In this week’s episode of The Mental Matchup, Schuyler talks with our podcast editor, Annie Krabbenschmidt. Annie played just about every sport growing up, and then focused on tennis and soccer in high school. She went to Duke as an undergraduate and was a part of the club soccer team, but she struggled as her identity as an athlete shifted. Annie came back to Duke for graduate school, which is when she met Schuyler, as a TA for a public policy class. Annie is now living in LA as an artist, writing a book, teaching, hosting her own podcast ‘Love is a Softball Field,’ editing The Mental Matchup, and generally trying to make a positive impact on society through communication, art, and community building. During the episode, Annie and Schuyler discuss the heaviness of depression, how injuries impact your sense of self and your gratitude, the importance of finding an external environment that can help you thrive, the athlete identity, the intersection of queerness and mental health, Annie’s work at The Trevor Project, the spectrum of suicidality, and a lot more. Annie has also listened to more Mental Matchup episodes than anyone else during her editing process, and she has a lot of thoughts built up from those episodes, along with a lot of gratitude for our other guests. 

You can follow Annie on instagram @krabbypatty415 and check out her work on her website at https://www.annsplain.com/

You can read more about our podcast and contact us at thementalmatchup.com or on Instagram @thementalmatchup.

If you or someone you know needs help, you can call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at: 800-273-TALK(8255).