WEBVTT - Getting Open with Chris Hawkey 0:00:07.560 --> 0:00:10.280 Hey everybody. My name is Lindsay Young and I am 0:00:10.320 --> 0:00:13.520 a writer and assistant editor here with the Minnesota Vikings. 0:00:13.920 --> 0:00:17.680 I cannot believe that we are already on the sixth 0:00:17.720 --> 0:00:21.400 segment of Getting Open, a new content series that focuses 0:00:21.480 --> 0:00:25.120 on all things mental health. Over the first four weeks 0:00:25.160 --> 0:00:28.840 of the series, we talked to Vikings players Eric Kendricks, 0:00:29.080 --> 0:00:34.159 Jalen Holmes, Harrison hand Tyler Conklin about their respective journeys 0:00:34.159 --> 0:00:37.440 and stories around mental health. And then last week we 0:00:37.479 --> 0:00:41.400 sat down with General manager Rick Spielman and Chief Operating 0:00:41.440 --> 0:00:44.760 Officer Andrew Miller to talk about their emphasis on mental 0:00:44.760 --> 0:00:47.599 health within the Vikings organization, as well as to hear 0:00:47.640 --> 0:00:51.680 a little bit about Andrew's personal story with depression. Today, 0:00:51.760 --> 0:00:55.600 I'm really excited to chat with Chris Hockey. Now, some 0:00:55.680 --> 0:00:58.520 of you may know him from kay Fan's Power Trim 0:00:58.520 --> 0:01:01.320 morning show. He is the lead singer for the Chris 0:01:01.320 --> 0:01:03.840 Hockey Band, So he does a lot of stuff here 0:01:03.880 --> 0:01:06.000 in the Twin Cities, a lot of stuff around the 0:01:06.080 --> 0:01:09.520 Vikings organization, but he also has a very personal story 0:01:09.880 --> 0:01:12.840 around mental illness that he wants to share in order 0:01:12.880 --> 0:01:16.120 to help normalize the conversation and break down the stigma 0:01:16.160 --> 0:01:25.920 around this topic. So let's take a listen. Chris. I 0:01:25.959 --> 0:01:29.280 know that you have shared your story around mental health before. 0:01:29.720 --> 0:01:31.720 I think it was back in twenty seventeen, you did 0:01:31.760 --> 0:01:35.800 a really impactful interview with Carolevin's Jana Shortle. For those 0:01:35.840 --> 0:01:38.080 of us who may not have heard that interview maybe 0:01:38.080 --> 0:01:40.720 aren't familiar, can you share a little bit about your 0:01:40.760 --> 0:01:45.039 experience with mental health and specifically depression. Yeah. I grew 0:01:45.120 --> 0:01:47.000 up in a very small town back on the borders 0:01:47.000 --> 0:01:50.720 of Ohio and Indiana, and really, especially when I was 0:01:50.760 --> 0:01:53.640 growing up, there wasn't much of an emphasis on mental 0:01:53.680 --> 0:01:56.200 health and what was going on. If you were a 0:01:56.240 --> 0:01:58.440 nervous kid, you were a nervous kid. If you had 0:01:58.480 --> 0:02:01.240 little quirks and little picks, that's just part of who 0:02:01.240 --> 0:02:04.160 you were. And I had OCD in just a terrible way, 0:02:04.280 --> 0:02:07.440 just terrible all the way until honestly, until I was 0:02:07.440 --> 0:02:12.160 about twenty five. At specific points in my high school years, 0:02:12.200 --> 0:02:15.120 I had to do things four times. It was really 0:02:15.160 --> 0:02:19.520 really debilitating. Once I found a way to sort of 0:02:19.560 --> 0:02:23.519 conquer that. As mental illness does in a lot of times, 0:02:23.720 --> 0:02:26.600 a lot of ways, it just manifested in different ways, 0:02:26.639 --> 0:02:31.080 you know, my anxiety levels increased because the OCD was 0:02:31.120 --> 0:02:34.119 what I was doing to kind of take away the 0:02:34.240 --> 0:02:38.280 anxiety of the situations I was in. So the anxiety 0:02:38.320 --> 0:02:43.120 got worse, the depression got worse, and it really just 0:02:43.240 --> 0:02:46.480 got to a point