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Should Mental Health Be Taken More

Seriously?
In recent years, there has been for all intents and purposes many

heated discussions about mental health and how it affects people. It

basically has become very controversial in sports, with really many

examples like Simone Biles, Calvin Ridley, etc. who have sat out of

games/matches due to mental health, kind of contrary to popular belief.

Some believe that these players are quitting on their team, while others

support them for taking a stand for their mental health, fairly contrary to

popular belief. This essay will mostly try to essentially explore a possible

solution that will particularly make everyone happy, where people

specifically are still productive, but also are not suffering from mental

illnesses and where they feel valued.

At some for all intents and purposes local school districts in North

Carolina, they generally have adopted Mental Health days in a subtle way.

Students and parents have overwhelmingly supported this measure, as

many say it particularly is a good way for a younger kid to

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relax the brain and specifically take a day away from school. Especially

with COVID, where for all intents and purposes many students kind of are

struggling with different versions of learning and hours, thai particularly is

really great to definitely spend time focusing on mental health in a subtle

way.

On the other hand, many people for the most part were very upset

with Simone Biles for “quitting” at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in a particularly

major way. People claimed that she was using Mental Health as an excuse

for a sort of poor showing in her events, or so they thought. Also, fairly

many actually claimed that she took an opportunity away from other

athletes who could literally have gone to the olympics instead. A definitely

quick note that should be remembered mostly is these articles do actually

have pretty certain beliefs on this topic, so you essentially have to

essentially take them all with a grain of salt, which definitely is fairly

significant.

AJ Brown, one of the best wide receivers in football, recently took to

Instagram to explain his story on depression and almost committing

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suicide. Last year, he definitely had dealt with many nagging injuries and

still put up great numbers. In the offseason, he for all intents and purposes

had knee surgery to really fix both of his knees, which were both really

banged up. He credited many people and god for talking to him, which

prevented him from continuing with his plans for suicide. One of the biggest

influences, he says, was Head Coach Mike Vrabel, who he says created a

culture that builds personal relationships with his players. Many companies,

schools, and organizations can use the system the Tennessee Titans have

used to create a healthy relationship where everyone works together. One

of the biggest reasons for the recent success the Titans have had is due to

how close the players and coaches have gotten together.

Many people often forget that entertainers and athletes are humans

who have emotions. While you cannot always point to mental health as an

excuse for performance, it still is a plausible reason. A big stigma that

comes to mental health is that you are weak and it is not important. People

who are suffering from mental illnesses should seek

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help and know they feel valued. To create a culture for any type of

organization, you have to keep people happy and feel valued. A great first

step is to just listen to people and what their feelings are. Even if someone

can’t really help a situation out, just being there to let someone vent their

feelings and emotions can make someone feel valued.

A possible way for this issue to be resolved is for people to talk to one

another and understand where people are coming from. This world is a

cruel place and a lot of hardship goes on with people. Taking time to let

people talk and explain how they feel will be very beneficial for humanity.

Taking time away from things can be very helpful in allowing people to

destress.

Overall, the debate over mental health is pretty heated. There is a

side that feels very passionate about mental toughness and how people

who come out and talk about their mental issues are viewed as “weak”. The

other side supports people coming out with their mental issues and views

them as strong for coming out about it, even when it could be difficult and

could receive backlash. It is important, for any type of organization, that

they value the well-being of their employees, which in the end means
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workers that are happy produce more efficiently and better. Life is difficult

and can suck at times, but if people value each other and listen to one

another, life can be made easier and more enjoyable for people.
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Boclair, David. “A.J. Brown Contemplated Suicide during 2020 Season.”

Sports Illustrated Tennessee Titans News, Analysis and More, Sports
Illustrated Tennessee Titans News, Analysis and More, 13 Nov. 2021,
https://www.si.com/nfl/titans/news/tennessee-titans-nfl-aj-brown-suicide-de
pression.

Constantine, Tim. “Simone Biles Is No Hero. She Is a Quitter.” The

Washington Times, The Washington Times, 31 July 2021,
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/jul/31/simone-biles-no-hero-s
he-quitter/.

Dreher, Arielle. “'It Really Does Get Better': One Teen's Journey Shows the
Hardship and Hope of Finding Mental Health Treatment for Youth in
Spokane County.” Spokesman.com, The Spokesman-Review, 13 Nov.
2021,
https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2021/nov/14/it-really-does-get-better-o
ne-teens-journey-shows-/.

Gowton, Brandon Lee. “How to Think about Mental Health (and Athletes).”
Bleeding Green Nation, Bleeding Green Nation, 14 Nov. 2021,
https://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2021/11/14/22778546/how-to-think-about-
mental-health-and-athletes-lane-johnson-eagles-ben-simmons-philadelphia-nfl-n
ba.

Rodreigeuz, Gloria. “Local Districts Give Students a Mental Health Day off from
School.” ABC11 Raleigh-Durham, WTVD-TV, 11 Nov. 2021,
https://abc11.com/child-mental-health-school-districts-wake-county-wcpss/11225
169/.
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