WEBVTT - Getting Open with Harrison Hand

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, everybody. My name is Lindsay Young and I am

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<v Speaker 1>a writer and assistant editor here with the Minnesota Vikings.

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<v Speaker 1>Thank you for joining us for our fourth installment of

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<v Speaker 1>the Getting Open series that focuses on all things mental health.

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<v Speaker 1>So far, we've talked with Jalen Holmes, We've talked with

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<v Speaker 1>All Pro linebacker Eric Kendricks and his fiance Ali Cortnall,

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<v Speaker 1>and last week we sat down with tight end Tyler

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<v Speaker 1>Conklin to hear about the ways that his family has

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<v Speaker 1>turned a personal tragedy into community outreach and suicide prevention.

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<v Speaker 1>Over the coming weeks, you will continue to hear personal stories,

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<v Speaker 1>organizational initiatives, and more about foundations that support this area

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<v Speaker 1>of mental health. Today, we're sitting down with Vikings cornerback

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<v Speaker 1>Harrison Hand, who was a rookie for Minnesota in twenty

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<v Speaker 1>twenty and contributed both on special teams and on defense.

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<v Speaker 1>Although Harrison acknowledges the difficulty of being invulnerable, he's passionate

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<v Speaker 1>about the area of mental health and self care. The

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<v Speaker 1>NFL did their Micause My Cleats campaign this year with

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<v Speaker 1>you being a rookie, what did it mean to you

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<v Speaker 1>to be able to participate in the MICUs my Cleats initiative. UM,

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<v Speaker 1>it was very important to me just because I thought

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<v Speaker 1>it was opportunity to bring light and attention to um,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, mental health and you know it's awareness and everything.

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<v Speaker 1>You were one of two players on the Vikings Rafter

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<v Speaker 1>who had NAMI on your cleats. Can you just tell

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<v Speaker 1>us a little bit about why you chose NAMI specifically,

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<v Speaker 1>why that organization is important for you, and why you

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<v Speaker 1>wanted to raise awareness. I chose that specific organization because

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<v Speaker 1>I believe they do a great job in helping, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>the youth, you know, coping find ways to um, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>go through life and hope with their problems, and I

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<v Speaker 1>just believe that that's really important. So you and I

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<v Speaker 1>talked a little bit offline just about the importance of

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<v Speaker 1>talking about mental health and taking care of one's mental health.

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<v Speaker 1>Can you share a little bit of your story, as

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<v Speaker 1>much or as little as you'd like, just sort of

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<v Speaker 1>around the area of mental health. UM. Yeah, UM, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>just like about everyone else in this world, I went

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<v Speaker 1>through some tough things growing up, and you know, at

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<v Speaker 1>a young age, you really don't know um fully or

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<v Speaker 1>understand what you're going through to an extent, you just

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<v Speaker 1>find ways to cope and um, you know, do what

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<v Speaker 1>whatever makes you feel happy, I guess. And you're not

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<v Speaker 1>taught how to cope with your feelings and everything else.

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<v Speaker 1>You're really just told really to you know that they're

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<v Speaker 1>not real or suppressed them. And you know as a

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<v Speaker 1>on the male side, as be a man and on

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<v Speaker 1>the female side, that you're being too sensitive. And that's

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<v Speaker 1>just something small. But I just feel like that, see,

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<v Speaker 1>that's something that needs to change because you were kind

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<v Speaker 1>of being fed that messaging in society. What did you

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<v Speaker 1>do to sort of cope with the things that you

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<v Speaker 1>were feeling or experiencing? You know, you know a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of people have, you know, different ways, but my specific way,

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<v Speaker 1>I tend to know I had a lot of things,

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<v Speaker 1>had a lot of different ways, but one specific way

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<v Speaker 1>that you know, whether it's may be positive, maybe negative,

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<v Speaker 1>or however you see it. But I tend to forget

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<v Speaker 1>the past. I'm more so than I live in the now,

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<v Speaker 1>and I look just like the float. And I think

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<v Speaker 1>that's kind of because of what not been through and

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<v Speaker 1>how you tend to just forget and put everything by