where I knew that I needed 0:02:46.520 --> 0:02:49.200 to find someone to talk to. I needed to find 0:02:49.240 --> 0:02:53.520 help to deal with all the different demons I was 0:02:53.560 --> 0:02:56.640 fighting daily in my head. And that was a huge 0:02:56.720 --> 0:02:59.880 change in my life to the positive to first admit 0:03:00.040 --> 0:03:03.440 it that I needed help, and second to go actively 0:03:03.480 --> 0:03:06.160 find it. So when you use these words like OCD 0:03:06.320 --> 0:03:08.919 and anxiety and depression, were those things that you were 0:03:08.960 --> 0:03:11.799 able to identify or I guess label at that at 0:03:11.800 --> 0:03:13.800 the point that you first started dealing with them, or 0:03:13.800 --> 0:03:16.079 how did you kind of come to figure out this 0:03:16.160 --> 0:03:18.840 is what I'm dealing with and how did you cope 0:03:18.880 --> 0:03:21.760 with that? It's a great question. We I had no 0:03:21.840 --> 0:03:24.560 idea what was I hate to put it this way, 0:03:24.560 --> 0:03:26.960 but it's the way I would have put it back then. 0:03:27.240 --> 0:03:28.880 I had no idea what was wrong with me. I 0:03:29.440 --> 0:03:34.320 had a legitimate, literal compulsion to do things four times 0:03:34.320 --> 0:03:36.760 and I didn't know why. I thought there was just 0:03:36.880 --> 0:03:40.400 something broken within me. I didn't tell anybody. It was 0:03:40.400 --> 0:03:42.440 a secret, a giant secret. I didn't tell my dad, 0:03:42.480 --> 0:03:44.880 I didn't tell my closest friends. I didn't tell my girlfriend. 0:03:45.240 --> 0:03:47.680 It was it was obvious in some ways, you know, 0:03:47.720 --> 0:03:49.840 when she was leaving, I had to give her a 0:03:49.920 --> 0:03:52.320 kiss four times before she could leave. I had to 0:03:52.400 --> 0:03:54.240 check the house to make sure the doors were locked 0:03:54.240 --> 0:03:57.440 four times before I could leave. But I didn't know 0:03:57.480 --> 0:04:00.120 why I didn't. As I got away from the small 0:04:00.160 --> 0:04:02.720 town and went to college and got a little more worldly, 0:04:03.280 --> 0:04:06.880 I found out, you know, the names for the different 0:04:06.880 --> 0:04:10.240 things they've been afflicting me. But even then I didn't 0:04:10.560 --> 0:04:13.280 have any idea that there were ways to quote unquote 0:04:13.280 --> 0:04:16.480 fix it. And also there was a stigma to it 0:04:16.680 --> 0:04:19.520 that hopefully things like you're doing and things like we're 0:04:19.560 --> 0:04:24.159 doing here today are taking away because one of maybe 0:04:24.200 --> 0:04:29.440 the hardest hurtle, the highest hurtle between being who I 0:04:29.600 --> 0:04:34.280 was and being well was being able to talk to 0:04:34.279 --> 0:04:36.320 people about it, being able to admit that this was 0:04:36.360 --> 0:04:39.000 a situation I needed to deal with, and and and 0:04:39.640 --> 0:04:42.440 to having to admit that I wasn't strong enough to 0:04:42.480 --> 0:04:45.720 do it myself. So it took me a long time 0:04:45.800 --> 0:04:50.039 to find out what my issues were, and a lot 0:04:50.080 --> 0:04:53.680 longer than that to admit what my issues were. When 0:04:53.680 --> 0:04:55.240 you did kind of get to the point where you 0:04:55.240 --> 0:04:57.440 were able and willing to admit the things that you 0:04:57.480 --> 0:05:01.320 were going through, what was that like for you? There 0:05:01.320 --> 0:05:03.880 were different spots on the journey for me with that. 0:05:04.320 --> 0:05:08.560 When I was able to overcome the greater part of 0:05:08.600 --> 0:05:12.719 the OCD, the obsession, the obsession compulsive, that was a 0:05:14.720 --> 0:05:18.200 like the like the clouds cleared