: Maybe you keep.

450
00:22:39,840 --> 00:22:41,800
Speaker 5: Feeling bad, so you go to the drug store and

451
00:22:41,840 --> 00:22:44,080
Speaker 5: you might get some over the account of medication, right,

452
00:22:44,119 --> 00:22:46,720
Speaker 5: because I feel like I need a little more than

453
00:22:46,760 --> 00:22:48,919
Speaker 5: what I have within me to handle this.

454
00:22:49,160 --> 00:22:50,520
Speaker 4: Well, if the symptoms.

455
00:22:50,040 --> 00:22:52,280
Speaker 5: Persist, you might go to urgent care, go see your

456
00:22:52,320 --> 00:22:55,160
Speaker 5: doctor because what I've tried and the remedies that I've

457
00:22:55,200 --> 00:22:55,960
Speaker 5: used aren't working.

458
00:22:56,000 --> 00:22:57,720
Speaker 4: So let me go get some additional support.

459
00:22:57,800 --> 00:23:00,600
Speaker 5: And then you might get a diagnose that allows you

460
00:23:00,600 --> 00:23:02,760
Speaker 5: maybe you need some antibiotics, maybe you need something else.

461
00:23:02,760 --> 00:23:05,520
Speaker 5: But again it's not no pun intended, but it's levels

462
00:23:05,560 --> 00:23:09,480
Speaker 5: to this in terms of how you think about your

463
00:23:09,520 --> 00:23:11,880
Speaker 5: health and your well being. And there's some things where

464
00:23:11,960 --> 00:23:14,400
Speaker 5: you can use your own coping strategies, there's some things

465
00:23:14,440 --> 00:23:17,560
Speaker 5: where you may need additional support. And again, intensity of symptoms,

466
00:23:17,760 --> 00:23:19,960
Speaker 5: length of time of symptoms, and the level of dysfunction

467
00:23:20,040 --> 00:23:23,280
Speaker 5: that causes can be good good indicators to help you distinguish.

468
00:23:23,520 --> 00:23:26,119
Speaker 3: That's like an incredible analogy, Tea. I want to follow

469
00:23:26,160 --> 00:23:26,840
Speaker 3: up with one thing.

470
00:23:27,640 --> 00:23:32,680
Speaker 1: So you said something to me that's very important when

471
00:23:32,760 --> 00:23:38,440
Speaker 1: you said mental health is not an illness. Right, So

472
00:23:38,840 --> 00:23:40,600
Speaker 1: I go back to when I played when I had

473
00:23:40,600 --> 00:23:45,920
Speaker 1: my son ninety seven. Coming back playing, I went through

474
00:23:45,960 --> 00:23:49,560
Speaker 1: a lot of things that I never talked about that

475
00:23:49,640 --> 00:23:54,760
Speaker 1: people really didn't know from a mental standpoint, right, because

476
00:23:54,800 --> 00:23:57,639
Speaker 1: physically I was like, of course, I carried a child

477
00:23:57,680 --> 00:23:59,399
Speaker 1: for nine months and I just gave birth to a

478
00:23:59,400 --> 00:24:01,560
Speaker 1: whole human being and all the things. So I knew

479
00:24:01,560 --> 00:24:04,919
Speaker 1: physically my body was going through things, but from a

480
00:24:05,000 --> 00:24:09,160
Speaker 1: mental standpoint, I had so many moments and times when

481
00:24:09,200 --> 00:24:11,879
Speaker 1: I was like what, like, like, what is going on?

482
00:24:12,400 --> 00:24:15,640
Speaker 1: So that analogy you gave, right, I was like, okay,

483
00:24:15,720 --> 00:24:16,960
Speaker 1: that's a great point.

484
00:24:17,200 --> 00:24:20,040
Speaker 3: My question is do you do you think.

485
00:24:19,840 --> 00:24:21,479
Speaker 1: Because here was my thing, I was like, I'm not

486
00:24:21,680 --> 00:24:23,560
Speaker 1: gonna go find somebody to talk to because I don't

487
00:24:23,560 --> 00:24:28,280
Speaker 1: want anybody to think like I'm crazy or I'm sick. Right.

488
00:24:29,160 --> 00:24:35,200
Speaker 1: Do you think that people don't get help or seek

489
00:24:35,280 --> 00:24:39,399
Speaker 1: help or talk to anyone for the fear of being

490
00:24:39,520 --> 00:24:42,159
Speaker 1: labeled crazy or sick?

491
00:24:42,720 --> 00:24:43,600
Speaker 4: Right? Absolutely?

492
00:24:44,280 --> 00:24:45,679
Speaker 3: So, how do you how.

493
00:24:45,560 --> 00:24:48,200
Speaker 1: Do you convince somebody to say, you know what, there's

494
00:24:48,280 --> 00:24:52,160
Speaker 1: nothing wrong with you, It's okay, you should go talk

495
00:24:52,200 --> 00:24:54,720
Speaker 1: to somebody to feel, to.

496
00:24:54,720 --> 00:24:59,679
Speaker 4: Have emotions, to have hard moments in life. It's to

497
00:24:59,720 --> 00:25:00,000
Speaker 4: be here.

498
00:25:01,880 --> 00:25:06,000
Speaker 5: You're human, and so you're going to have those experiences.

499
00:25:06,240 --> 00:25:10,159
Speaker 5: And to your point of having a child is for

500
00:25:10,320 --> 00:25:13,560
Speaker 5: many it is a huge blessing and a huge positive,

501
00:25:13,600 --> 00:25:16,879
Speaker 5: but it is extremely traumatic on the body of the

502
00:25:16,880 --> 00:25:19,600
Speaker 5: person who gave birth, and it is a major life

503
00:25:19,600 --> 00:25:25,080
Speaker 5: transition that shifts everything in your life from what you

504
00:25:25,160 --> 00:25:26,800
Speaker 5: knew to what it now is.

505
00:25:26,960 --> 00:25:28,000
Speaker 4: In your role as.

506
00:25:27,840 --> 00:25:32,000
Speaker 5: A parent, it's a major adjustment, and it's not that

507
00:25:32,040 --> 00:25:35,320
Speaker 5: you're crazy. There is no roadmap to some of these

508
00:25:35,400 --> 00:25:37,240
Speaker 5: major life transitions.

509
00:25:36,640 --> 00:25:37,560
Speaker 4: That we go through.

510
00:25:38,280 --> 00:25:41,879
Speaker 5: Becoming a parent is one, getting married is another. Losing

511
00:25:41,920 --> 00:25:45,720
Speaker 5: a loved one to death is another. Lose having getten

512
00:25:45,720 --> 00:25:50,120
Speaker 5: a medical diagnosis is another major transition that we go through.

513
00:25:50,119 --> 00:25:52,080
Speaker 4: And these things are are.

514
00:25:53,680 --> 00:25:56,920
Speaker 5: Unexpected and they can rattle us. And so to be

515
00:25:57,720 --> 00:26:00,920
Speaker 5: rattled by something that is major and signal that happens

516
00:26:00,920 --> 00:26:03,359
Speaker 5: in life is to be human. And if there's the

517
00:26:03,440 --> 00:26:06,080
Speaker 5: second thing that your listeners would take, I would say,

518
00:26:06,440 --> 00:26:09,480
Speaker 5: I would encourage us all to give ourselves permission to

519
00:26:09,520 --> 00:26:13,720
Speaker 5: be human and to understand that being human doesn't mean

520
00:26:13,800 --> 00:26:16,400
Speaker 5: I never experienced anything. Being human doesn't mean I can

521
00:26:16,480 --> 00:26:19,920
Speaker 5: handle everything that comes my way at all times. Being

522
00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:22,400
Speaker 5: human means I feel, it means I think, it means

523
00:26:22,440 --> 00:26:24,280
Speaker 5: I may need help, And I'll go back to my

524
00:26:24,320 --> 00:26:26,600
Speaker 5: physical health analogy. If you are at home with a

525
00:26:26,600 --> 00:26:28,359
Speaker 5: broken leg, my guess is that you're not going to

526
00:26:28,400 --> 00:26:30,320
Speaker 5: sit on the couch and just say, well, I'm I'm

527
00:26:30,320 --> 00:26:32,240
Speaker 5: gonna wait and see what happens. My guess is that

528
00:26:32,280 --> 00:26:34,800
Speaker 5: you're going to go and get some help to mend

529
00:26:35,320 --> 00:26:37,360
Speaker 5: that leg in a way that you know you can't do.

530
00:26:37,400 --> 00:26:38,480
Speaker 4: On your own.

531
00:26:38,680 --> 00:26:41,600
Speaker 5: If you find yourself in a situation where an experience

532
00:26:42,200 --> 00:26:46,760
Speaker 5: is so overwhelming that it is beyond your capacity to

533
00:26:46,800 --> 00:26:49,440
Speaker 5: manage in your own, that's what we're here for. That's

534
00:26:49,480 --> 00:26:52,119
Speaker 5: why this profession in this field exists so that you

535
00:26:52,160 --> 00:26:54,160
Speaker 5: can come and talk to us. And let me also

536
00:26:55,000 --> 00:26:59,560
Speaker 5: be very clear, we're not analyzing, we're not judging. The

537
00:26:59,560 --> 00:27:01,120
Speaker 5: way I do describe the work that I do, it's

538
00:27:01,119 --> 00:27:04,080
Speaker 5: a conversation. It's one person talking to another person, where

539
00:27:04,160 --> 00:27:07,359
Speaker 5: my job is to focus exclusively on you, to try

540
00:27:07,359 --> 00:27:10,199
Speaker 5: to help you process things you need to process, but

541
00:27:10,240 --> 00:27:12,919
Speaker 5: to ultimately help you move in your life in the

542
00:27:12,960 --> 00:27:15,320
Speaker 5: direction and the way that you would like to. That's

543
00:27:15,320 --> 00:27:17,320
Speaker 5: what I'm here to do, and what that looks like

544
00:27:17,400 --> 00:27:20,159
Speaker 5: is different for everybody that walks in my office. But

545
00:27:21,119 --> 00:27:28,280
Speaker 5: we were not meant to live this human journey alone.

546
00:27:28,560 --> 00:27:33,160
Speaker 2: Right right now, that says so much, And I see

547
00:27:33,200 --> 00:27:38,960
Speaker 2: you be an emotional shirl, but it's see it makes

548
00:27:38,960 --> 00:27:41,320
Speaker 2: sense because I kind of tear it up a little

549
00:27:41,359 --> 00:27:44,240
Speaker 2: bit and trying to keep it together myself only because

550
00:27:44,280 --> 00:27:48,240
Speaker 2: you brought up something interesting so personal story about two

551
00:27:48,280 --> 00:27:50,640
Speaker 2: years ago, my husband and I went to marriage counseling

552
00:27:51,160 --> 00:27:54,240
Speaker 2: and something that I feel like most couples at some

553
00:27:54,359 --> 00:27:57,200
Speaker 2: point either need to do or do and don't do,

554
00:27:57,320 --> 00:27:58,479
Speaker 2: but either way it goes.

