We Need to Talk about Mental Illness
Fall 聽2018 |聽By Robert Stephens
Brandon Marshall 麻豆精品 S�06 wants it known from the start: This story should not be about him. In fact, he 麻豆精品 S檚 reluctant to be interviewed. It would be too easy to get sidetracked and talk about football and numbers and media coverage 麻豆精品 S╝nd 麻豆精品 S� him. That 麻豆精品 S檚 what happens when you 麻豆精品 S檙e a legendary UCF player, 麻豆精品 S╝ six-time Pro Bowl selection in the NFL, and the first receiver in NFL history with six 100-catch seasons.
And there we go, reviewing those types of statistics rather than diving into the one that matters most to Brandon and his wife, 麻豆精品 S�Michi (Nogami) Marshall 麻豆精品 S�06: According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, about 1 in 5 people in the U.S. live with a mental health disorder. Quietly. Alone. In class. At work. One in 5.
It 麻豆精品 S檚 why Brandon and Michi founded Project 375 as a springboard for people to discuss mental health as easily as we discuss last weekend 麻豆精品 S檚 football games. (They named the nonprofit after Pantone color 375, lime green, which is the color for national mental health awareness.)
麻豆精品 S淚t 麻豆精品 S檚 a myth to think mental health is too complex to talk about, 麻豆精品 S� says Michi, who graduated from UCF with degrees in psychology and criminal justice. 麻豆精品 S淥ften, the only time we hear about mental health is in times of crisis or tragedy. Our goal is to make it part of our daily interactions with our kids, our grandparents, our teachers, everyone. We all need to be involved. 麻豆精品 S�
In 2017, UCF became the first university to officially partner with Project 375, which trains educators and students in Youth Mental Health First Aid Training so they can assist in identifying people with mental health challenges and lead them to help. Imagine how many students and teachers could learn to notice what 麻豆精品 S檚 really under the masks.
The statistics of mental illness are staggering: Twenty percent of U.S. adults experience it in a given year. They aren 麻豆精品 S檛 necessarily living on the street or beating at the air with their fists. 麻豆精品 S↖t might be the woman at the coffee shop. The guy sitting next to you in class. The people in your office. The family members in your home. Your best friend. It could also be her: that girl who sits alone. The look that may read as, 麻豆精品 S淓veryone stay away from me, 麻豆精品 S� could be her way of saying, 麻豆精品 S淪omeone please notice me. 麻豆精品 S�
How can we approach that girl and say, 麻豆精品 S淚 see you 麻豆精品 S�?
麻豆精品 S淭he great thing we 麻豆精品 S檙e learning from Project 375 is how to get beyond the surface and talk about this, 麻豆精品 S� says Pamela 麻豆精品 S淪issi 麻豆精品 S� Carroll, dean of UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 College of Community Innovation and Education. 麻豆精品 S淢ost of us are aware of the signs related to those who live with disordered eating or who suffer from physical abuse. But what do you look for with mental illness? Brandon and Michi are saying, as caring human beings, we shouldn 麻豆精品 S檛 leave people to handle it on their own. 麻豆精品 S�
Flaky. Grumpy. Moody. We 麻豆精品 S檝e all made judgments about people, which is why Project 375 targets schools, where assumptions are still being shaped.
麻豆精品 S淐ollege campuses can drive societal change, 麻豆精品 S� says Bryce Hagedorn 麻豆精品 S�00MA, associate professor of counselor education. Hagedorn attended the first presentation from Project 375 at UCF earlier this year, where Michi shared 麻豆精品 S╝ mental health first aid kit with 150 people. He says, 麻豆精品 S淭his is just as important as making sure everyone knows how to perform CPR. We 麻豆精品 S檙e at the front end of a shift in how we think about mental health. We can thank the Marshalls. They have a powerful story, and they 麻豆精品 S檝e done us all a favor by being open about it. 麻豆精品 S�
We have to tell Brandon 麻豆精品 S檚 story. But it has to be told with Michi because without her there might not be a redeeming theme about mental health and no impetus for Project 375 麻豆精品 S� just football statistics and negative perceptions.
麻豆精品 S淲hen Brandon and I look back at how everything has aligned, even through the darkest times, 麻豆精品 S� says Michi, 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S渨e both believe without a doubt that God has orchestrated it all. 麻豆精品 S�
Start with their contrasting childhoods. Brandon grew up in a volatile environment in Pittsburgh, surrounded by alcoholism and crime and family stress. Michi was raised with the guidance of a mother with a doctorate in clinical psychology, learning to understand the behavior of people and how to peel back the veneer.