away and the sun 0:05:18.240 --> 0:05:21.480 finally came out moment for me, it was a life altering, 0:05:22.080 --> 0:05:24.839 life changing moment for me. It was it was being 0:05:25.360 --> 0:05:28.440 freed from the bird cage in a way that I 0:05:29.000 --> 0:05:33.560 can't even explain the joy that I felt when it 0:05:33.560 --> 0:05:36.560 came to the depression and the anxiety. That was a 0:05:36.600 --> 0:05:41.080 whole different journey for me to admit to myself that 0:05:41.120 --> 0:05:44.880 it was more than just needing to drink more caffeine 0:05:45.279 --> 0:05:47.800 or needing to see the sunny side of things, or 0:05:48.480 --> 0:05:51.920 to stop saying to myself, Hey, stop being down, what 0:05:52.240 --> 0:05:55.880 is your problem? You got a great life learning over 0:05:55.960 --> 0:06:01.280 time that first of all, there are reasons for it, 0:06:02.160 --> 0:06:04.760 and second of all that there are ways to help yourself. 0:06:05.800 --> 0:06:08.640 That was a long journey for me, but each step 0:06:08.680 --> 0:06:11.400 along the way, as trying lexapro for the first time 0:06:11.560 --> 0:06:14.120 and seeing that there were benefits to that. Finding a 0:06:16.120 --> 0:06:20.360 therapist who actually helped me was a big thing. And 0:06:20.400 --> 0:06:23.040 I say it that way because I saw two therapists 0:06:23.080 --> 0:06:25.600 that I didn't quite click with before I found one 0:06:25.640 --> 0:06:28.360 that I did, and for I've been told that's pretty quick. 0:06:29.640 --> 0:06:31.440 I think the biggest issue that a lot of folks 0:06:31.480 --> 0:06:33.440 have is that you try one therapist and you're like, well, 0:06:33.480 --> 0:06:36.760 that didn't work, and then you're done, and that's not 0:06:36.839 --> 0:06:40.000 the way to do it. I hear a lot these days, 0:06:40.120 --> 0:06:45.880 especially that people are trying zoom therapy with different doctors 0:06:45.880 --> 0:06:47.720 and such like that. I just think that's wonderful. What 0:06:47.839 --> 0:06:52.560 a great way to explore relationships with different therapists and 0:06:52.600 --> 0:06:54.279 find out if they're the right one for you before 0:06:54.279 --> 0:06:57.599 you commit to the long time, hard work that you 0:06:57.720 --> 0:07:01.040 need to commit to with one person. And so it's 0:07:01.040 --> 0:07:03.000 it's been a lot of different steps on my journey, 0:07:03.360 --> 0:07:06.440 but each time, um, you know, again, as I said, 0:07:06.440 --> 0:07:09.080 the OCD thing was the big sun coming out moment, 0:07:09.720 --> 0:07:11.760 but it got a little sunny or each step that 0:07:11.800 --> 0:07:16.120 I took, and you know, one of the weirdest things 0:07:16.200 --> 0:07:22.080 about that is when I realized that I didn't have 0:07:22.160 --> 0:07:24.680 to be happy every day, and that I was never 0:07:24.800 --> 0:07:27.600 going to be happy every day. And as silly as 0:07:27.600 --> 0:07:30.120 that may sound to somebody who isn't one of us, 0:07:31.120 --> 0:07:34.160 it's it's ever. You know, if you spend a lot 0:07:34.160 --> 0:07:36.200 of your time to press it, and with anxiety, a 0:07:36.200 --> 0:07:38.160 lot of people tell you, hey, buck up, man, let's 0:07:38.160 --> 0:07:40.360 see a little zip in you. Come on, let's go snap, snap, 0:07:40.360 --> 0:07:42.000 what's going on? Why are you so sad? You've got 0:07:42.040 --> 0:07:44.200 a great life, You've got a great family, and you 0:07:44.320 --> 0:07:45.800 hear that a lot, and you're like, you're right, I 0:07:45.920 --> 0:07:48.560 don't I don't know why I'm like this. I should 0:07:48.640 --> 0:07:52.679 be happy every day. When you realize that the gray 0:07:52.760 --> 0:07:55.400 is where most people live most of the time, it 0:07:55.480 --> 0:07:58.200 takes the pressure off and you don't try to force 0:07:58.240 --> 0:07:59.680 yourself to be happy, because what do you do when 0:07:59.680 --> 0:08:02.520 you're force yourself to be happy? You make yourself more depressed. 