555
00:27:58,920 --> 00:27:59,800
Speaker 3: We did it, and.

556
00:28:01,480 --> 00:28:06,879
Speaker 2: Afterwards, you know, I suggested that he and I both

557
00:28:07,400 --> 00:28:12,840
Speaker 2: continue to see our counselor, but separately, and because there

558
00:28:12,840 --> 00:28:15,320
Speaker 2: were things that were coming out that was just like yo,

559
00:28:15,680 --> 00:28:18,320
Speaker 2: like I didn't realize it was like this, or I

560
00:28:18,320 --> 00:28:21,240
Speaker 2: didn't realize this was coming like this, and it felt

561
00:28:21,280 --> 00:28:24,320
Speaker 2: like not only was this person someone that you know,

562
00:28:24,359 --> 00:28:26,439
Speaker 2: we could talk to and felt comfortable talking to, but

563
00:28:26,560 --> 00:28:30,960
Speaker 2: also like I personally was like I feel like the

564
00:28:31,040 --> 00:28:34,639
Speaker 2: reason that and not that I necessarily need you to

565
00:28:35,320 --> 00:28:38,880
Speaker 2: quote unquote help, but just because you know, I talk

566
00:28:38,960 --> 00:28:41,720
Speaker 2: to my friends about things, and it feels good to

567
00:28:41,800 --> 00:28:43,080
Speaker 2: say things to my friends.

568
00:28:43,080 --> 00:28:43,960
Speaker 3: But my friends are.

569
00:28:43,800 --> 00:28:47,920
Speaker 2: My friends, right, and so yeah, there may be moments

570
00:28:47,920 --> 00:28:50,640
Speaker 2: where they're gonna be like, Terrika, you wrong, but there

571
00:28:50,720 --> 00:28:54,120
Speaker 2: will also mostly be moments where they're like, they're my friends,

572
00:28:54,120 --> 00:28:57,360
Speaker 2: so they're gonna have my fat and I needed that

573
00:28:57,520 --> 00:29:00,960
Speaker 2: outside person to be like, what's your feel is okay?

574
00:29:01,120 --> 00:29:03,520
Speaker 2: But I also needed that outside person to be like

575
00:29:04,080 --> 00:29:09,760
Speaker 2: Sishue tripping, And that was so necessary, right, But I

576
00:29:10,440 --> 00:29:13,760
Speaker 2: think what made it so difficult was because when you

577
00:29:13,840 --> 00:29:14,480
Speaker 2: have this.

578
00:29:14,760 --> 00:29:17,680
Speaker 3: You're the strong person, You're the strong friend.

579
00:29:18,160 --> 00:29:22,600
Speaker 2: You can do everything like it doesn't necessarily feel like

580
00:29:23,520 --> 00:29:28,000
Speaker 2: it's comfortable to share, but something that I thought of

581
00:29:28,240 --> 00:29:30,959
Speaker 2: or thought about and this might be crazy. And this

582
00:29:31,000 --> 00:29:34,120
Speaker 2: is where I would love your input. Is that I

583
00:29:34,200 --> 00:29:37,640
Speaker 2: understand that it's your job, but I also feel like, wow,

584
00:29:37,840 --> 00:29:40,280
Speaker 2: I don't know what this person is going through, Like

585
00:29:40,360 --> 00:29:42,920
Speaker 2: how difficult can it be for her to hear my problems?

586
00:29:43,120 --> 00:29:45,080
Speaker 3: She might be having her own stuff going on.

587
00:29:45,200 --> 00:29:47,120
Speaker 2: She might be thinking about you know what I mean,

588
00:29:47,160 --> 00:29:49,720
Speaker 2: and so I probably shouldn't be thinking about that.

589
00:29:49,760 --> 00:29:50,800
Speaker 3: But the impath in me.

590
00:29:50,840 --> 00:29:52,880
Speaker 2: Is also like, I don't want to burden somebody else

591
00:29:52,880 --> 00:29:54,840
Speaker 2: with listening to me vent when I don't know what

592
00:29:54,880 --> 00:29:56,080
Speaker 2: they got going on, like.

593
00:29:57,640 --> 00:29:59,120
Speaker 3: Kicking her in the butt. I don't want to tell

594
00:29:59,160 --> 00:30:01,440
Speaker 3: everybody that know what I mean, so I do.

595
00:30:01,680 --> 00:30:03,000
Speaker 4: Can you can.

596
00:30:02,840 --> 00:30:06,000
Speaker 2: You maybe give us some insight on how you find

597
00:30:06,080 --> 00:30:11,040
Speaker 2: your own way to balance what you what you deal

598
00:30:11,080 --> 00:30:14,120
Speaker 2: with with your clients, but also how you handle your

599
00:30:14,160 --> 00:30:17,800
Speaker 2: own personal mental health as a mental health professional.

600
00:30:18,120 --> 00:30:19,920
Speaker 4: Yeah, it's so much in it that I want to

601
00:30:19,920 --> 00:30:21,240
Speaker 4: respond to, So I'm gonna try to get to all

602
00:30:21,320 --> 00:30:24,360
Speaker 4: of it. Sure, just just bring me back. But I wanna,

603
00:30:24,560 --> 00:30:25,920
Speaker 4: I wanna.

604
00:30:26,360 --> 00:30:29,160
Speaker 5: I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge the emotion

605
00:30:29,320 --> 00:30:30,960
Speaker 5: that even comes up with this conversation.

606
00:30:31,120 --> 00:30:31,520
Speaker 4: Yeah.

607
00:30:31,600 --> 00:30:34,760
Speaker 5: Right, And regardless of whether you might be feeling emotion

608
00:30:34,840 --> 00:30:36,760
Speaker 5: because you resonate or connect with one of the stories

609
00:30:36,800 --> 00:30:38,880
Speaker 5: that you shared, you might be feeling emotion because it

610
00:30:38,960 --> 00:30:42,360
Speaker 5: is such a powerful thing to hear that it is

611
00:30:42,440 --> 00:30:46,080
Speaker 5: okay to feel, right, whatever you feel, it's a powerful

612
00:30:46,120 --> 00:30:49,320
Speaker 5: thing to hear you. You don't have to keep that

613
00:30:49,400 --> 00:30:50,960
Speaker 5: cape on, like you can send it to the dry

614
00:30:50,960 --> 00:30:53,040
Speaker 5: cleaners and hang it in the closet, like you don't

615
00:30:53,120 --> 00:30:55,360
Speaker 5: have to be that super person.

616
00:30:55,480 --> 00:30:58,720
Speaker 4: Right And because and I know you've heard it.

617
00:30:58,800 --> 00:31:01,400
Speaker 5: One of the most powerful things you can do sometimes though,

618
00:31:01,560 --> 00:31:05,120
Speaker 5: is to ask for help and support.

619
00:31:05,360 --> 00:31:05,640
Speaker 4: Right.

620
00:31:06,000 --> 00:31:08,920
Speaker 5: And so to your point, you say, but I'm the

621
00:31:08,960 --> 00:31:11,600
Speaker 5: strong one, right, So I'm not gonna go burden anybody.

622
00:31:11,600 --> 00:31:13,480
Speaker 4: I'm the strong one. I'm the one people who come.

623
00:31:13,320 --> 00:31:16,800
Speaker 5: To But sometimes I say, don't do your friends that disservice.

624
00:31:17,320 --> 00:31:20,520
Speaker 5: Let your friends be your friends, right. It's so fascinating

625
00:31:20,520 --> 00:31:21,520
Speaker 5: to me, and I know a lot of people. I

626
00:31:21,560 --> 00:31:24,040
Speaker 5: do it myself sometimes where I'm the strong one. I

627
00:31:24,040 --> 00:31:26,080
Speaker 5: can handle it. I don't need them, but that I'm

628
00:31:26,080 --> 00:31:28,760
Speaker 5: denying my friends the privilege of being my friends. So

629
00:31:28,800 --> 00:31:30,200
Speaker 5: I think I'm the only one who can be a

630
00:31:30,240 --> 00:31:32,800
Speaker 5: friend who can hold others stright, right. That doesn't do

631
00:31:32,920 --> 00:31:36,120
Speaker 5: them a service, and that doesn't allow them to pour

632
00:31:36,160 --> 00:31:38,520
Speaker 5: into me in the ways that they may want to,

633
00:31:38,720 --> 00:31:40,320
Speaker 5: because I'm creating that block.

634
00:31:40,480 --> 00:31:45,080
Speaker 4: Right. So we talk a lot about boundaries and saying no.

635
00:31:45,600 --> 00:31:49,000
Speaker 5: Boundaries is also about what you say yes to, and

636
00:31:49,120 --> 00:31:52,960
Speaker 5: sometimes it's important to say yes to yourself and to

637
00:31:53,080 --> 00:31:56,480
Speaker 5: say yes to allowing your friends and your support system

638
00:31:56,560 --> 00:31:59,480
Speaker 5: to be there to say yes. It's uncomfortable, and I'm

639
00:31:59,440 --> 00:32:01,400
Speaker 5: gonna call this person who's a therapist and walk in

640
00:32:01,400 --> 00:32:05,320
Speaker 5: the office. But in my journey to say yes to me,

641
00:32:05,560 --> 00:32:10,000
Speaker 5: I'm gonna walk with that discomfort into that office and

642
00:32:10,040 --> 00:32:12,719
Speaker 5: try to do something for myself, right, And so I

643
00:32:12,760 --> 00:32:18,479
Speaker 5: think that becomes important, Like it's sometimes the boundary is

644
00:32:18,600 --> 00:32:21,920
Speaker 5: choosing you right, and so you ask how do I

645
00:32:21,960 --> 00:32:24,720
Speaker 5: listen to things and how do I take care of

646
00:32:24,720 --> 00:32:26,080
Speaker 5: my own health and well being?

647
00:32:26,080 --> 00:32:28,000
Speaker 4: And I'm I'm gonna be honest.

648
00:32:28,080 --> 00:32:33,320
Speaker 5: Yes, sometimes I am working with people and I'm like, oh, right,

649
00:32:33,400 --> 00:32:36,800
Speaker 5: like this is this is a lot, because it's a lot.

650
00:32:37,320 --> 00:32:39,840
Speaker 5: It is a lot, but that's the human experience, right.

