Mental Health Monday #45: NFL star Brandon Marshall's borderline personality disorder, healing after bullying, toxic self-talk, etc.

NFL (Giants) Wide Receiver Brandon Marshall, of Project 375

Welcome to another round of Mental Health Monday, your weekly dose of stories, resources, and motivation for your everyday life. On this week's Mental Health Monday, new mother Serena Williams opens up about postpartum complications, a brother shares how rap helped him explore his depression, we have some coloring books for grownups, and Dr. Joy of Therapy For Black Girls helps us decide when to find a new therapist. Check it out. 

THIS WEEK'S GOODNESS

"The Real Causes Of Depression Have Been Discovered, And They're Not What You Think" by Johann Hari [Huffington Post]

But more than that – I was startled to discover that many leading scientists believe the whole idea that depression is caused by a “chemically imbalanced” brain is wrong. I learned that there are in fact nine major causes of depression and anxiety that are unfolding all around us. Two are biological, and seven are out in here in the world, rather than sealed away inside our skulls in the way my doctor told me. 

"In My Chronic Illness, I Found a Deeper Meaning by Elliot Kukla" [The New York Times] 

We are born needing care and die needing care, and I am no exception. At brief moments in the middle of life, we hold the illusion of independence, but we are always driving on roads we did not build, eating foods we did not pick or raise. Allowing the illusion of my own independence to drop away unmasked a fundamental truth of being human.

"NFL Star Brandon Marshall on His Borderline Personality Disorder Diagnosis and Removing the Stigma of Mental Illness" by Susan Young [People] 

Michi Marshall (Brandon's wife & Project 375 co-founder) leading a Mental Health First Aid course. (photo: People)

“After a couple years of volatile behavior, I found myself at Mclean Hospital (near Boston), where I was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder,” Marshall, 33, tells PEOPLE. “I didn’t have the skill set or tools a healthy person would have to self-regulate when something was off.”

Marshall says his reluctance to seek help came from the added pressure of being a football player. According to the National Council for Behavioral Health, suicide is the third leading cause of death among African-American men ages 15-24.

"7 Ways to Overcome Toxic Self-Criticism" by Amy Morin, LCSW [Psychology Today] 

2. Change the channel.

While problem-solving is helpful, ruminating is destructive. When you keep replaying a mistake you made in your head over and over again or you can't stop thinking about something bad that happened, you'll drag yourself down.

"Blackademia: navigating depression, desire, and deadlines" by Anthony J. Williams [Medium]

Depression and desire sleep in the same bed together, and it’s a bed I have trouble leaving every morning. Sometimes even afternoons, too. There are nights where I just want to stay up until 2am watching Netflix but I cannot do that. There is a certain amount of focus on “on” time that means I must truly schedule in my leisure time.