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<v Speaker 1>the experiences that you had growing up and also the

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<v Speaker 1>ways that you kind of cope with things, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>kind of moved on from the past. How has that

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<v Speaker 1>shaped you as a person and the man that you

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<v Speaker 1>are today? Oh yeah, definitely shaped me because no matter

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<v Speaker 1>what you react to certain things, on how well I

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<v Speaker 1>react to certain things, on how I know, you know

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<v Speaker 1>I've chose to grow up and how I chose to

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<v Speaker 1>reacting things, and you know, it's still shaping me because

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<v Speaker 1>I like to get deep and know why I'm acting

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<v Speaker 1>like that, and then I like to know the why why.

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<v Speaker 1>I want to know that, and I know it's still

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<v Speaker 1>shaping me into this being that I want to be.

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<v Speaker 1>Why do you think that it's important for everybody, regardless

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<v Speaker 1>of their background, of their experiences, or their current situation.

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<v Speaker 1>Why do you think it's important for everybody to pay

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<v Speaker 1>attention to their mental health and to take care of

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<v Speaker 1>their mental health. Um. I think it's very important for

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<v Speaker 1>everyone to prioritize their mental health and their alive because

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<v Speaker 1>it affects the way we think, feel and act. No

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<v Speaker 1>matter whether you know it or not, you're you react

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<v Speaker 1>to certain things because of you know, what you've been

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<v Speaker 1>through or what happened in your past life. So I

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<v Speaker 1>feel like that's a very important thing to know. People

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<v Speaker 1>use the word self care a lot, right to kind

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<v Speaker 1>of make sure that they're taking care of their emotions,

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<v Speaker 1>their mental health. What does that look like for you?

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<v Speaker 1>I wouldn't say it's a no consistent route every day.

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<v Speaker 1>But for one, I don't not a huge technology person,

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<v Speaker 1>so I just tend to flow, go away, and I

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<v Speaker 1>just like to live in the now or either you know,

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<v Speaker 1>watch the TV shows or music, But mainly I like

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<v Speaker 1>to be alone, um, you know, just quiet time. I

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<v Speaker 1>really think whether that's you know, going for a walk

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<v Speaker 1>or you know, just going down sitting in nature, or um,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, meditating or yoga, reading a book, there's you know,

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<v Speaker 1>things of that nature. They're really you're just either locking

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<v Speaker 1>into something or you really find another reality to go to.

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<v Speaker 1>What types of books do you like to read. Do

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<v Speaker 1>you like to read like fiction novels, or do you

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<v Speaker 1>like to read kind of like nonfiction self help type

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<v Speaker 1>of stuff. I'm all over the board. Um right now,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm actually reading scripts of movies, different movie in place.

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<v Speaker 1>But I like to also research, like you said about

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<v Speaker 1>you know, self care and different things in the world.

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<v Speaker 1>I feel like this past year obviously we've had to

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<v Speaker 1>navigate the pandemic. There's been increased emphasis or awareness of

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<v Speaker 1>the social injustices that are going on. And but then

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<v Speaker 1>on top of all of that, it's your rookie season,

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<v Speaker 1>You're with a new team, you're in a new city.

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<v Speaker 1>How important was it this past year to put that

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<v Speaker 1>focus on your mental health? I say it was not

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<v Speaker 1>so difficult because, as you know, mental health is something

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<v Speaker 1>that I really live by. It's not something that I

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<v Speaker 1>kind of, you know, think of or every here and there.

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<v Speaker 1>It's really a lifestyle. You know, it's a lot going

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<v Speaker 1>through this pandemic, you know, coming through them, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>combine coming to the season, different things, testing of fans.

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<v Speaker 1>There was just a lot of different stuff. And that

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<v Speaker 1>doesn't even play into the actual learning of the playbook,

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<v Speaker 1>in the tech me that you're going through. So um,

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<v Speaker 1>I say, it's a lot. It caused me to do

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of learning about myself. Now. I learned something

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<v Speaker 1>new about myself every day. And I say it was crazy,

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<v Speaker 1>just because trying to juggle everything that you're going through.