651
00:32:39,920 --> 00:32:43,600
Speaker 5: But there is such a power in doing that with

652
00:32:43,720 --> 00:32:48,320
Speaker 5: someone as opposed to doing it without. So I see myself. So,

653
00:32:48,800 --> 00:32:50,240
Speaker 5: like I said, I'm going all over the place. But

654
00:32:50,520 --> 00:32:52,320
Speaker 5: we talked earlier about some of the reasons why it

655
00:32:52,400 --> 00:32:54,200
Speaker 5: might be hard to walk in. I'm a person of faith,

656
00:32:54,240 --> 00:32:55,880
Speaker 5: so I was raised as a Christian. I'm a Christian,

657
00:32:55,880 --> 00:32:57,960
Speaker 5: identify as a person of faith. And one of the

658
00:32:57,960 --> 00:32:59,960
Speaker 5: things that I know sometimes is instead of going to

659
00:33:00,080 --> 00:33:01,200
Speaker 5: talk to somebody, you should.

660
00:33:00,960 --> 00:33:02,880
Speaker 3: Pray, pray about it, pray away.

661
00:33:03,240 --> 00:33:06,000
Speaker 5: If you got something going on, it's just deep, go

662
00:33:06,040 --> 00:33:08,160
Speaker 5: deeper in the word, right, Like, just go deeper in

663
00:33:08,160 --> 00:33:10,320
Speaker 5: the word. And I say this, you can have God

664
00:33:10,360 --> 00:33:12,640
Speaker 5: and a therapist. I feel like God with me in

665
00:33:12,680 --> 00:33:16,760
Speaker 5: this position to be able to offer support, right, And

666
00:33:16,880 --> 00:33:22,240
Speaker 5: so you can have both. There's no singular way to

667
00:33:22,360 --> 00:33:25,760
Speaker 5: seek out support. And so for me, when somebody comes

668
00:33:25,760 --> 00:33:28,960
Speaker 5: into my office. I see, I am here to try

669
00:33:28,960 --> 00:33:31,640
Speaker 5: to help them. My first job is to listen, period.

670
00:33:31,960 --> 00:33:34,400
Speaker 5: I need to listen to understand what's going on, and

671
00:33:34,440 --> 00:33:37,680
Speaker 5: then together will work to try to determine what they

672
00:33:37,720 --> 00:33:40,840
Speaker 5: need in this moment to help them, whether that's me,

673
00:33:41,040 --> 00:33:43,560
Speaker 5: whether that's somebody else, whether that's me and somebody else, like,

674
00:33:43,600 --> 00:33:45,320
Speaker 5: we'll work together to figure out what that looks like.

675
00:33:45,360 --> 00:33:48,560
Speaker 5: So it's in part training, but I also think some

676
00:33:48,600 --> 00:33:51,840
Speaker 5: of it is just the capacity to sit with people

677
00:33:51,880 --> 00:33:55,640
Speaker 5: and hold what they are bringing to you. That is

678
00:33:55,680 --> 00:34:00,280
Speaker 5: a really powerful thing. And yes, I care about my

679
00:34:00,320 --> 00:34:02,600
Speaker 5: client's a great deal. Like I'm human, you know what

680
00:34:02,640 --> 00:34:04,200
Speaker 5: I'm saying. I care about what they're going through. I

681
00:34:04,240 --> 00:34:07,239
Speaker 5: care about what they experience, and there are sometimes when

682
00:34:07,320 --> 00:34:10,920
Speaker 5: what they're experiencing is emotional to me. But I recognize

683
00:34:11,440 --> 00:34:13,360
Speaker 5: just because I can sit with the minute, it doesn't

684
00:34:13,400 --> 00:34:16,040
Speaker 5: belong to me, right, So that's one of the ways

685
00:34:16,080 --> 00:34:18,919
Speaker 5: that I make the distinction. I can listen and try

686
00:34:18,960 --> 00:34:22,080
Speaker 5: to offer support. I can offer what my training has

687
00:34:22,120 --> 00:34:24,600
Speaker 5: allowed me to be able to offer, but it doesn't

688
00:34:24,600 --> 00:34:29,400
Speaker 5: belong to me, so it's not mine. That's definitely not

689
00:34:29,440 --> 00:34:32,640
Speaker 5: even burden, not even burden I don't say burden. It's

690
00:34:32,680 --> 00:34:35,839
Speaker 5: not my responsibility. There you go to hold on to

691
00:34:35,880 --> 00:34:40,600
Speaker 5: it and to determine how they move next. My job

692
00:34:40,680 --> 00:34:43,879
Speaker 5: is to walk with them and to try to help

693
00:34:43,920 --> 00:34:46,279
Speaker 5: them as best I can. But it doesn't belong to me.

694
00:34:46,360 --> 00:34:48,680
Speaker 5: I don't have ownership over anybody's.

695
00:34:48,280 --> 00:34:49,439
Speaker 4: Life but my own right.

696
00:34:49,719 --> 00:34:51,360
Speaker 5: So that's one of the ways that I kind of

697
00:34:51,520 --> 00:34:54,000
Speaker 5: keep some distance, even though I may feel intently in

698
00:34:54,040 --> 00:34:55,160
Speaker 5: terms of how I take care of myself.

699
00:34:55,200 --> 00:34:55,400
Speaker 1: I have.

700
00:34:55,960 --> 00:34:58,360
Speaker 5: My family is strong, my faith is strong. I have

701
00:34:58,400 --> 00:35:00,719
Speaker 5: a really good network of friends, some of them who

702
00:35:00,800 --> 00:35:03,160
Speaker 5: also happen to be in this profession, so they get

703
00:35:03,200 --> 00:35:06,000
Speaker 5: it and I can have conversations with them. But I

704
00:35:06,000 --> 00:35:08,719
Speaker 5: also need my alone time. I need my time to

705
00:35:08,800 --> 00:35:11,080
Speaker 5: chill out and to not have to talk to anybody

706
00:35:11,160 --> 00:35:13,279
Speaker 5: or be connected to anybody. Whether I'm sitting on my

707
00:35:13,320 --> 00:35:17,239
Speaker 5: couch watching Netflix, so whether I'm hiking in Sweetwater Park

708
00:35:17,600 --> 00:35:20,120
Speaker 5: in Atlanta, or you know what I mean, whether I

709
00:35:20,200 --> 00:35:24,359
Speaker 5: am just taking time to have my phone on do

710
00:35:24,440 --> 00:35:28,279
Speaker 5: not disturb. Yes, I have a combination of things that

711
00:35:28,360 --> 00:35:32,759
Speaker 5: I've used to help me try to stay charged in

712
00:35:32,880 --> 00:35:33,560
Speaker 5: order to try to.

713
00:35:33,520 --> 00:35:34,080
Speaker 4: Do this work.

714
00:35:34,160 --> 00:35:36,400
Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah, I'm an extrovert, and I'll be doing that

715
00:35:36,480 --> 00:35:38,880
Speaker 2: same thing. I love being around people. I get my

716
00:35:39,040 --> 00:35:41,200
Speaker 2: energy from people. But I need my two days for

717
00:35:41,239 --> 00:35:44,200
Speaker 2: y'all to just leave me alone, just let me get

718
00:35:44,239 --> 00:35:46,080
Speaker 2: it back, and then we're back in the street.

719
00:35:47,200 --> 00:35:49,200
Speaker 4: Can everybody be charges differently? Right?

720
00:35:49,239 --> 00:35:51,759
Speaker 5: And it's you have to a part of this health

721
00:35:51,760 --> 00:35:54,520
Speaker 5: and wellness. It's about Yes, it's about your well being.

722
00:35:54,560 --> 00:35:56,040
Speaker 5: It's about how you take care of yourself, but it's

723
00:35:56,040 --> 00:35:59,640
Speaker 5: also about how you recharge and how you restore your energy. Right.

724
00:35:59,719 --> 00:36:03,480
Speaker 5: It's you know, it's how you feel your own cup, right,

725
00:36:03,600 --> 00:36:06,360
Speaker 5: so that you can show up for you, not just

726
00:36:06,440 --> 00:36:09,040
Speaker 5: so you can show up for other people. That's a bonus, right,

727
00:36:09,120 --> 00:36:10,920
Speaker 5: But it's how you feel your cup so that you

728
00:36:10,960 --> 00:36:12,680
Speaker 5: can show up for you.

729
00:36:12,960 --> 00:36:13,359
Speaker 3: Love that.

730
00:36:13,640 --> 00:36:16,160
Speaker 2: We're gonna take a quick break and then when we

731
00:36:16,239 --> 00:36:18,719
Speaker 2: come back, because I see Cheryl got something cooking over there?

732
00:36:18,760 --> 00:36:20,200
Speaker 3: Girl, are you cooking? I see it?

733
00:36:20,600 --> 00:36:23,520
Speaker 2: But when we come back, we're going to continue this conversation.

734
00:36:24,120 --> 00:36:27,000
Speaker 2: And it's been a great conversation thus far. Hold on

735
00:36:27,080 --> 00:36:37,920
Speaker 2: and stay with us, Cheryl, you was cooking with something

736
00:36:37,920 --> 00:36:38,200
Speaker 2: over there.

737
00:36:38,200 --> 00:36:39,160
Speaker 3: I'm not going to let you cook.

738
00:36:39,200 --> 00:36:43,040
Speaker 1: Go ahead, you know, I told you my mind is

739
00:36:43,080 --> 00:36:47,239
Speaker 1: in so many places, and having this conversation like, yeah,

740
00:36:47,320 --> 00:36:50,759
Speaker 1: I'm getting so emotional because like you're just hitting on

741
00:36:50,880 --> 00:36:53,839
Speaker 1: so many things that I know I went through as

742
00:36:53,880 --> 00:36:57,839
Speaker 1: an athlete when I played and even now continue to, you.

743
00:36:57,800 --> 00:37:00,000
Speaker 3: Know, just feel certain things.

744
00:37:00,400 --> 00:37:04,400
Speaker 1: But I think as an athlete, like we're held to

745
00:37:04,600 --> 00:37:08,840
Speaker 1: such a high standard by just the fans and the

746
00:37:08,920 --> 00:37:11,880
Speaker 1: media and the public and even our family and friends,

747
00:37:12,160 --> 00:37:16,319
Speaker 1: that that shit gets so heavy sometimes that you know.

748
00:37:16,239 --> 00:37:19,680
Speaker 3: We're just like we just deal with it. We just

749
00:37:19,719 --> 00:37:21,080
Speaker 3: figured out we deal with it.