0:08:04.800 --> 0:08:06.760 I like that Earlier you brought up the idea of 0:08:06.760 --> 0:08:08.720 the stigma, and of course that's a lot what we're 0:08:08.720 --> 0:08:11.720 talking about with this series, breaking down the stigma, normalizing 0:08:11.760 --> 0:08:14.760 the conversation. Why do you think there is such a 0:08:14.760 --> 0:08:18.200 stigma around mental illness, and do you believe that that 0:08:18.360 --> 0:08:23.000 stigma is more prevalent in men for one reason or another. 0:08:23.840 --> 0:08:26.400 The second half of that, for obvious reasons. It is 0:08:26.400 --> 0:08:27.960 hard for me to answer because I only know it 0:08:28.040 --> 0:08:31.000 from a male perspective, But I really believe so, you know, 0:08:31.040 --> 0:08:34.800 and this was I guess more from my research that 0:08:34.840 --> 0:08:37.839 I've done throughout the years. But there is a whole 0:08:37.840 --> 0:08:41.520 lot of you got to be the strong guy. You 0:08:41.600 --> 0:08:43.400 got to buck up, man, you gotta get up and 0:08:43.440 --> 0:08:45.600 go to work. That's part of the deal. Yeah, today 0:08:45.720 --> 0:08:47.960 was a bad day, but guys have bad days and 0:08:48.000 --> 0:08:49.880 you just got to be strong and get through it. 0:08:50.320 --> 0:08:53.199 So I definitely think there's something to that. But I 0:08:53.240 --> 0:08:57.880 think also, you know, just the words themselves mental illness. 0:08:59.600 --> 0:09:02.840 For for a lot of people, and even for me, 0:09:03.480 --> 0:09:09.480 there's not much differentiating that between being depressed or having 0:09:09.520 --> 0:09:13.040 anxiety and being committed, you know, I mean, they sort 0:09:13.040 --> 0:09:15.360 of all seem the same. When you label something as 0:09:15.400 --> 0:09:21.120 a mental illness, it sounds really devastating and really debilitating 0:09:21.160 --> 0:09:26.600 and really on the edge, I guess. So I think 0:09:26.640 --> 0:09:31.120 that's the biggest stigma. Maybe the wording around the understanding 0:09:31.160 --> 0:09:36.840 around what mental illness is is colored by the words themselves. 0:09:38.440 --> 0:09:42.000 I like the word anxiety because I think that really 0:09:42.360 --> 0:09:45.520 puts a pinpoint on how so many of us feel. 0:09:46.200 --> 0:09:48.800 Depression is a very gloomy word, a very dark word, 0:09:48.920 --> 0:09:51.640 but again it's right on the money because that's where 0:09:51.640 --> 0:09:55.679 you're at when you're depressed. So there's a stigma to it. 0:09:56.240 --> 0:10:00.360 But the weird thing about that stigma to me is 0:10:00.440 --> 0:10:03.400 when I did the interview you spoke about with Jannah Shortle, 0:10:03.440 --> 0:10:06.760 when I wrote my song Happy and started really walking 0:10:06.760 --> 0:10:09.160 out into the public and talking about what was going on, 0:10:10.400 --> 0:10:13.320 I realized very quickly that there are way more of 0:10:13.440 --> 0:10:15.680 us than there are of people who don't deal with 0:10:15.720 --> 0:10:19.840 something like this, And so that stigma can be erased 0:10:20.240 --> 0:10:23.800 just by looking around and talking to people and realizing 0:10:23.880 --> 0:10:26.800 the guy in the cubicle over and the lady on 0:10:26.840 --> 0:10:30.480 the bus with you, and your neighbor they're probably suffering 0:10:30.480 --> 0:10:32.120 in some way as well. So if we all talk 0:10:32.160 --> 0:10:33.400 