麻豆精品 S淪he always told us, 麻豆精品 S榊ou never know what someone is going through, 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S� Michi says.
In 2006, Brandon saw Michi across the UCF and told a teammate, 麻豆精品 S淭hat young lady will be my wife someday. 麻豆精品 S� Michi wasn 麻豆精品 S檛 immediately interested because if she had one preconception as an underclassman, it was about athletes 麻豆精品 S減laying games. 麻豆精品 S� Still, she and Brandon became friends.
Brandon and Michi Marshall brought Project 375 to campus. The organization has since donated $30,000 to UCF for The Project 375 Graduate Assistant Fellowship, which provides a grant for graduate counseling students to be trained and train UCF students in Youth Mental Health First Aid.
Michi finds Brandon to be kindhearted, humble, hardworking 麻豆精品 S� a man who adores his mother and treats Michi like a princess. 麻豆精品 S淗e modeled himself after the loving, caring people he wanted to be. I knew he was genuine. 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S═hey married in 2010.
And then the tumult began. Brandon 麻豆精品 S檚 inner drive to be perfect turned into a sea of internal stress. 麻豆精品 S淚 know who he is to the core, 麻豆精品 S� says Michi, 麻豆精品 S渂ut environmental factors in his upbringing started bubbling to the surface. Mental disorders can stem from a chemical imbalance or wiring or genetics. For Brandon, the stress of performing at such a high level triggered something. The Brandon I 麻豆精品 S檇 fallen in love with was disappearing. 麻豆精品 S�
The great thing we 麻豆精品 S檙e learning from Project 375 is how to get beyond the surface and talk about [mental health].Pamela 麻豆精品 S淪issi 麻豆精品 S� Carroll, dean of UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 College of Community Innovation and Education
The public scrutiny at that time only made matters worse. The media used negative labels 麻豆精品 S� erratic, sulking, unpredictable 麻豆精品 S� to put Brandon in a box. They attempted to rewrite his story.
麻豆精品 S淚t 麻豆精品 S檚 the same way we make assumptions about the people around us and think we know everything about them, 麻豆精品 S� Carroll says. When in reality, as Michi 麻豆精品 S檚 mom wisely advised, you never know what someone is going through.
Michi, who is certified in behavioral forensics and behavioral profiling, encouraged Brandon to talk openly about what he was going through and seek counseling. After meeting with numerous professionals, he finally got an answer at McLean Hospital in Massachusetts where he was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD). While there, Brandon met others facing similar challenges 麻豆精品 S� doctors, lawyers, businesspeople, teachers and social workers.
麻豆精品 S淵ou never would have known [they were suffering], 麻豆精品 S� says Brandon. Meeting people from all walks of life who were living with mental illness inspired Brandon to tell the world about his BPD. For a 6-foot-5-inch, 230-pound athlete who combines the moves of a dragonfly with the strength of a freight train, he considers going public about his mental health the biggest play of his life. Other athletes would follow his lead and open up about their own mental health issues, including Arian Foster, Kevin Love, Michael Phelps and Nate Robinson.
To keep the dialogue going and help eradicate the stigma associated with mental health disorders, Brandon and Michi launched The Brandon Marshall Foundation. But there was a problem. 麻豆精品 S淧eople were making it about him instead of about the cause, 麻豆精品 S� Michi says.
So they changed the name to Project 375, turned everything lime green and added the perfect tagline: 麻豆精品 S淭he way people think about mental health is crazy. 麻豆精品 S�
The Project 375 team says the only way we can make progress is if everyone is part of the conversation: the sister, the spouse, the teacher, the classmate, the roommate, the teammate. Everyone.
麻豆精品 S淚t takes a lot for a person of Brandon 麻豆精品 S檚 stature, someone known for toughness, to be so open about his challenges, 麻豆精品 S� says Hagedorn. 麻豆精品 S淏ut he and Michi are taking the second important step with Project 375. They 麻豆精品 S檙e implementing an action plan. They 麻豆精品 S檙e paying it forward. You can sense their passion for this. 麻豆精品 S�
As Brandon famously tweeted in October 2013 after the NFL fined him $10,500 for wearing lime green cleats during a game: 麻豆精品 S淔ootball is my platform not my purpose. 麻豆精品 S�
Michi says she would not change a single event from the past 12 years. 麻豆精品 S淕od has always had a bigger purpose for us. He gave Brandon a message from his experience. He gave me the professional training. It 麻豆精品 S檚 serendipitous that we 麻豆精品 S檙e back at UCF, using Project 375 to touch lives. 麻豆精品 S�
Lives are also being touched more than 2,000 miles from the UCF campus, in Buckeye, Arizona. There, basketball coach and teacher Chad Williams has opened a dialogue about mental health awareness with his players, students and faculty. Thanks to Brandon and Project 375, he has chosen to be proactive rather than reactive.