750
00:37:21,040 --> 00:37:25,080
Speaker 6: And no one has a clue what we're actually dealing

751
00:37:25,120 --> 00:37:30,240
Speaker 6: with and feeling. So my question to you is, because

752
00:37:30,280 --> 00:37:32,360
Speaker 6: it seems like more and more athletes are opening up

753
00:37:32,400 --> 00:37:34,680
Speaker 6: about it, right I can look at so many athletes,

754
00:37:34,800 --> 00:37:37,640
Speaker 6: male athletes on the NBA side, WNBA.

755
00:37:37,280 --> 00:37:38,840
Speaker 3: Side, and other sports as well.

756
00:37:39,640 --> 00:37:47,040
Speaker 1: My question to you is, why do you think so

757
00:37:47,320 --> 00:37:54,400
Speaker 1: many athletes per se haven't before now, like, hadn't really

758
00:37:54,440 --> 00:37:58,000
Speaker 1: reached out to talk to someone to help with their

759
00:37:58,040 --> 00:37:58,680
Speaker 1: mental health.

760
00:37:58,800 --> 00:38:00,799
Speaker 5: I think it goes back to this stigma that we

761
00:38:00,920 --> 00:38:03,600
Speaker 5: talked about before, right, Like, certainly in the same way

762
00:38:03,640 --> 00:38:06,359
Speaker 5: that we mentioned the fact that mental health always has

763
00:38:06,400 --> 00:38:09,759
Speaker 5: always existed, I think there were likely some who did

764
00:38:09,800 --> 00:38:11,799
Speaker 5: seek support, we just didn't talk about it. They didn't

765
00:38:11,840 --> 00:38:15,400
Speaker 5: publicize it, right they if they sought support, it was

766
00:38:15,440 --> 00:38:17,160
Speaker 5: in the quiet of night, right like, they did not

767
00:38:17,360 --> 00:38:21,279
Speaker 5: discuss it publicly. And so I really think to your

768
00:38:21,360 --> 00:38:26,120
Speaker 5: question of kind of why why didn't they talk about

769
00:38:26,120 --> 00:38:28,280
Speaker 5: it then? And maybe even why are they talking about

770
00:38:28,280 --> 00:38:31,080
Speaker 5: it now? I think we reached a tipping point where

771
00:38:32,200 --> 00:38:34,520
Speaker 5: athletes reached a point where they were demanding people to

772
00:38:34,520 --> 00:38:38,279
Speaker 5: see their humanity right, And so I think about the

773
00:38:38,400 --> 00:38:41,359
Speaker 5: current climate that we're in in which we will talk

774
00:38:41,360 --> 00:38:43,680
Speaker 5: about mental health and we people know that May has

775
00:38:43,760 --> 00:38:45,600
Speaker 5: Mental Health Awareness Month. I in trippered a lot of

776
00:38:45,600 --> 00:38:48,160
Speaker 5: that too, athletes. And then in twenty eighteen is for

777
00:38:48,239 --> 00:38:50,840
Speaker 5: the NBA in particular when DeMar dearro's In tweeted this

778
00:38:50,840 --> 00:38:53,520
Speaker 5: depression gets the best of me. And then later that year,

779
00:38:53,640 --> 00:38:57,200
Speaker 5: Kevin Love released his Players Tribune article. And I'll go

780
00:38:57,320 --> 00:39:01,480
Speaker 5: back further because Shamikwa Hole's Law had been an advocate

781
00:39:01,520 --> 00:39:04,800
Speaker 5: prior to both of those moments. And so I think

782
00:39:04,880 --> 00:39:10,480
Speaker 5: it is seeing people who are excellent at what they do,

783
00:39:11,280 --> 00:39:17,000
Speaker 5: outstanding at their craft, and seeing them talk about challenges

784
00:39:17,600 --> 00:39:22,760
Speaker 5: and difficulties and mental health concerns and how they manage those.

785
00:39:22,920 --> 00:39:25,680
Speaker 4: I think that gave more people permission, because.

786
00:39:25,360 --> 00:39:27,319
Speaker 5: What I think happened is to your point, we do

787
00:39:27,480 --> 00:39:30,719
Speaker 5: in our society put athletes on a pedestal that is

788
00:39:30,880 --> 00:39:34,920
Speaker 5: so far elevated. It is a there's a weight that

789
00:39:34,960 --> 00:39:39,600
Speaker 5: comes with it, There's an unrealistic expectation that comes along

790
00:39:39,640 --> 00:39:41,480
Speaker 5: with it, There's a pressure that comes with it. And

791
00:39:41,520 --> 00:39:43,440
Speaker 5: I think the other thing that tends to happen is

792
00:39:43,760 --> 00:39:47,600
Speaker 5: because we emphasize and focus on your excellence and your

793
00:39:47,640 --> 00:39:49,600
Speaker 5: greatness so much, that can have.

794
00:39:49,600 --> 00:39:50,960
Speaker 4: A dehumanizing effect.

795
00:39:51,880 --> 00:39:55,600
Speaker 5: We see your greatness, we see the performance, and we

796
00:39:55,640 --> 00:39:58,960
Speaker 5: applaud and elevate the athlete, and we become blind to

797
00:39:59,000 --> 00:40:03,560
Speaker 5: the person to and that can be very dehumanizing to

798
00:40:03,719 --> 00:40:06,240
Speaker 5: feel like your value, your worth.

799
00:40:06,080 --> 00:40:08,439
Speaker 4: Is wrapped up, wrapped up in what you do.

800
00:40:09,000 --> 00:40:12,560
Speaker 5: And so what I think this current era is about

801
00:40:12,719 --> 00:40:17,520
Speaker 5: is athletes saying I'm a person first, and the fact

802
00:40:17,560 --> 00:40:22,279
Speaker 5: that I am excellent at my craft does not erase

803
00:40:22,719 --> 00:40:25,279
Speaker 5: the fact that I'm a human, and it also does

804
00:40:25,360 --> 00:40:29,160
Speaker 5: not elevate me beyond the ills of society. There is

805
00:40:29,640 --> 00:40:32,880
Speaker 5: whatever happens in society happens in sports. Sport is not

806
00:40:32,960 --> 00:40:35,920
Speaker 5: this neutral space. It's a microcosum. So the stress that

807
00:40:36,000 --> 00:40:39,240
Speaker 5: you experience as a person outside of sport happens in sport.

808
00:40:39,600 --> 00:40:44,560
Speaker 5: Racism it's president. Sports sexism, it's president. General sexism is president.

809
00:40:44,600 --> 00:40:49,040
Speaker 5: And sports athletes deal with stress. Their stress around growing

810
00:40:49,080 --> 00:40:52,640
Speaker 5: your family, their stress around meeting your family's expectations. They're

811
00:40:52,640 --> 00:40:56,719
Speaker 5: stress around being the first in your family to reach

812
00:40:56,800 --> 00:41:02,520
Speaker 5: a certain economic laws and all of the expectations that

813
00:41:02,520 --> 00:41:04,880
Speaker 5: come along with it. If it exists in the world,

814
00:41:05,000 --> 00:41:08,880
Speaker 5: it exists in sports. If humans experience it, so do athlete.

815
00:41:09,320 --> 00:41:12,400
Speaker 5: And so I think this era has been What I

816
00:41:12,440 --> 00:41:15,440
Speaker 5: want you to do is not allow my greatness and

817
00:41:15,480 --> 00:41:18,200
Speaker 5: whatever my field to play, is to make you forget

818
00:41:18,200 --> 00:41:20,680
Speaker 5: that I'm a human and I'm a person. And just

819
00:41:20,760 --> 00:41:23,120
Speaker 5: because I'm great and I might have signed up to

820
00:41:23,200 --> 00:41:25,920
Speaker 5: be in this professional sports space, doesn't mean I signed

821
00:41:26,000 --> 00:41:29,040
Speaker 5: up to be dehumanized, right, And so when we hear

822
00:41:29,120 --> 00:41:32,360
Speaker 5: athletes sharing their story, when we hear athletes talking about

823
00:41:32,719 --> 00:41:35,120
Speaker 5: the very real lives that they are trying to live

824
00:41:35,280 --> 00:41:36,960
Speaker 5: just like all of us, I think it gives us permission.

825
00:41:37,000 --> 00:41:39,759
Speaker 5: It gives us permission differently to think about what is

826
00:41:39,800 --> 00:41:41,680
Speaker 5: getting help look like, what is getting support look like?

827
00:41:41,719 --> 00:41:44,520
Speaker 5: What is using my resources look like?

828
00:41:45,040 --> 00:41:45,320
Speaker 1: Right?

829
00:41:45,840 --> 00:41:49,760
Speaker 5: And I'm actually grateful to athletes because I think, truly

830
00:41:50,000 --> 00:41:53,600
Speaker 5: they are the catalyst for why we're having this mental

831
00:41:53,640 --> 00:41:55,960
Speaker 5: health conversation in the way we're having it today.

832
00:41:56,120 --> 00:41:57,279
Speaker 3: Yeah, I absolutely love that.

833
00:41:57,320 --> 00:41:59,960
Speaker 2: It's funny because I remember who was it Charles Barkley

834
00:42:00,480 --> 00:42:01,280
Speaker 2: said years.

835
00:42:01,040 --> 00:42:02,600
Speaker 3: Ago about not being a role model.

836
00:42:03,560 --> 00:42:08,080
Speaker 2: It was And I always thought that was funny because realistically,

837
00:42:08,280 --> 00:42:10,160
Speaker 2: I think that whether they know it or not, all

838
00:42:10,200 --> 00:42:10,759
Speaker 2: athletes are.

839
00:42:10,760 --> 00:42:13,080
Speaker 1: Role models, whether you choose to be, or whether you

840
00:42:13,200 --> 00:42:14,480
Speaker 1: choose to be or not.

841
00:42:14,800 --> 00:42:17,760
Speaker 3: And it's not in the way that.

842
00:42:17,719 --> 00:42:21,880
Speaker 2: People assume the definition of role model to be. I

843
00:42:21,880 --> 00:42:25,840
Speaker 2: think that athletes, to me, are incredible role models of

844
00:42:25,840 --> 00:42:28,160
Speaker 2: what it means to be a real human being.

845
00:42:28,360 --> 00:42:31,279
Speaker 3: There are some who get it right and there are

846
00:42:31,600 --> 00:42:33,280
Speaker 3: some who get it wrong.