to each other a little bit more, I think the 0:10:33.440 --> 0:10:37.440 stigma goes away, and you go from being ashamed of 0:10:37.480 --> 0:10:43.160 it to being not proud, but a vocal advocate for 0:10:43.280 --> 0:10:45.640 yourself and for other people. Because you say you want 0:10:45.640 --> 0:10:47.560 to walk around to people. I say, yeah, I hear you. 0:10:47.679 --> 0:10:50.520 I feel where you're coming from. I feel the same way. 0:10:50.800 --> 0:10:54.000 Here's what helped me, what helped you. It creates community 0:10:54.000 --> 0:10:56.480 in some ways. There's probably going to be a lot 0:10:56.480 --> 0:10:59.160 of people listening to this interview who are familiar with 0:10:59.160 --> 0:11:02.160 you in one way or another. Right So, there might 0:11:02.160 --> 0:11:05.240 be familiar with your with your stage presence as the 0:11:05.320 --> 0:11:07.920 lead singer of the Kree Hockey Man. They might listen 0:11:07.960 --> 0:11:11.120 to you having so much fun on kay Fan's Power 0:11:11.160 --> 0:11:14.760 Trip morning show. You know, they might be familiar with 0:11:14.840 --> 0:11:19.280 you being silly and having fun with Aaron and Vikings connected, 0:11:19.360 --> 0:11:21.800 or maybe all of the above. But I think some 0:11:21.840 --> 0:11:25.079 people might say, how can someone who has that much 0:11:25.120 --> 0:11:28.200 fun and is that vibrant of a personality, is that 0:11:28.320 --> 0:11:30.400 much going on in his life? How are you able 0:11:30.400 --> 0:11:33.440 to still have that sham be happy even though you're 0:11:33.520 --> 0:11:37.160 also dealing with a level of depression. I think you'll 0:11:37.160 --> 0:11:39.760 know what I'm saying when I say this. You become 0:11:39.760 --> 0:11:43.040 a pretty good actor. You know, from a very young age, 0:11:43.360 --> 0:11:48.319 I hid the OCD, which again I can't overstate how 0:11:48.360 --> 0:11:52.000 debilitating it was. I learned to hide that, and you 0:11:52.080 --> 0:11:55.360 become a good actor. But also again I think that's 0:11:55.400 --> 0:11:57.640 another thing going back to the stigma that we were 0:11:57.640 --> 0:12:03.119 talking about. Every person's depression, every person's anxiety, every person's 0:12:03.120 --> 0:12:07.040 OCD affects them in different ways. As I've gotten older 0:12:07.240 --> 0:12:12.120 and gotten more of a handle on my issues and 0:12:12.160 --> 0:12:15.840 the medicines have, I've found the correct medicines to help 0:12:16.120 --> 0:12:19.000 fill in the holes that I needed to fill. It's 0:12:19.000 --> 0:12:21.439 been easier for me to be more up than down, 0:12:22.240 --> 0:12:28.079 but I legitimately do give myself permission to be down 0:12:28.360 --> 0:12:31.000 and said on days when that is how I'm feeling, 0:12:31.520 --> 0:12:34.720 I remind myself that is not a permanent thing, and 0:12:34.760 --> 0:12:37.960 I remind myself that there's always tomorrow. And when I 0:12:38.000 --> 0:12:40.400 talk to somebody who's having a really bad day, that's 0:12:41.120 --> 0:12:42.880 the number one thing I try to get across to 0:12:42.960 --> 0:12:45.800 them is if you're having a really bad day, like 0:12:45.840 --> 0:12:48.520 it's one of your worst days, do your best to 0:12:48.600 --> 0:12:51.199 go to bed as soon as you possibly can hit 0:12:51.240 --> 0:12:56.960 that reset button. That overwhelming fix of most things is 0:12:57.000 --> 0:12:58.920 going to sleep and waking up again the next day. 0:12:58.960 --> 0:13:02.240 And there's always a next days. So I find that 0:13:03.200 --> 0:13:06.360 knowledge to be really comforting, and a lot of times 0:13:06.520 --> 0:13:08.960 that knowledge that tomorrow is going to be better, and 0:13:09.000 --> 0:13:10.880 then maybe even later today is going to be better. 