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Toronto Raptors’ All-Star guard DeMar DeRozan recently revealed his ongoing battle with depression and anxiety with the hopes that his speaking out on these widespread mental health issues will serve to help others who struggle.
It all began as DeRozan was getting ready for the 2018 NBA All-Star Game on Sunday, February 17th. Just a few short hours from playing in a game of celebration, the 28-year-old star sent out a simple seven-word tweet: “This depression get the best of me.”
This depression get the best of me…
— DeMar DeRozan (@DeMar_DeRozan) February 17, 2018
Little did DeRozan know that that one sentence, written on social media, would result in an absolute outpouring of love, support and concern about the mental state of the star.
https://twitter.com/_rallycap/status/964853756603940866
Country *
— Justin Behan (@behanthewinner) February 17, 2018
https://twitter.com/2KRisingStars/status/964884433319944192
https://twitter.com/_rallycap/status/964926098411732993
https://twitter.com/KeyhanFidi/status/967943396638601218
❤❤❤ sending you light in this patch of darkness. This too shall pass.
— Lyriq Hair (@LyriqHair) February 25, 2018
https://twitter.com/JohnnyMakePlays/status/966651025892499456
You are loved lad. Your Canadian friends care about you
— Peat Morrison (@LANDOFTHEFOXES) February 25, 2018
Say bro…you got a new follower and fan, not on the strength of your basketball skill, or celebrity, but this very tweet. I appreciate your vulnerability. Sending you peace and love to surround you til you get to solid emotional ground. (Daps)
— Charles Hunt (@chizarone) February 21, 2018
And on and on it went. It was a truly amazing study in how wonderfully supportive people can be if someone who is struggling isn’t afraid to open up about it.
On Sunday, the Toronto Star had a follow-up chat with DeRozan about that incredible moment when people came together to offer their support.
“It’s one of them things that no matter how indestructible we look like we are, we’re all human at the end of the day,” the 28-year-old Raptors all-star said. “We all got feelings . . . all of that. Sometimes . . . it gets the best of you, where times everything in the whole world’s on top of you.”
That’s right. It doesn’t matter what you do or how successful you are, anxiety and depression doesn’t care about any of that.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BcsCgaqji_A/?taken-by=demar_derozan
Though that one tweet wasn’t intended to open up a dialogue about mental health and the daily battles people with depression and anxiety go through, DeRozan is glad that it did.
“Sometimes you hear things from other people, such as doing something like that (the Saturday morning statement). There could have been a better way to take that approach, but I got great words from a lot of people,” he said.
“It’s not nothing I’m against or ashamed of. Now, at my age, I understand how many people go through it. Even if it’s just somebody can look at it like, ‘He goes through it and he’s still out there being successful and doing this,’ I’m OK with that.”
He also offered a little advice that I think all of us could be a little better at following, regardless of who you are.
“My mom always told me: Never make fun of anybody because you never know what that person is going through. Ever since I was a kid, I never did. I never did. I don’t care what shape, form, ethnicity, nothing. I treat everybody the same. You never know.”
TRUTH.