847
00:42:33,440 --> 00:42:35,520
Speaker 2: I will give a personal example of what I mean

848
00:42:35,560 --> 00:42:38,400
Speaker 2: by that. So, my mom, love my mom. Let me

849
00:42:38,760 --> 00:42:42,560
Speaker 2: disclaim her love my mom right. My mom is fifty

850
00:42:42,600 --> 00:42:45,520
Speaker 2: six years old. She has eight children, and she had

851
00:42:45,560 --> 00:42:47,480
Speaker 2: me when she was fifteen. She had my brother when

852
00:42:47,480 --> 00:42:50,040
Speaker 2: she was sixteen. She had my sister at nineteen, So

853
00:42:50,160 --> 00:42:54,919
Speaker 2: before you were twenty you had three kids, and for

854
00:42:55,040 --> 00:42:59,200
Speaker 2: me this might sound wild, but I looked at my

855
00:42:59,320 --> 00:43:03,000
Speaker 2: mom not negatively to say you crazy for having three

856
00:43:03,080 --> 00:43:05,440
Speaker 2: kids by nineteen, but I looked at her as a

857
00:43:05,520 --> 00:43:07,719
Speaker 2: role model to say, I see what my mom is doing,

858
00:43:07,800 --> 00:43:10,120
Speaker 2: I see how my mom has struggled. This is how

859
00:43:10,160 --> 00:43:13,120
Speaker 2: I am going to do things differently so that I

860
00:43:13,160 --> 00:43:16,080
Speaker 2: am not put in the same position. It was not

861
00:43:16,200 --> 00:43:19,359
Speaker 2: to say, hey, I ain't trying to be like you.

862
00:43:19,680 --> 00:43:22,839
Speaker 2: It was more to say I appreciate you doing what

863
00:43:22,880 --> 00:43:24,960
Speaker 2: you had to do, but I'm looking at you as

864
00:43:25,000 --> 00:43:26,880
Speaker 2: a role model of what I want.

865
00:43:26,640 --> 00:43:27,960
Speaker 3: To do differently.

866
00:43:28,600 --> 00:43:32,040
Speaker 2: And I think as athletes, sometimes we look at them

867
00:43:32,080 --> 00:43:34,759
Speaker 2: and we say, oh, this person's a terrible individual.

868
00:43:35,560 --> 00:43:38,680
Speaker 3: Maybe, but realistically they are put in a.

869
00:43:38,640 --> 00:43:40,919
Speaker 2: Position where they have to do things a certain way,

870
00:43:41,360 --> 00:43:44,279
Speaker 2: and you can either look at that and say, hey,

871
00:43:45,239 --> 00:43:47,640
Speaker 2: I think that you are doing the best you can do.

872
00:43:48,080 --> 00:43:49,880
Speaker 2: Maybe I want to look at what you're doing and

873
00:43:49,920 --> 00:43:52,480
Speaker 2: do things a little bit differently. There are other athletes

874
00:43:52,480 --> 00:43:54,239
Speaker 2: that you're like, hey, I want to be just like

875
00:43:54,320 --> 00:43:56,520
Speaker 2: that guy. Maybe you do, you don't know, But at

876
00:43:56,560 --> 00:43:59,360
Speaker 2: the end of the day, I think everybody gives us

877
00:43:59,400 --> 00:44:02,560
Speaker 2: an example of what it means to truly live in

878
00:44:02,600 --> 00:44:03,360
Speaker 2: their own truth.

879
00:44:03,600 --> 00:44:05,239
Speaker 3: And that's just kind of is where it is.

880
00:44:05,920 --> 00:44:08,480
Speaker 4: Yeah, and I'll add to that. I think the thing

881
00:44:08,520 --> 00:44:10,920
Speaker 4: for us to also remember is we see.

882
00:44:10,640 --> 00:44:15,400
Speaker 5: A sliver of these individuals lives, right, and we also,

883
00:44:15,560 --> 00:44:18,600
Speaker 5: in many instances, we see what they choose to show us.

884
00:44:18,560 --> 00:44:21,640
Speaker 3: Because social media ain't giving you the real science.

885
00:44:21,800 --> 00:44:25,120
Speaker 5: That's exactly what I'm saying, right, Like, you're seeing what

886
00:44:25,160 --> 00:44:28,080
Speaker 5: people choose to show. But even if you look at

887
00:44:28,120 --> 00:44:29,920
Speaker 5: their social media, which is what they choose to put

888
00:44:29,920 --> 00:44:32,279
Speaker 5: out there, if you look at interviews, and you look

889
00:44:32,320 --> 00:44:34,640
Speaker 5: at games, and you look at other appearances because they're

890
00:44:34,680 --> 00:44:36,680
Speaker 5: in the public eye so you can see them publicly,

891
00:44:37,120 --> 00:44:41,279
Speaker 5: you still are only seeing a sliver of this of

892
00:44:41,320 --> 00:44:43,840
Speaker 5: who this person is, right, And I think we really

893
00:44:43,880 --> 00:44:46,440
Speaker 5: have to remember that, right, And and the way I.

894
00:44:46,360 --> 00:44:48,920
Speaker 4: Will spind it is think about your own life.

895
00:44:49,280 --> 00:44:53,480
Speaker 5: Right, if people if you were broadcast on TV, if

896
00:44:53,520 --> 00:44:56,040
Speaker 5: you were interviewed, what would people say about you?

897
00:44:56,160 --> 00:44:59,080
Speaker 4: Right? And again it would only be a sliver.

898
00:44:59,200 --> 00:45:01,319
Speaker 5: And so I think we I have to sometimes try

899
00:45:01,360 --> 00:45:04,920
Speaker 5: to have more empathy and more more compassion.

900
00:45:04,760 --> 00:45:06,840
Speaker 4: Right for just the human experience.

901
00:45:06,840 --> 00:45:09,359
Speaker 5: Because I'll be perfectly honest, I would not want to

902
00:45:09,400 --> 00:45:11,279
Speaker 5: have my life lived out loud in that way.

903
00:45:11,280 --> 00:45:13,120
Speaker 4: I wouldn't want my life documented in that.

904
00:45:13,080 --> 00:45:16,200
Speaker 5: Way, like I just wouldn't because I know to be

905
00:45:16,320 --> 00:45:19,759
Speaker 5: humanists to be flawed. I realized that, right, And I

906
00:45:19,760 --> 00:45:22,879
Speaker 5: would not want to be trying to figure out this

907
00:45:23,040 --> 00:45:26,920
Speaker 5: life thing under the scrutiny of the public's eye, because

908
00:45:26,920 --> 00:45:31,799
Speaker 5: the public can be very judgmental and very unforgiving in

909
00:45:31,880 --> 00:45:32,560
Speaker 5: some ways.

910
00:45:33,000 --> 00:45:35,920
Speaker 4: But again, I just think it's that that idea.

911
00:45:35,640 --> 00:45:40,080
Speaker 5: Of just have a little more grace, a little more compassion,

912
00:45:40,280 --> 00:45:44,560
Speaker 5: a little more empathy for what I'm seeing is a sliver, right,

913
00:45:44,719 --> 00:45:47,520
Speaker 5: and that sliver does not tell the whole story. But

914
00:45:47,560 --> 00:45:49,000
Speaker 5: I also wanted to go back to something else you

915
00:45:49,080 --> 00:45:53,000
Speaker 5: said in terms of what you saw around you influenced you,

916
00:45:53,520 --> 00:45:55,759
Speaker 5: not in terms of but it still influenced you in

917
00:45:55,840 --> 00:45:57,600
Speaker 5: what you wanted to do, just how you wanted to

918
00:45:57,640 --> 00:45:59,439
Speaker 5: do things differently, right.

919
00:45:59,520 --> 00:46:00,480
Speaker 4: And I think.

920
00:46:00,360 --> 00:46:02,200
Speaker 5: About one thing I haven't said about mental health, like

921
00:46:02,200 --> 00:46:05,560
Speaker 5: we've talked about it as a continuum from it includes wellness,

922
00:46:05,560 --> 00:46:07,879
Speaker 5: it includes illness, like it's a continuum. We've talked about

923
00:46:07,880 --> 00:46:09,759
Speaker 5: mental health as a state of well being. Well, I

924
00:46:09,840 --> 00:46:12,799
Speaker 5: also talk about mental health from the standpoint of our

925
00:46:12,800 --> 00:46:15,400
Speaker 5: mental health is impacted by the things that happen in us,

926
00:46:15,400 --> 00:46:18,680
Speaker 5: to us and around us. Right, So, our mental health

927
00:46:18,719 --> 00:46:20,960
Speaker 5: is impacted by the things that are in us, our biology.

928
00:46:21,000 --> 00:46:24,319
Speaker 5: There are absolutely some genetic elements that can contribute to

929
00:46:24,760 --> 00:46:27,440
Speaker 5: the presence of mental health conditions. If you have a

930
00:46:27,480 --> 00:46:29,880
Speaker 5: first degree relative who has depression, you're more likely to

931
00:46:29,880 --> 00:46:34,600
Speaker 5: experience depressive symptoms yourself, things like bipolar disorder, schizophrenia. Those

932
00:46:34,640 --> 00:46:37,160
Speaker 5: things tend to run in families because there is a

933
00:46:37,239 --> 00:46:39,640
Speaker 5: genetic and a biological component. Right, So, our mental health

934
00:46:39,760 --> 00:46:42,399
Speaker 5: is impacted by what happens in us. It's impacted by

935
00:46:42,400 --> 00:46:46,400
Speaker 5: what happens to us. So the social environment that we're around,

936
00:46:47,080 --> 00:46:50,200
Speaker 5: the things that we are exposed to growing up, the

937
00:46:50,239 --> 00:46:52,040
Speaker 5: things that we see, the things that we witness in

938
00:46:52,080 --> 00:46:55,640
Speaker 5: our household, in our school, and our community. Those things

939
00:46:56,120 --> 00:46:58,480
Speaker 5: can have an impact on us and can shape us.

940
00:46:58,520 --> 00:47:01,720
Speaker 5: So our social world and our social environment, which also

941
00:47:01,800 --> 00:47:06,359
Speaker 5: can include cultural beliefs and cultural norms, all of that

942
00:47:06,400 --> 00:47:09,160
Speaker 5: can influence our mental health as well. So what happens

943
00:47:09,200 --> 00:47:11,560
Speaker 5: in us, what happens to us, what happens around us

944
00:47:11,680 --> 00:47:15,560
Speaker 5: society at large, and those tend to be things that

945
00:47:15,600 --> 00:47:19,040
Speaker 5: we don't necessarily have any control over, but those are

946
00:47:19,120 --> 00:47:22,439
Speaker 5: things that can impact our experience and impact our world.

947
00:47:22,440 --> 00:47:26,399
Speaker 5: The environmental one of the societal factors that I'll give

948
00:47:26,480 --> 00:47:27,640
Speaker 5: that we all can resonate with.