0:13:11.440 --> 0:13:13.559 Is the thing that gets me out of my spin, 0:13:13.720 --> 0:13:15.600 as I like to call it, out of the gray 0:13:15.679 --> 0:13:18.680 and into the sunshine. So I'm a pretty happy guy 0:13:19.080 --> 0:13:23.360 almost always. That's real. Um, sometimes I'm acting. I wanta lie. 0:13:24.559 --> 0:13:27.640 Is music cathartic for you? Is that healing for you? 0:13:27.640 --> 0:13:30.160 Because obviously music is a big part of life. Does 0:13:30.240 --> 0:13:34.200 that play any role on the mental illness that you 0:13:34.280 --> 0:13:39.920 deal with? Absolutely? I can. I can legitimately say music 0:13:40.000 --> 0:13:44.560 has saved my life a bunch of times. Um. You 0:13:44.600 --> 0:13:47.760 know the loneliness that I felt as a young man 0:13:48.640 --> 0:13:51.840 with everything that was going on inside me, and how 0:13:51.920 --> 0:13:55.480 weird I felt, how odd I felt. I found bands 0:13:56.320 --> 0:13:58.720 of every different stripe and I'm you know, I'm an 0:13:58.720 --> 0:14:02.280 old dude now, so I'm talking the eighties, but I'm talking. 0:14:02.360 --> 0:14:04.960 I would hear a song like calling on You by 0:14:04.960 --> 0:14:07.360 a band called Stryper, and it was like they were 0:14:07.360 --> 0:14:09.079 talking to me, and man, that saved me a lot 0:14:09.080 --> 0:14:11.319 of times. There was a song called I'll Be There 0:14:11.320 --> 0:14:13.520 for You by a band called Black and Blue that 0:14:13.640 --> 0:14:15.480 when I heard that, I was like, I hear you 0:14:15.559 --> 0:14:20.480 up there. Thank you. So in reality, at its very 0:14:20.520 --> 0:14:23.520 basic form, music has saved my life. It's been there 0:14:23.560 --> 0:14:26.320 for me. It's given me a way to communicate my feelings, 0:14:26.920 --> 0:14:28.760 even before I knew I was doing that. I look 0:14:28.800 --> 0:14:30.800 at songs that I wrote when I was in my twenties, 0:14:30.840 --> 0:14:35.040 and I was saying things in my songs that I 0:14:35.080 --> 0:14:38.920 couldn't say to people in real life. So music coming 0:14:38.920 --> 0:14:41.720 in from other folks has made me feel less alone. 0:14:42.000 --> 0:14:44.680 Music going out of me has given me a way 0:14:44.720 --> 0:14:46.960 to communicate my feelings without having to look somebody in 0:14:47.000 --> 0:14:48.600 the eye and tell them, because for a long time 0:14:48.600 --> 0:14:53.120 I couldn't do that. We've done several pieces of this 0:14:53.200 --> 0:14:56.080 series now, and something that's come up a lot in 0:14:56.120 --> 0:14:59.040 different ways in sort of this idea of a support system, 0:14:59.120 --> 0:15:02.440 whether that's family, only, friends, co workers. You know, probably 0:15:02.480 --> 0:15:06.200 looks different for everybody. What has that support system looked 0:15:06.240 --> 0:15:10.040 like for you in your life? Wow, it's been so 0:15:10.400 --> 0:15:14.720 important for me to be able to be honest with people, 0:15:15.240 --> 0:15:20.280 and it's been so cathartic to me to be there 0:15:20.280 --> 0:15:24.000 for other people as well. So my support system grows, 0:15:24.680 --> 0:15:26.560 you know, not as much during these times we're not 0:15:26.560 --> 0:15:30.200 out very much, but I can legitimately tell you it 0:15:30.240 --> 0:15:33.000 grows at every show that I do with my band, 0:15:33.240 --> 0:15:35.200 because almost every show somebody would come up to me 0:15:35.200 --> 0:15:38.480 afterwards and say your song happy, That's how I feel. 0:15:38.640 --> 0:15:41.480 And immediately, you know, even if I never see that 0:15:41.520 --> 0:15:45.840 person again, that's somebody