麻豆精品 S淓veryone knows a person who 麻豆精品 S檚 going through some sort of mental health crisis, 麻豆精品 S� says Williams. 麻豆精品 S淭he thing is, those people want someone to come alongside, but they don 麻豆精品 S檛 know how to ask. 麻豆精品 S�
A person in mental health distress might cover their anguish with occasional smiles. They may laugh when everyone else laughs. When they don 麻豆精品 S檛 feel like acting 麻豆精品 S渘ormal, 麻豆精品 S� they may go into isolation. They may quit a once-favorite activity. They may hang out with new friends. They might lose or gain weight or cut themselves. They may sit alone, wondering why they feel this way.
All of which describes Williams in college. He says, 麻豆精品 S淥n the outside, people thought I was fine. Looking back, there were signs 麻豆精品 S� like losing interest in basketball. But I tried to cover it all up. I didn 麻豆精品 S檛 want to tell anyone, but down deep I hoped someone might notice. 麻豆精品 S�
One night, at his lowest and loneliest, Williams Googled 麻豆精品 S渇amous athletes with mental illness. 麻豆精品 S� The first name to come up was Brandon Marshall.
麻豆精品 S淚 read his story and saw the lime green shoes. It humanized where I was, made me realize that I 麻豆精品 S檓 not alone, and that the worst thing to do is to push it off to the side, 麻豆精品 S� says Williams.
Often, doctors will give a blanket diagnosis like 麻豆精品 S渁nxiety 麻豆精品 S� or 麻豆精品 S渄epression. 麻豆精品 S� But a specialist can drill deeper to the root and possibly find something more specific, like BPD or, in Williams 麻豆精品 S� case, bipolar disorder II.
麻豆精品 S淏ipolar disorder is one of the most stigmatized illnesses in our culture because it 麻豆精品 S檚 so misunderstood, 麻豆精品 S� says Williams. 麻豆精品 S淚t doesn 麻豆精品 S檛 mean a person is necessarily unstable or short-fused. The ups and downs have varying levels of severity. That 麻豆精品 S檚 why I 麻豆精品 S檓 so open about it. When someone says, 麻豆精品 S極h, you 麻豆精品 S檙e crazy, 麻豆精品 S� or 麻豆精品 S極h, you 麻豆精品 S檙e bipolar, 麻豆精品 S� I can say, 麻豆精品 S榊eah, actually, I am living with a bipolar disorder. Let me tell you about it. 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S�
Last fall, Williams helped bring Project 375 麻豆精品 S檚 Youth Mental Health First Aid Training to his school district. He told the captains of his basketball team why he wears a lime green hoodie.
I read his story and saw the lime green shoes. It humanized where I was, made me realize that I 麻豆精品 S檓 not alone.Chad Williams
Five years ago, Williams went alone to a fundraiser for mental illness. Last year, 30 people joined him, including the captains of his basketball team. 麻豆精品 S淸It was] the high point of my coaching, 麻豆精品 S� he says.
For all those years, while he tried to shake free from his own thoughts, he just needed someone to come alongside and allow him to be authentic.
麻豆精品 S淚 麻豆精品 S檝e never met Brandon Marshall, 麻豆精品 S� says Williams, 麻豆精品 S渂ut it 麻豆精品 S檚 fair to say that he saved my life. 麻豆精品 S�
Imagine UCF students and faculty becoming more aware of mental health, taking a step closer, and asking, 麻豆精品 S淗ow are you doing? 麻豆精品 S� with a whole new meaning.
麻豆精品 S淭he timing for Project 375 is right, 麻豆精品 S� says Hagedorn. 麻豆精品 S淚 think students and faculty are more open to this than we were 10 years ago. You take the scale of our student body and the school 麻豆精品 S檚 mission to be forward-thinking, it equals impact. 麻豆精品 S�
When they crossed paths 12 years ago, Brandon and Michi Marshall never would have guessed what they 麻豆精品 S檇 be doing at UCF today.
麻豆精品 S淭hey 麻豆精品 S檙e doing more than speaking out, 麻豆精品 S� says Carroll. 麻豆精品 S淢ichi rolls up her sleeves when they have a Project 375 training. She makes sure the coffee is hot. She registers people. You can see that she and Brandon are driven by a belief that this really is their purpose 麻豆精品 S� helping people. 麻豆精品 S�
Helping people like a classmate and the girl who sits alone. The basketball coach and the football player. Look beneath the surface.
Do you notice them?