949
00:47:27,640 --> 00:47:30,640
Speaker 4: This COVID. COVID happened around us. None of us asked

950
00:47:30,680 --> 00:47:32,200
Speaker 4: what we didn't sign up for. We didn't know what

951
00:47:32,239 --> 00:47:33,399
Speaker 4: was going on, We didn't know what was coming.

952
00:47:33,440 --> 00:47:37,200
Speaker 5: But I don't care where you were, you were impacted

953
00:47:37,640 --> 00:47:40,719
Speaker 5: by that experience, right, So, when we think about mental health,

954
00:47:40,719 --> 00:47:42,719
Speaker 5: I think one of the things that we've historically done.

955
00:47:42,760 --> 00:47:45,160
Speaker 5: And Cheryl, this goes back to a question you asked earlier,

956
00:47:45,360 --> 00:47:48,360
Speaker 5: like why don't we why haven't we talked about as athletes?

957
00:47:48,360 --> 00:47:50,000
Speaker 5: Why don't we talk about it as people? Why don't

958
00:47:50,000 --> 00:47:52,719
Speaker 5: we go and seek health? And And I think it's

959
00:47:52,760 --> 00:47:55,680
Speaker 5: because we've historically thought about mental health as just exclusively

960
00:47:55,719 --> 00:47:57,120
Speaker 5: being an individual thing.

961
00:47:57,480 --> 00:48:00,560
Speaker 4: Either you are well or you are not. And if

962
00:48:00,960 --> 00:48:01,960
Speaker 4: then it's something.

963
00:48:01,680 --> 00:48:05,720
Speaker 5: That you're doing that's contributing to you not being well,

964
00:48:05,840 --> 00:48:08,799
Speaker 5: Like we've made and talked about mental health as if

965
00:48:08,880 --> 00:48:13,799
Speaker 5: it was exclusively a reflection of the individual. But the

966
00:48:13,920 --> 00:48:19,960
Speaker 5: truth is, our mental health lives at the intersection between

967
00:48:20,280 --> 00:48:23,239
Speaker 5: us as individuals and the environments that we're in. You

968
00:48:23,440 --> 00:48:28,799
Speaker 5: cannot separate the environmental element from how that interacts with

969
00:48:29,000 --> 00:48:30,960
Speaker 5: us to impact our mental health. And I would go further.

970
00:48:31,239 --> 00:48:33,960
Speaker 5: Our mental health lives at that intersection. Our ability to

971
00:48:34,000 --> 00:48:38,880
Speaker 5: be successful lives there performance physical health. Like everything happens

972
00:48:38,880 --> 00:48:41,279
Speaker 5: in context, and so, yes, there are some things we

973
00:48:41,320 --> 00:48:43,799
Speaker 5: can do as individuals, but when we think about it,

974
00:48:43,840 --> 00:48:46,120
Speaker 5: like it all lives at the intersection of who we

975
00:48:46,160 --> 00:48:49,080
Speaker 5: are as individuals and the environments that we're in that

976
00:48:49,239 --> 00:48:53,120
Speaker 5: really impacts our health and world being and even our

977
00:48:53,120 --> 00:48:55,440
Speaker 5: capacity to be healthy and well being. And I'll leave

978
00:48:55,520 --> 00:48:57,440
Speaker 5: I'll give an analogy here. It's like a garden. If

979
00:48:57,480 --> 00:48:59,120
Speaker 5: I plan a seed in a rock bed and the

980
00:48:59,160 --> 00:49:01,799
Speaker 5: seed doesn't grow, like, is that the seeds fault or

981
00:49:01,840 --> 00:49:04,840
Speaker 5: then I not put it in the proper environment to

982
00:49:05,000 --> 00:49:08,880
Speaker 5: allow it to thrive correct, right. Whereas if I put

983
00:49:08,920 --> 00:49:13,360
Speaker 5: it in some rich nutrient rich soil and I water

984
00:49:13,480 --> 00:49:15,719
Speaker 5: it and it's got sunlight and I talk to it,

985
00:49:16,000 --> 00:49:19,439
Speaker 5: I've created a different environment for that seed to grow.

986
00:49:19,480 --> 00:49:22,160
Speaker 5: And so I think, yes, there are things that we

987
00:49:22,160 --> 00:49:24,759
Speaker 5: can individually do to take care of ourselves, but we

988
00:49:24,840 --> 00:49:27,680
Speaker 5: also have to be cognizant of the environments because the

989
00:49:27,800 --> 00:49:31,560
Speaker 5: environments can impact our capacity to be healthy and well.

990
00:49:31,600 --> 00:49:37,839
Speaker 1: Also, jeez, sure, I just wanted to ask you. It's

991
00:49:37,880 --> 00:49:40,040
Speaker 1: not a quest, well, it is a question. But like

992
00:49:40,480 --> 00:49:44,799
Speaker 1: for our listeners who who may be struggling right like

993
00:49:46,280 --> 00:49:49,440
Speaker 1: I'm struggling with whatever it is, I don't quite know

994
00:49:49,640 --> 00:49:53,759
Speaker 1: what to do. What advice would you give our listeners

995
00:49:54,200 --> 00:49:58,640
Speaker 1: if they're in that space of I don't know what

996
00:49:58,800 --> 00:50:00,160
Speaker 1: to do right now.

997
00:50:02,360 --> 00:50:05,360
Speaker 5: One, if you're in that space, I certainly empathize with

998
00:50:05,640 --> 00:50:08,520
Speaker 5: feeling like there is something going on and you're just

999
00:50:08,600 --> 00:50:11,120
Speaker 5: not sure what step to take. And so I would say,

1000
00:50:11,120 --> 00:50:15,160
Speaker 5: if you have a trusted friend, a trusted family member,

1001
00:50:15,200 --> 00:50:18,000
Speaker 5: so anybody that you trust in your life, I would say,

1002
00:50:18,200 --> 00:50:22,360
Speaker 5: first try to reach out to that person to just

1003
00:50:22,480 --> 00:50:25,440
Speaker 5: name it for yourself, to give yourself space and permission

1004
00:50:25,480 --> 00:50:28,319
Speaker 5: to name. I'm going through something and I'm not quite

1005
00:50:28,360 --> 00:50:30,880
Speaker 5: sure what to do. Certainly, what I can do is

1006
00:50:30,920 --> 00:50:33,680
Speaker 5: share some information that you can include in your show

1007
00:50:33,719 --> 00:50:36,399
Speaker 5: notes around resources that people can reach out to. There

1008
00:50:36,440 --> 00:50:39,920
Speaker 5: are resources where you can reach to look for a therapist.

1009
00:50:40,000 --> 00:50:43,279
Speaker 5: I think about psychology today, I think about therapy for

1010
00:50:43,360 --> 00:50:43,920
Speaker 5: black girls.

1011
00:50:44,000 --> 00:50:45,680
Speaker 4: I think about a couple of other.

1012
00:50:45,920 --> 00:50:48,520
Speaker 5: Resources that I could share where people could look for

1013
00:50:48,520 --> 00:50:51,080
Speaker 5: a therapist. But I also realize not everybody needs a therapist,

1014
00:50:51,360 --> 00:50:54,680
Speaker 5: So what I'll also do is share information. Mental Health

1015
00:50:54,680 --> 00:50:58,200
Speaker 5: America again, this is Mental Health Awareness Month. They have

1016
00:50:58,680 --> 00:51:02,600
Speaker 5: a series of screens on their website where if you

1017
00:51:02,719 --> 00:51:06,160
Speaker 5: are not sure what's happening, but you're feeling certain things,

1018
00:51:06,160 --> 00:51:08,759
Speaker 5: so you can take a quick screener that will share

1019
00:51:08,760 --> 00:51:10,920
Speaker 5: with you and offer recommendation at the end of that

1020
00:51:10,920 --> 00:51:14,120
Speaker 5: screener if you might need to see additional support like that,

1021
00:51:14,520 --> 00:51:17,520
Speaker 5: if it doesn't seem that you're experiencing this concern, maybe

1022
00:51:17,520 --> 00:51:19,200
Speaker 5: it's a stressor. But I can share some of those

1023
00:51:19,200 --> 00:51:22,440
Speaker 5: things because sometimes it's not always about I need to

1024
00:51:22,480 --> 00:51:24,800
Speaker 5: talk to somebody. Sometimes it's like I need to understand

1025
00:51:25,040 --> 00:51:30,239
Speaker 5: what these symptoms are. The American Psychiatric Association has a

1026
00:51:30,320 --> 00:51:33,520
Speaker 5: series of explainer videos. They're like one to two minutes

1027
00:51:33,560 --> 00:51:36,640
Speaker 5: in length, but what they do is they share information

1028
00:51:36,880 --> 00:51:40,560
Speaker 5: about signs and symptoms of different conditions, right because I

1029
00:51:40,560 --> 00:51:44,239
Speaker 5: think that's the other thing, is just being more aware

1030
00:51:44,800 --> 00:51:48,200
Speaker 5: and having more language to describe the things that we're feeling,

1031
00:51:48,560 --> 00:51:50,640
Speaker 5: having a better understanding. I call it what we often

1032
00:51:50,680 --> 00:51:53,080
Speaker 5: refer to it as increasing your mental health literacy. So

1033
00:51:53,120 --> 00:51:56,360
Speaker 5: what are signs and symptoms of certain conditions? What is stress?

1034
00:51:56,719 --> 00:51:58,720
Speaker 5: What can I do to cope and take care of myself?

1035
00:51:58,760 --> 00:52:02,360
Speaker 5: I'll share some of that information so that your listeners

1036
00:52:02,400 --> 00:52:04,439
Speaker 5: will at least have a place that they can go

1037
00:52:05,000 --> 00:52:08,840
Speaker 5: to potentially obtain some information to maybe help them start

1038
00:52:08,880 --> 00:52:11,480
Speaker 5: to sort through what this is and what.

1039
00:52:11,400 --> 00:52:12,120
Speaker 4: I might need.

1040
00:52:12,640 --> 00:52:15,799
Speaker 3: I love that. I like that. I like that for me.

1041
00:52:16,239 --> 00:52:18,040
Speaker 5: Yeah, and I think and to that point, let me

1042
00:52:18,080 --> 00:52:20,520
Speaker 5: also say, and we should all check in with ourselves

1043
00:52:20,560 --> 00:52:21,319
Speaker 5: from time to time.

1044
00:52:21,560 --> 00:52:22,800
Speaker 3: Just pause and ask.

1045
00:52:22,680 --> 00:52:26,680
Speaker 5: Yourself, how am I feeling, what am I thinking? How

1046
00:52:26,719 --> 00:52:29,600
Speaker 5: am I showing up? How are my relationships?