in my support system and I'm 0:15:45.880 --> 0:15:51.080 in there is as well. So it's grown exponentially since 0:15:51.120 --> 0:15:55.880 I decided to come forward and talk to people. Before that, though, 0:15:57.160 --> 0:16:00.800 your best friends, the people who really listen when you're 0:16:00.800 --> 0:16:03.560 talking to them, those are the important ones. Those are 0:16:03.560 --> 0:16:07.880 the ones who you need to talk to because again 0:16:08.960 --> 0:16:11.440 I say it all the time, but they're probably suffering 0:16:11.480 --> 0:16:14.880 in some way as well. And when you know the 0:16:14.920 --> 0:16:18.320 friend I'm talking about, the friend who literally does listen 0:16:18.360 --> 0:16:21.680 to you, doesn't hear what you say, and then tell 0:16:21.720 --> 0:16:24.080 you how that affects them or how it relates to 0:16:24.120 --> 0:16:26.400 something in their life. If you're talking to somebody and 0:16:26.440 --> 0:16:29.720 they're really listening to you, that's the person you can 0:16:29.760 --> 0:16:32.360 open your heart too. And it starts with the first 0:16:32.360 --> 0:16:34.440 person that you talk to, the first person that's willing 0:16:34.480 --> 0:16:37.200 to listen, the first person you feel comfortable talking to, 0:16:37.720 --> 0:16:41.800 and then that gives you the gumption to talk to 0:16:41.840 --> 0:16:45.640 more people, and it goes both ways. I can't tell 0:16:45.680 --> 0:16:48.880 you again how for those If somebody's watching this right 0:16:48.880 --> 0:16:51.440 now and is willing to take that chance to talk 0:16:51.480 --> 0:16:53.480 to somebody, what you're going to find out is that 0:16:53.520 --> 0:16:56.320 person wants to listen, and it helps just to talk, 0:16:56.320 --> 0:16:57.960 even if they don't know the answers. In fact, they 0:16:57.960 --> 0:16:59.560 probably don't know the answers, even if they want to 0:16:59.560 --> 0:17:01.800 know the answers. That's not the point. But when they 0:17:01.800 --> 0:17:03.560 talk back to you, and then you talk to somebody 0:17:03.560 --> 0:17:06.240 else and they talk back to you. Just having a community, 0:17:06.359 --> 0:17:09.720 my gosh, that helps so much. You're because you don't 0:17:09.720 --> 0:17:13.400 feel alone anymore. Man. That's the darkest place, isn't it. Yeah. 0:17:13.440 --> 0:17:16.280 And I'm gonna actually build right off of that question 0:17:16.320 --> 0:17:18.560 into the next one, and that is you mentioned not 0:17:18.640 --> 0:17:20.520 being able to go out a lot and stuff right now, 0:17:20.560 --> 0:17:23.720 You know these pasts basically twelve months, just a lot 0:17:23.800 --> 0:17:27.280 of heavy stuff. There are people right who have dealt 0:17:27.320 --> 0:17:32.520 with mental illness or different challenges anxiety, depression, etc. For many, 0:17:32.560 --> 0:17:35.840 many years, and so it might be more difficult now, 0:17:35.880 --> 0:17:37.720 but they have a little bit of a toolbox or 0:17:37.760 --> 0:17:40.119 they know what's going on. But there's a large population 0:17:40.119 --> 0:17:42.560 of people who are dealing with these things for the 0:17:42.680 --> 0:17:45.160 very first time and maybe don't know what they are. 0:17:46.080 --> 0:17:49.000 These feelings are scary, they're foreign to them. Would you 0:17:49.040 --> 0:17:51.159 say anything else to those people who are kind of 0:17:51.200 --> 0:17:54.080 experiencing these things for the first time during such a 0:17:54.119 --> 0:17:58.280 difficult time of life. Yeah, that is such an important point, 0:17:58.320 --> 0:18:02.040 and it's so valid because you do see that so often. 