Players Tribune: Brandon Marshall

Our latest acquisition wrote this piece for Mental Health Awareness Month. It's an interesting take on the issues from his perspective.

It was 2011 and I was in a group therapy session at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts. It was an informal self-assessment session where you were basically supposed to tell the group about what you were feeling and talk about what had happened to you the day before. We were all sitting in a circle. To my right, there was a young lady with bandages on her arms, and the wraps were soaked in blood. She had tried to harm herself the day before. Another young lady told the group that she had attempted suicide the night before.

I just sat there, in shock.

We worked our way around the room and everybody told their stories. There was an insurance broker, a social worker, a college student — normal, everyday, good people. Not all of their stories were as intense as the two young ladies’, but each person was facing similar struggles.

And there I was — this big, macho football player — listening to these people talk about their feelings and not knowing how to react.

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He's a very strong person to have gone public with his feelings.

I hope he lights it up here.

I've watched Brandon on Inside The NFL over the past few years and I have always really liked him. It's brave in today's society to speak about a disease in a public forum to help eradicate the various stigmas attached to the disease, and to further help and educate others. I've always admired his pro-activeness to seek help and be the best person he can be.

Physically speaking, I wish we got the Broncos Era version of him, but I think even the current version of him will help us out this year, both on the field and in the locker room. Thanks for the link David.

Good read, thanks for sharing.


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Thanks for posting.

Marshall's testimonial reminds me of that old adage "no matter where we go, there we are". It is inescapable. Sometimes the only avenue for change comes thru the help from others.

There are so many silently suffering from depression. As a volunteer, I see it constantly. As a matter of habit, waking up grateful for another day on the planet and excited about each moment makes all the difference. Make it a practice to take the initiative to be positive. Chose to be infectious about it! Strive to improve the outlook of everyone around us. The pay off is that it makes our unique sphere of influence, the immediate world around us as positive practitioners, healthier, wealthier and wise.

Working to improve our mental state of mind, along with all we come in contact with, is our unique expression of gratefulness for this wonderful gift we call life.

I hear ya Buckaroo...

Aros":3d5q0ieo said:

I've watched Brandon on Inside The NFL over the past few years and I have always really liked him. It's brave in today's society to speak about a disease in a public forum to help eradicate the various stigmas attached to the disease, and to further help and educate others. I've always admired his pro-activeness to seek help and be the best person he can be.

Physically speaking, I wish we got the Broncos Era version of him, but I think even the current version of him will help us out this year, both on the field and in the locker room. Thanks for the link David.

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What Todd said.

I've watched him on Inside the NFL also, and heard him talk about his mental health issues openly. I KNOW that his doing so has helped many people come to grips with who they are, and would bet that his openness has saved the lives of distraught people who otherwise may have taken theirs.

Jville":345pd651 said:

Thanks for posting.

Marshall's testimonial reminds me of that old adage "no matter where we go, there we are". It is inescapable. Sometimes the only avenue for change comes thru the help from others.

There are so many silently suffering from depression. As a volunteer, I see it constantly. As a matter of habit, waking up grateful for another day on the planet and excited about each moment makes all the difference. Make it a practice to take the initiative to be positive. Chose to be infectious about it! Strive to improve the outlook of everyone around us. The pay off is that it makes our unique sphere of influence, the immediate world around us as positive practitioners, healthier, wealthier and wise.

Working to improve our mental state of mind, along with all we come in contact with, is our unique expression of gratefulness for this wonderful gift we call life.

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Great stuff my friend. The best thing we can do on this planet is be kind to each other. Love and respect, no conditions.

I read a couple of other stories on there and as a gratefully recovering addict and alcoholic, I can definitely relate to "I'm not crazy." If I hadn't gotten 2 DUIs one December, I might not be here today.

I was using alcohol as a substitute for drugs, and while it wasn't as unhealthy as the drugs, it still would have killed me. I have no idea why the first DUI didn't phase me, but the 2nd one two weeks later hit me hard. It was my wake up call. Like Brandon Marshall said, I learned so much about myself during the first few months of recovery.

My counselor would describe a type of behavior, and I'd think "holy shit! That's me!"

I honestly believe my life is better for having experienced what I did, and for the opportunity it's given me to help others.

There are some that don't make it though. They either party their lives and health away while hurting the ones that love them, or they die. I feel bad for their families, but tend to focus on the one's that have a chance to make it out of hell. They're the one's that make it all worth while.