This episode of the Grim Drive Podcast, where we explore mental health through the lens of professional sports and athletes, takes a look at Hayden Hurst + Suicide Prevention.

As a part of our last episode, we discussed how a post-game on-field moment between Dak Prescott and Hayden Hurst showed similarities to the one line tweet about depression from DeMar DeRozan…namely that one line or one short back and forth dialogue with a handshake and a verbal agreement to collaborate can have a profound impact on educating fans to the importance of mental health, further removing the stigma and encouraging more people to open up and get help.

Hayden Hurst is someone who has shown incredible strength through his willingness to be vulnerable and to also show that vulnerability.  Embracing emotion and reaching out to friends and family when we are struggling with mental health challenges can be daunting, often due to our own shame or fear of burdening those people.  But as Hayden Hurst has shown, opening up to family in particular often eases the pain, clears the path to get the help we may need, and ultimately can strengthen the bond we have with those people.

Most importantly, reaching out for help can save lives.  Suicide numbers have been getting worse over the past 30+ years, and males are up to four times more likely to end their own lives.   Suicide prevention is so key to educate people regarding mental health and how to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe when there is the presence of intense, often invisible pain.  

As a reminder to listeners, please use caution when listening to this episode.  This topic is particularly difficult for people to discuss, and listening to it being discussed is no different.  We encourage you to call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline to get help if you or a loved one are struggling, at 1-800-273-8255.  We also encourage listeners to check out The Hayden Hurst Foundation website for more information on suicide prevention at https://www.haydenhurstfoundation.com

*The Grim Drive Podcast is a way for people to learn about mental fitness, mental health, and mental illness, through the lens of sports. We want to do our part to further reduce the stigma associated with mental health by highlighting the athletes who have shown strength through vulnerability, spoken up, and spoken out.  We want to provide listeners with mental health education, to raise awareness and reduce risk, maximizing the path to mental fitness.

Hayden Hurst episode related links:

• https://www.haydenhurstfoundation.com
  • Mission: The Hayden Hurst Family Foundation’s mission is to raise awareness of mental health issues in children and adolescents by funding mental health services and programs through donations and fundraising events.  

• ESPN daily podcast with Mina Kimes: https://open.spotify.com/episode/16e2UTE2392c5CrXxX8QeE?si=d5aXfHPJQjiXU-d4tpy5Iw
• https://www.espn.com/blog/atlanta-falcons/post/_/id/35338/hayden-hurst-uses-his-attempted-suicide-story-to-make-a-difference
• https://247sports.com/Article/Hayden-Hurst-mental-health-struggles-South-Carolina-Atlanta-Falcons-147383002/
• Outside the Lines: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQl-n2cLTKs

Suicide Prevention:

• http://www.riversideunified.org/UserFiles/Servers/Server_580721/File/Departments/Special%20Education/Psychological%20Services/SUICIDE%20PREVENTION%20INTERVENTION%20HANDBOOK.pdf

***Disclaimer on MH tips: Particularly with suicide prevention, anyone struggling needs to get professional help.  A good place to start is by calling the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255

Suicide Prevention:

• –  Numbers are UP, especially among men
• –  Warning signs:
  • Talking about wanting to die or kill themselves
  • Looking for ways to kill themselves, such as searching online or buying a gun
  • Self-inury
  • Talking about feeling hopeless or having no reason to live
  • Talking about feeling trapped or in unbearable pain
  • Talking about being a burden to others
  • Increasing the use of alcohol or drugs
  • Acting anxious or agitated; behaving recklessly
  • Sleeping too little or too much
  • Withdrawing or isolating themselves
  • Showing rage or talking about seeking revenge
  • Displaying extreme mood swings
  • Abuse/trauma
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    What to do:
    – Be aware of the risk factors
    – MH issues, trauma, sub ab, loss, suicide contagion (read below)
    – Get a risk assessment 

– Develop a safety plan:
– Connect to supports in home/community – Identify healthy coping strategies
– Provide after hours resource numbers
– Suicide contagion:

– “Suicide contagion is the exposure to suicide or suicidal behaviors within one’s family, one’s peer group, or through media reports of suicide and can result in an increase in suicide and suicidal behaviors. Direct and indirect exposure to suicidal behavior has been shown to precede an increase in suicidal behavior in persons at risk for suicide, especially in adolescents and young adults.”  – From HHS.gov

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Other things to consider:

– Recognize that emotional pain can be treated too, just like physical pain…if it was physical pain, we would seek treatment, it’s important to do the same with emotional pain

– Pain is the body telling us we need to change something or something is off balance or a threat to the system as a WHOLE

– Recognize that when someone attempts suicide, but thankfully, does not end their life, their reflection is often how much they wanted to LIVE in those final moments, a regret about their decision to self-harm sets in, and a desire to LIVE becomes powerful

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• –  Get HELP, call the suicide prevention hotline to get help if you are struggling: 1-800-273-8255
• –  Talk to a family member or friend if you can, and remember that PART of YOU will try to convince you that this will burden them, but that is NOT how it plays out on reality. Test this out, if you had a friend ask you for support, would you feel burdened? Really think about it. NO, you would feel empathy for them, you would feel proud that they trusted you for support, you would feel positive that you can help your friend get to a better place in their lives. That doesn’t sound like burden to me

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The post Episode 9: Hayden Hurst + Suicide Prevention first appeared on Grim Drive.