Seattle Seahawks star Tyler Lockett says that he's battled with depression and anxiety during his NFL career and that he considered quitting before having his best year. Lockett emphasized the importance of mental well-being during a series of posts on Twitter, earlier this week.
“2 years out of my 7 years in the NFL thus far I played through depression and anxiety and almost quit and had my best year,” he wrote Wednesday. “I played through trauma another year and had my best year. Moral of the story: Just keep going. You never know what’s waiting on the other side!”
Lockett added that he initially tried to deal with depression and anxiety like any other injury and play through the pain. When this didn't work, he realized he had to be real with himself.
"Looking back now I’m so happy I kept going," he continued. "I’m a strong minded person and when faced with mental health situations I tried to hurry up and fix it like if I got hurt and practice got treatment for a day and I’m good. But with mental health you have to be real with yourself."
Seattle recently launched a Mental Health Matters program that focuses on encouraging conversations about mental health.
“It’s easy to operate in life when you live through your strengths,” the 29-year-old Lockett wrote. “But these last couple of years I had to live and rely on my weaknesses to get me through. I been more patient with myself than I’ve ever been. I had to learn that my mindset wasn’t the only way.”
Lockett was drafted to the Seahawks back in 2015 and is a former first-team All-Pro.
Check out Lockett's tweets below.
[Via]