1047
00:52:30,000 --> 00:52:30,200
Speaker 4: Right?

1048
00:52:30,280 --> 00:52:33,480
Speaker 5: Like, just ask yourself. Just do a check in, Right,

1049
00:52:33,560 --> 00:52:35,040
Speaker 5: It's kind of like an oil check, just because you

1050
00:52:35,120 --> 00:52:36,600
Speaker 5: check the oil. I mean, you need your oil, but

1051
00:52:36,640 --> 00:52:38,480
Speaker 5: you need to check it these check it what the

1052
00:52:38,560 --> 00:52:40,800
Speaker 5: level is, right, So just kind of do a maintenance

1053
00:52:40,920 --> 00:52:46,720
Speaker 5: check for yourself, because that awareness is the first step

1054
00:52:46,760 --> 00:52:50,839
Speaker 5: towards any of this, right, towards pursuing health and well

1055
00:52:50,880 --> 00:52:54,279
Speaker 5: being in any capacity. It's important to be aware of

1056
00:52:54,320 --> 00:52:57,879
Speaker 5: what you need, of what you want, of where you are,

1057
00:52:58,440 --> 00:53:02,839
Speaker 5: and it can be hard, but you are worth it.

1058
00:53:03,280 --> 00:53:07,200
Speaker 5: You are worth taking that time to ask yourself that question,

1059
00:53:07,480 --> 00:53:08,200
Speaker 5: how am I doing?

1060
00:53:08,360 --> 00:53:10,680
Speaker 2: I love that I got two final questions for you

1061
00:53:10,719 --> 00:53:12,400
Speaker 2: before we get out of here. I can't have you

1062
00:53:12,480 --> 00:53:15,600
Speaker 2: on the show without you telling the people who may

1063
00:53:15,640 --> 00:53:19,520
Speaker 2: not be aware of what exactly mind health is, what

1064
00:53:19,640 --> 00:53:23,600
Speaker 2: exactly is that program and how it benefits players across

1065
00:53:23,640 --> 00:53:24,839
Speaker 2: the basketball spectrum.

1066
00:53:25,200 --> 00:53:28,200
Speaker 5: Like I said, it's a mental health, wellness and performance program,

1067
00:53:28,200 --> 00:53:31,400
Speaker 5: and so basically I serve as the director, which basically

1068
00:53:31,440 --> 00:53:33,919
Speaker 5: means I do a lot of strategic planning and trying

1069
00:53:33,960 --> 00:53:35,760
Speaker 5: to provide consultation and guidance.

1070
00:53:35,800 --> 00:53:37,680
Speaker 4: And so it includes a couple of different levels.

1071
00:53:37,680 --> 00:53:39,640
Speaker 5: So one we try to provide guidance to all the

1072
00:53:39,680 --> 00:53:43,719
Speaker 5: teams around what type of mental health support and mental

1073
00:53:43,719 --> 00:53:46,760
Speaker 5: performance related support you need to have in market available

1074
00:53:46,760 --> 00:53:47,200
Speaker 5: at your team.

1075
00:53:47,280 --> 00:53:48,360
Speaker 4: So that's one thing guidance.

1076
00:53:48,640 --> 00:53:52,520
Speaker 5: The other thing, we provide education about mental health, wellness

1077
00:53:52,520 --> 00:53:55,279
Speaker 5: and performance. But we also provide clinical services. And so

1078
00:53:56,239 --> 00:54:01,080
Speaker 5: every team NBA WNBA G League team, every team has

1079
00:54:01,320 --> 00:54:04,200
Speaker 5: a licensed mental health provider and a psychiatrist that is

1080
00:54:04,200 --> 00:54:06,640
Speaker 5: connected to their teams in market, and many of them

1081
00:54:06,640 --> 00:54:10,320
Speaker 5: also have mental performance consultants, right, and so that trio

1082
00:54:10,920 --> 00:54:14,240
Speaker 5: of professionals are within our network in the team markets

1083
00:54:14,239 --> 00:54:16,319
Speaker 5: to provide support. So that's how the education and the

1084
00:54:16,320 --> 00:54:19,319
Speaker 5: clinical service comes into place through our team based professionals.

1085
00:54:19,440 --> 00:54:20,920
Speaker 4: And then the other thing that we're really.

1086
00:54:20,680 --> 00:54:22,760
Speaker 5: Trying to do through the mind Health program is promote

1087
00:54:22,760 --> 00:54:25,640
Speaker 5: culture change, to change this conversation around mental health and

1088
00:54:25,680 --> 00:54:30,880
Speaker 5: mental performance, to humanize it, and also to stress the

1089
00:54:30,880 --> 00:54:35,880
Speaker 5: importance of Again it's really about, yes, we're here to

1090
00:54:35,880 --> 00:54:38,759
Speaker 5: help you recover and restore functioning when needed, but we're

1091
00:54:38,760 --> 00:54:41,320
Speaker 5: also here to help you maintain your functioning and enhance

1092
00:54:41,320 --> 00:54:45,040
Speaker 5: your functioning. And our guiding principles for the program are

1093
00:54:45,040 --> 00:54:48,760
Speaker 5: to humanize mental health, to elevate performance, and to honor

1094
00:54:48,800 --> 00:54:52,160
Speaker 5: lived experience. And so we're trying to do that through

1095
00:54:52,200 --> 00:54:57,840
Speaker 5: having dedicated resources at the teams who can support players, coaches,

1096
00:54:57,880 --> 00:55:02,000
Speaker 5: and staff as needed. Again, so when we talk about

1097
00:55:02,480 --> 00:55:06,360
Speaker 5: success and performance and what it is to be to

1098
00:55:06,440 --> 00:55:08,640
Speaker 5: be excellent, were talking about it from the top of

1099
00:55:08,680 --> 00:55:10,080
Speaker 5: your head to the bottom of your feet.

1100
00:55:10,640 --> 00:55:14,480
Speaker 2: I adore that because it is so necessary as we

1101
00:55:14,560 --> 00:55:18,279
Speaker 2: continue to see, you know, conversations, I think about Hailey

1102
00:55:18,360 --> 00:55:22,000
Speaker 2: van Lift, who's entering into the WNBA and has talked

1103
00:55:22,000 --> 00:55:26,359
Speaker 2: about publicly how mental health has impacted her. I love

1104
00:55:26,400 --> 00:55:29,680
Speaker 2: that there are resources available at the team level for

1105
00:55:29,800 --> 00:55:34,120
Speaker 2: these athletes. And my last question is what can we do,

1106
00:55:34,360 --> 00:55:38,520
Speaker 2: like Cheryl myself, who want to help continue to spread

1107
00:55:38,520 --> 00:55:42,520
Speaker 2: the word about the importance and impact of mental health

1108
00:55:42,560 --> 00:55:45,399
Speaker 2: and mental health awareness. It may is Mental Health Awareness Month,

1109
00:55:45,760 --> 00:55:48,000
Speaker 2: but it doesn't have to only be during the month

1110
00:55:48,040 --> 00:55:51,440
Speaker 2: of May in which we have these conversations. So what

1111
00:55:51,480 --> 00:55:55,000
Speaker 2: can someone who is not a medical professional in the

1112
00:55:55,040 --> 00:55:58,440
Speaker 2: mental health space do to continue the conversation and continue

1113
00:55:58,520 --> 00:56:02,399
Speaker 2: to impact the level of awareness around mental health. I mean,

1114
00:56:02,480 --> 00:56:06,080
Speaker 2: this is outstanding and excellent, right, like just having the

1115
00:56:06,160 --> 00:56:10,600
Speaker 2: conversation being being willing to have a conversation, and again

1116
00:56:10,719 --> 00:56:14,719
Speaker 2: a conversation that is not just focus on illness or

1117
00:56:14,760 --> 00:56:17,279
Speaker 2: the absence of illness, but a conversation that really is

1118
00:56:17,320 --> 00:56:20,759
Speaker 2: focused on trying to understand what mental health is, where

1119
00:56:20,800 --> 00:56:23,440
Speaker 2: it shows up, how it shows up, and what we

1120
00:56:23,560 --> 00:56:28,640
Speaker 2: can proactively do to promote our own well being as individuals,

1121
00:56:28,760 --> 00:56:31,480
Speaker 2: as a community, right as a collective, Like I.

1122
00:56:31,440 --> 00:56:33,960
Speaker 4: Think those are some of the things that become really important.

1123
00:56:33,960 --> 00:56:34,680
Speaker 3: And then continue to.

1124
00:56:34,760 --> 00:56:39,560
Speaker 5: Educate yourselves, right because we all need to be educated

1125
00:56:39,719 --> 00:56:44,520
Speaker 5: about wellness practices and things that you can do to

1126
00:56:44,600 --> 00:56:47,360
Speaker 5: promote health and identify what are the things that really

1127
00:56:47,360 --> 00:56:49,960
Speaker 5: helped me to feel well, right, but also what are

1128
00:56:50,000 --> 00:56:52,680
Speaker 5: the things that indicate that I'm a bit more stressed

1129
00:56:52,680 --> 00:56:54,840
Speaker 5: than normal and I might need to step back and

1130
00:56:54,840 --> 00:56:56,560
Speaker 5: do some of my wellness practices. Like I think, we

1131
00:56:56,600 --> 00:57:01,359
Speaker 5: need to have a broad conversation about health as it

1132
00:57:01,400 --> 00:57:05,840
Speaker 5: relates to our mental wellbeing, our cognitive wellbeing, our social

1133
00:57:05,840 --> 00:57:11,520
Speaker 5: well being. So having conversations, continuing to learn and learn

1134
00:57:11,560 --> 00:57:13,560
Speaker 5: about this space. And then there are some trainings that

1135
00:57:13,600 --> 00:57:16,760
Speaker 5: are available specifically for folks who are not mental health

1136
00:57:16,760 --> 00:57:19,200
Speaker 5: professionals but are interested. And again I can share some

1137
00:57:19,240 --> 00:57:22,000
Speaker 5: of that information with you as well, because it could

1138
00:57:22,000 --> 00:57:24,200
Speaker 5: be helpful to take one of those trainings, because it's

1139
00:57:24,200 --> 00:57:27,240
Speaker 5: a concentrated way just to learn more so that you

1140
00:57:27,320 --> 00:57:29,920
Speaker 5: can be an advocate for yourself, so that you can

1141
00:57:29,960 --> 00:57:33,920
Speaker 5: be an advocate for others, so that we can collectively

1142
00:57:34,040 --> 00:57:37,240
Speaker 5: work to create the healthy environments and spaces where we

1143
00:57:37,360 --> 00:57:41,120
Speaker 5: all can thrive, right, because that takes all of us

1144
00:57:41,320 --> 00:57:42,720
Speaker 5: to be a part of that journey and to be

1145
00:57:42,760 --> 00:57:43,680
Speaker 5: a part of that process.