0:18:02.080 --> 0:18:05.600 In fact, I've had some instances as of late where 0:18:05.680 --> 0:18:09.359 I've spoken to people and found out just how overwhelmed 0:18:09.960 --> 0:18:12.600 in the therapists are and such with people looking for help. 0:18:12.720 --> 0:18:16.560 Right now, I would say to anybody experiencing it for 0:18:16.560 --> 0:18:18.679 the first time, the same thing I would say to 0:18:18.720 --> 0:18:21.120 somebody who's been dealing with their whole life. And it's 0:18:21.200 --> 0:18:23.639 exactly what we talked about a little bit earlier. Do 0:18:23.760 --> 0:18:26.159 your best to be honest with people, with people that 0:18:26.200 --> 0:18:29.440 you care about that care about you. Again, great chance 0:18:29.560 --> 0:18:32.720 right now they're feeling the same way, but just talking 0:18:32.720 --> 0:18:35.679 to somebody about it, it's going to relieve so much tension. 0:18:36.040 --> 0:18:39.359 Once you open up a dialogue with people, you're gonna 0:18:39.400 --> 0:18:41.320 say things to them you didn't even know. We're true, 0:18:41.359 --> 0:18:42.919 They're going to say things back to you and you're 0:18:42.920 --> 0:18:44.720 going to relate and didn't realize they were true to 0:18:44.720 --> 0:18:48.360 you as well. But this is this is not a 0:18:48.400 --> 0:18:51.199 small club that you have joined if you were experiencing 0:18:51.240 --> 0:18:53.200 this for the first time. There are a lot of 0:18:53.280 --> 0:18:55.560 us out there. And again, there are people like me. 0:18:55.600 --> 0:18:58.040 I'm fifty years old. I've been living with this most 0:18:58.080 --> 0:19:00.359 of my life and if I can help you, I 0:19:00.400 --> 0:19:05.119 certainly will. So please reach out even it doesn't It 0:19:05.200 --> 0:19:07.199 doesn't have to be a professional. It can be just 0:19:07.240 --> 0:19:09.080 your buddy, and it can be a strange guy on 0:19:09.119 --> 0:19:12.760 the radio talks far jokes most of his life reach out. 0:19:13.040 --> 0:19:16.600 People are willing to listen. Well, Chris, thank you so much. Um. 0:19:16.800 --> 0:19:18.560 I just love the heart that you have for this. 0:19:18.680 --> 0:19:20.639 I know when I called you, I told you you know, 0:19:20.680 --> 0:19:23.320 I said, hey, Chris, this is this content that I 0:19:23.359 --> 0:19:25.320 want to do. What do you think? And you were like, 0:19:25.400 --> 0:19:28.280 I'm in, Like you didn't even have any other questions, 0:19:28.560 --> 0:19:30.760 And I can just you know, hear that your voice 0:19:30.760 --> 0:19:33.400 and in wanting to share with other people. So thank 0:19:33.440 --> 0:19:36.919 you so much for being willing to share your story 0:19:37.080 --> 0:19:39.920 to help other people. That's a great idea and I'm 0:19:39.920 --> 0:19:41.520 so glad you're doing this. And I thank you for 0:19:41.560 --> 0:19:44.479 including me. And I literally just want to give everybody 0:19:44.520 --> 0:19:46.960 a hug, you know. I just want to want to 0:19:46.960 --> 0:19:49.520 make everybody okay, including you and you and you and 0:19:49.560 --> 0:19:51.280 you and you and you, all of you. I want 0:19:51.320 --> 0:19:53.159 you all to be okay. Let's all be okay together. 0:19:53.960 --> 0:20:05.920 Thanks Chris, Thank you, Dear, big thank you to Chris, who, 0:20:06.000 --> 0:20:08.800 over the past three or four years has become especially 0:20:08.880 --> 0:20:12.240 passionate about sharing his story and also connecting with others 0:20:12.240 --> 0:20:15.960 who have similar experiences around mental health. Big thanks to 0:20:16.000 --> 0:20:18.639 you as well for tuning in, and I encourage you 0:20:18.680 --> 0:20:21.520 to keep an eye on all Vikings digital platforms for 0:20:21.680 --> 0:20:23.280 upcoming Getting Open features.