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<v Speaker 1>But no, it's possible. Why do you think there is

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<v Speaker 1>so much stigma around mental health? I think people are

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<v Speaker 1>being more and more willing to talk about it, but

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<v Speaker 1>there still tends to be kind of that stigma. Why

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<v Speaker 1>do you think that is? I want to feel like

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<v Speaker 1>they're willing to talk about it more now is because

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<v Speaker 1>more people are coming out and explaining themselves of who

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<v Speaker 1>they are and why they are. But I feel like

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<v Speaker 1>there's a stigma because when people hear mental health, they

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<v Speaker 1>tend to think of somebody being crazy, or you know,

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<v Speaker 1>they have anxiety or depression, they just want to kill themselves,

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<v Speaker 1>and you know, to an extent, it may be all

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<v Speaker 1>of that, but it's understanding that the feel you know,

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<v Speaker 1>feeble minded and weak if they feel or have empathy

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<v Speaker 1>towards something or at a young age where taught we're

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<v Speaker 1>not taught how to deal with things. We're told to

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<v Speaker 1>suppress them, and that really no one cares, and reality,

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<v Speaker 1>to an extent, majority of the world really doesn't. You

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<v Speaker 1>have to find the ones that you know really do,

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<v Speaker 1>so you just have to really throw out everyone's opinions.

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<v Speaker 1>But the stigma is there. You mentioned like finding the

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<v Speaker 1>ones who are there in your life who do care.

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<v Speaker 1>How have you been able to kind of find those

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<v Speaker 1>people in your life that are in your corner who

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<v Speaker 1>are that support system, whether it's family, friends, teammates. What

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<v Speaker 1>does that look like for you? Um, let's start off

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<v Speaker 1>by saying that I want to say everyone gets a

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<v Speaker 1>different part of you and you can't you. I guess

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<v Speaker 1>in some situation there are some people that feel you

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<v Speaker 1>can't tell everything too. But it's hard just because I

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<v Speaker 1>truthfully don't have a lot of people that I know

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<v Speaker 1>really confide and I can talk to people about things,

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<v Speaker 1>but when it comes down to fully understanding me, I still,

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<v Speaker 1>to this day, I still keep things to myself just

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<v Speaker 1>because you know, I've been doing it since I was born.

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<v Speaker 1>Finding the person and the people it's really about the

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<v Speaker 1>energy and the feeling that you have towards that person

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<v Speaker 1>in the relationship that you you know that whatever you

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<v Speaker 1>say will stay between you and the other person, and

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<v Speaker 1>also that when you're telling them everything that you feel,

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<v Speaker 1>it's more so they listen and they're not telling you

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<v Speaker 1>how to feel. They're more so just there for you

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<v Speaker 1>to listen and you know, explain how you feel and

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<v Speaker 1>they also may feel the same way they don't, but

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<v Speaker 1>to an extent, they're going to know how you feel.

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<v Speaker 1>The last question I had written down is just what

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<v Speaker 1>do you hope that people get out of this, whether

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<v Speaker 1>it's specifically from your message or maybe someone else who's speaking.

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<v Speaker 1>What kind of impact do you hope that this series makes? Truthfully,

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<v Speaker 1>I hope that everyone that watches this or or sees this,

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<v Speaker 1>that they either find ways to cope and find ways

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<v Speaker 1>to somebody to talk to, or really just understand themselves

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<v Speaker 1>of how to be free. And there's either always somebody

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<v Speaker 1>else that's been through that, and there's always somebody as

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<v Speaker 1>willing to listen, no matter who it is, And I'd

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<v Speaker 1>be a person that for me they can talk to.

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<v Speaker 1>And that's just something that I believe that no people

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<v Speaker 1>should learn. Big thank you, of course to Harrison for

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<v Speaker 1>sharing his thoughts with us and for being a champion

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<v Speaker 1>for such a great organization like NAMI. Thanks for tuning

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<v Speaker 1>in again, and we invite you to keep an eye

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<v Speaker 1>on all of Vikings digital platforms for upcoming features and

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<v Speaker 1>are getting an open series