1146
00:57:44,400 --> 00:57:47,240
Speaker 3: Yeah, so good, so good.

1147
00:57:48,120 --> 00:57:53,480
Speaker 2: Thank you, thank you much, thank you. This was such

1148
00:57:53,480 --> 00:57:55,880
Speaker 2: a great conversation. I already know we're going to have

1149
00:57:55,920 --> 00:57:58,480
Speaker 2: you back on the show at some point, So don't

1150
00:57:58,480 --> 00:57:59,840
Speaker 2: lose no emails or contact.

1151
00:58:00,120 --> 00:58:01,439
Speaker 4: Okay, I would love it.

1152
00:58:01,800 --> 00:58:04,560
Speaker 5: I would love it, And you know, just keep the

1153
00:58:04,600 --> 00:58:06,840
Speaker 5: conversation going, right, And I think the last thing that

1154
00:58:06,920 --> 00:58:09,720
Speaker 5: you said that you asked, like, what can we do?

1155
00:58:09,840 --> 00:58:13,760
Speaker 5: I think just recognize the humanity and yourself and the

1156
00:58:13,800 --> 00:58:16,760
Speaker 5: humanity and others, right, and just try to move with

1157
00:58:16,880 --> 00:58:20,680
Speaker 5: a bit more compassion and a bit more grace towards yourself.

1158
00:58:20,880 --> 00:58:23,760
Speaker 5: Just try to try to make make more room for

1159
00:58:23,840 --> 00:58:27,120
Speaker 5: being human, because we all are trying to make it

1160
00:58:27,160 --> 00:58:28,880
Speaker 5: in this this thing called life.

1161
00:58:28,880 --> 00:58:31,800
Speaker 4: There is no oad map, but we are all on

1162
00:58:31,840 --> 00:58:32,280
Speaker 4: the journey.

1163
00:58:32,280 --> 00:58:34,840
Speaker 5: And so I think that too, just thinking about how

1164
00:58:34,880 --> 00:58:39,320
Speaker 5: you can be that compassion in the space and be

1165
00:58:40,200 --> 00:58:44,320
Speaker 5: that reflection of humanity and just offer to others what

1166
00:58:44,400 --> 00:58:45,560
Speaker 5: you want them to give to you.

1167
00:58:45,680 --> 00:58:47,240
Speaker 3: Absolutely, I love that.

1168
00:58:47,240 --> 00:58:49,680
Speaker 2: That's why I live my life so transparently, because I'd

1169
00:58:49,680 --> 00:58:54,000
Speaker 2: be like, girl, I ain't got this shit together, right, No, right,

1170
00:58:55,880 --> 00:58:58,200
Speaker 2: it's not right none, right, And then I mean it

1171
00:58:58,240 --> 00:59:00,960
Speaker 2: won't get together, and right now it won't be all right,

1172
00:59:01,160 --> 00:59:05,200
Speaker 2: but like you have, you just have got to for

1173
00:59:05,320 --> 00:59:05,960
Speaker 2: being a human.

1174
00:59:06,000 --> 00:59:10,080
Speaker 5: I can't stress that enough, like you just it's it's

1175
00:59:10,120 --> 00:59:11,760
Speaker 5: it's it's a human thing.

1176
00:59:11,880 --> 00:59:12,400
Speaker 3: I love that.

1177
00:59:12,520 --> 00:59:13,120
Speaker 5: I love it.

1178
00:59:13,440 --> 00:59:21,200
Speaker 3: Thank you so much, Thank y'all, Cheryl.

1179
00:59:21,240 --> 00:59:26,040
Speaker 2: This was a heavy conversation, but at the same time,

1180
00:59:26,320 --> 00:59:32,160
Speaker 2: it was so necessary, so needed, and we definitely got

1181
00:59:32,200 --> 00:59:34,880
Speaker 2: to bring her back in July for Black women Mental

1182
00:59:34,920 --> 00:59:38,640
Speaker 2: Health Awareness Month because like, there are so many things

1183
00:59:38,640 --> 00:59:40,640
Speaker 2: that we didn't even get a chance to touch on

1184
00:59:40,760 --> 00:59:43,000
Speaker 2: in this interview that are still so pertinent to what

1185
00:59:43,120 --> 00:59:43,680
Speaker 2: we need.

1186
00:59:44,440 --> 00:59:45,360
Speaker 3: If that makes any.

1187
00:59:45,160 --> 00:59:48,080
Speaker 1: Sense, Yes, one hundred percent. I got tears in my

1188
00:59:48,160 --> 00:59:52,960
Speaker 1: eyes still. But you know, tea for me just just

1189
00:59:53,080 --> 00:59:58,200
Speaker 1: listening to everything that she said, and especially in our community,

1190
00:59:58,240 --> 01:00:02,320
Speaker 1: the black community, mental health has always been looked at

1191
01:00:02,880 --> 01:00:07,440
Speaker 1: as an illness, right, like, yeah, this is we just

1192
01:00:07,480 --> 01:00:10,080
Speaker 1: don't go see anybody, we don't talk about it. And

1193
01:00:10,880 --> 01:00:13,919
Speaker 1: you know, I she just brought up so many emotions

1194
01:00:14,080 --> 01:00:16,479
Speaker 1: in the things that I thought I had gotten over

1195
01:00:16,800 --> 01:00:18,480
Speaker 1: or dealt with properly.

1196
01:00:19,960 --> 01:00:21,320
Speaker 3: It's still in there somewhere.

1197
01:00:21,480 --> 01:00:24,880
Speaker 1: So to your point, I would absolutely love to bring

1198
01:00:24,920 --> 01:00:25,760
Speaker 1: her back on the show.

1199
01:00:25,960 --> 01:00:29,560
Speaker 3: But I just I so appreciate.

1200
01:00:29,120 --> 01:00:31,680
Speaker 1: Doctor gen coming on spending some time with us, and

1201
01:00:32,000 --> 01:00:36,680
Speaker 1: I hope that there's something she said that resonates with

1202
01:00:36,720 --> 01:00:41,400
Speaker 1: someone and they know that they can find help somewhere.

1203
01:00:41,520 --> 01:00:44,400
Speaker 2: Absolutely, there's one thing that she says that I just

1204
01:00:44,440 --> 01:00:48,320
Speaker 2: want to repeat because it just makes so much sense

1205
01:00:48,360 --> 01:00:50,040
Speaker 2: when you just really think about it.

1206
01:00:50,080 --> 01:00:53,400
Speaker 3: And that thing is, you don't have.

1207
01:00:53,360 --> 01:00:57,960
Speaker 2: To be physically ill to understand the importance of physical health.

1208
01:00:58,640 --> 01:01:01,960
Speaker 2: You don't have to be sick to know how important

1209
01:01:02,000 --> 01:01:03,919
Speaker 2: it is to take the steps to not be sick.

1210
01:01:04,480 --> 01:01:08,880
Speaker 2: And so if we can understand that concept with physical health,

1211
01:01:09,160 --> 01:01:11,880
Speaker 2: we have to understand that concept with mental health. We

1212
01:01:11,920 --> 01:01:14,560
Speaker 2: don't have to have something wrong for us to be

1213
01:01:14,640 --> 01:01:17,880
Speaker 2: taking the steps to ensure that we are in a

1214
01:01:18,080 --> 01:01:22,720
Speaker 2: mental well state. And I love that and I am

1215
01:01:22,880 --> 01:01:25,840
Speaker 2: for sure going to carry that moving forward. So before

1216
01:01:25,920 --> 01:01:28,360
Speaker 2: we get out of here, Chuyl, how are you going

1217
01:01:28,440 --> 01:01:29,640
Speaker 2: to level us up today?

1218
01:01:30,200 --> 01:01:33,280
Speaker 1: What something short and sweet along the lines of our

1219
01:01:33,320 --> 01:01:39,720
Speaker 1: conversation today with doctor g and it says, strength isn't

1220
01:01:39,720 --> 01:01:44,200
Speaker 1: about never breaking, it's about always rebuilding.

1221
01:01:47,960 --> 01:01:50,640
Speaker 3: I need that, Yeah, I need that today.

1222
01:01:51,320 --> 01:01:55,400
Speaker 1: Strength isn't about never breaking, It's about always rebuilding.

1223
01:01:55,800 --> 01:02:01,160
Speaker 2: Absolutely, Absolutely, Mike has been dropped, and so with that,

1224
01:02:02,040 --> 01:02:04,240
Speaker 2: we just want to say thank you guys.

1225
01:02:03,800 --> 01:02:06,280
Speaker 3: For continuing to listen to Levels to This.

1226
01:02:06,720 --> 01:02:08,800
Speaker 2: We are going to be back next week with more

1227
01:02:08,880 --> 01:02:11,560
Speaker 2: next level conversations just about the real shit that we

1228
01:02:11,680 --> 01:02:14,720
Speaker 2: go through as women. But I want you guys to remember,

1229
01:02:14,760 --> 01:02:16,800
Speaker 2: I tell you guys all the time that this isn't

1230
01:02:16,840 --> 01:02:19,160
Speaker 2: just our show, it's our show. So we want to

1231
01:02:19,200 --> 01:02:22,080
Speaker 2: hear from you. Leave us a review at Apple Podcasts.

1232
01:02:22,120 --> 01:02:25,000
Speaker 2: You can email us at Levels to This Podcast at

1233
01:02:25,040 --> 01:02:27,360
Speaker 2: gmail dot com tell us what you thought about the

1234
01:02:27,360 --> 01:02:29,680
Speaker 2: show or what you might want to hear from us

1235
01:02:29,720 --> 01:02:33,360
Speaker 2: coming up next. You can follow us on Instagram at lttpod.

1236
01:02:33,520 --> 01:02:36,640
Speaker 2: Thank you for everybody who's followed us already. We love

1237
01:02:36,680 --> 01:02:39,720
Speaker 2: the interaction. But and so then keep your mentals ground

1238
01:02:39,840 --> 01:02:41,640
Speaker 2: level and we will be back next week.

1239
01:02:41,920 --> 01:02:46,720
Speaker 3: Peace guys, and listen to Levels.

1240
01:02:46,440 --> 01:02:50,720
Speaker 1: To This on America's number one podcast network, iHeart. Open

1241
01:02:50,760 --> 01:02:53,200
Speaker 1: your free iHeart app and search Levels to This with

1242
01:02:53,280 --> 01:02:56,280
Speaker 1: Cheryl Swoops and Tarika Foster Brasby and start listening.