May Is Mental Health Awareness Month
October 3-10 is Pro Athlete Mental Health Awareness Week
A week promoting mental health and wellness across professional sports.
Be Good To Yourself
Be Good To Each Other
Be Good To Yourself
Be Good To Each Other

Stop and take a moment.

Sometimes that’s all you need. One moment, to pause and take stock:

What can I do today for my mental health?

What can I do to help lift up those around me?

At Mind Health, we view our work through the lens of our three guiding principles:

Humanize Mental HealthElevate PerformanceHonor Lived Experience

So take a moment here and join us. We hope you’ll pick up a few tips along the way on how to be good to yourself … and good to each other.

Be Good To Yourself
Be Good To Each Other
Humanize Mental Health
Be Good To Yourself

So, where do you start?

Here's a good place:

Take a
Mental Health Timeout

Think about how you’re viewing mental health. Taking care of your mind is more than addressing an illness or taking on a particular challenge.

Your mental health is an everyday part of who you are as a human being. And there are things you can do, every day, to enhance it. Be proactive. Be intentional.

Whether you have a minute or an hour, you have time to do something for your mental health.

15 Minutes
Write a journal entry.
15
Min
2 Minutes
Check in with yourself. How are you doing right now? Name what you’re feeling.
2Min
45 Minutes
Start training for a 5K.
45
Min
5 Minutes
Reach out to a friend.
5 Min
1 hour
Start a new hobby.
1 Hr
10 Minutes
Walk or spend time outside.
10
Min
2 hours
Volunteer somewhere.
2 HR
Be Good To each other

Consider the different communities to which you belong: a neighborhood, a family, a school, a workplace, a team.

These communities play an important role in supporting your mental health — and the mental health of those around you. They can provide social connection, social support, and a sense of belonging.

How are you showing up for your communities? You can help build a culture of support by learning about mental health and being mindful of the language you’re using. Take a moment also to acknowledge the people you don’t regularly engage with in a given community.

Create
a Connection

Here’s a secret: You don’t have to focus specifically on your mental health to take care of your mental health. Have fun with it!

Create a shared experience with someone:

Schedule a Zoom call with friends.
1
Go for a walk with a neighbor.
2
Meet up at a park.
3
Join a book club.
4
Make a playlist and share it with a friend.
6

Community Voices

headshot photo of Nico HarrisonThe Athletic

“It’s OK to actually talk to people about how you’re feeling now, versus my generation when it was like, you just fight through it.”

Nico Harrison, General Manager, Dallas Mavericks
The Athletic | Why the NBA got serious about mental health: ‘We believe in it, but we also saw an increasing need for it’ | April 18, 2023
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Hear more from the players.
Elevate Performance
Be Good To Yourself

📷 Picture this: You’re about to run a race. You stretch out your legs. You jump up and down a few times to get the blood flowing.

These steps can get you ready physically. But what are you doing to get your mind ready? Your mental health is key to truly elevating your performance.

You can sharpen your mind — and in turn, your performance — by enhancing your mental skills. Set goals. Practice mindfulness or meditation. Learn how to navigate challenges and disappointments.

Build Your Mental Skills:
Self-Talk

What you say to yourself matters. We are often our own harshest critic. Try instead to develop your inner cheerleader — or, at the very least, learn to give yourself some grace.

The next time you’re kicking yourself over something, take these three steps:

Step 1
Ask yourself: “What would I say to a friend in a similar situation?”
Often, we extend more kindness to our friends than to ourselves.
Step 2
Identify what you learned from the situation.
What can you take from this experience and apply in the future?
Step 3
Give yourself some credit.
Maybe it didn’t work out, but the important thing is that you tried something new. Kudos! Trying new things is the way you grow and learn.
Be Good to Each Other

Think about a time in your life when someone has shown up for you — to push you, to support you, to help you through a challenge.

How are you paying that forward?

Encourage the people in your life. Find ways to lift them up, to motivate them. Sometimes, one of the most important things we can offer someone is a unique perspective.

Be an Accountability Partner

Name someone who would be invested in sharing a wellness or performance journey alongside you. Now, become accountability partners!

This could mean teaming up to:

Work out.
1
Sign up for a nutrition or cooking class.
2
Take a meditation or yoga class.
3
Travel somewhere new.
4
Attend a professional workshop.
5

Community Voices

Headshot of Andre Drummond smiling

“There were so many times where I knew what I was feeling, but I chose to neglect it and push it down. Now going through this, I know it makes you so much stronger to be able to articulate what you’re feeling.”

Andre Drummond, NBA Player, Chicago Bulls
Chicago Tribune | Therapy helped Chicago Bulls’ Andre Drummond regain his peace — and purpose: ‘I felt myself crying for help. But I didn’t know how to ask for it.' | April 23, 2023
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Chicago Tribune logo
Hear more from the players.
Honor Lived Experience
Be Good To Yourself

What happens in you, to you, and around you all affects your mental health.

Biological factors, like your family history, can shape your mind. So can social and cultural factors like your relationships and the current events happening all around us.

Think of it this way: Everyone has a story, and everyone’s story affects them in different ways, at different times. So, show yourself some compassion.

Here are some tips:

Appreciate Your Own Journey

It’s human nature to compare yourself with others — to friends, to co-workers, to neighbors. But remember: Our paths and our journeys are all unique.

Don’t judge yourself by the standards of someone else’s experience. Honor your own journey:

Step 1
Appreciate.
Learn to appreciate the experiences and cultural identities that have shaped you.
Step 2
Embrace.
Embrace your unique qualities.
Step 3
Continue to grow.
Be curious and willing to grow. Continue to examine your beliefs.
Be Good To Each Other

We all bring different experiences and different perspectives to the table.

Be curious. Be kind. Be inclusive. Be open to learning about other people and their journeys.

Sometimes, even a shared experience — the COVID-19 pandemic, for example — can affect each of us differently.

Embrace these differences.

Embrace Our Unique Experiences

We're all stronger because of our diversity. Take a basketball team, for example. You wouldn’t necessarily want to field a team of five centers or five point guards. You need a range of roles and skills. The same applies to our lives.

Step 1
Have humility.
Not everyone starts from the same point or experiences the same things.
Step 2
Be open.
Be open to other people, experiences, and perspectives.
Step 3
Be supportive.

Community Voices

headshot photo of DeMar DeRosan smiling

"We have to talk about [mental health]. … Now that we’re talking about it on a consistent basis, that alone does so much to put it on the forefront. It gives us the confidence to want to talk about it and tell our stories. The more stories that are told, the more confidence it gives in someone else’s life."

DeMar DeRozan, NBA Player, Chicago Bulls
Chicago Tribune | Therapy helped Chicago Bulls’ Andre Drummond regain his peace — and purpose: ‘I felt myself crying for help. But I didn’t know how to ask for it.' | April 23, 2023
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Chicago Tribune logo

More To Explore

Cultural Health Resources
July is BIPOC Mental Health Month. Explore this curated list of cultural health resources with information on taking care of your mind health.
download PDF
Mind Health Professionals:
An Overview
An overview of the unique and complementary services that can be provided by mental health and mental performance professionals.
download PDF
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
We can all help prevent suicide. The Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals in the United States.
get help now
National Institute of Mental Health
The "Caring for Your Mental Health" page is a simple resource about when and how to ask for help more generally. It is focused on situations that are not necessarily emergencies.
get help now
How We Feel
The How We Feel project, a scientific non-profit, has created a free journal for your well-being. Track your emotions, spot the trends, and learn new strategies as you go.
get started
National Institute of Mental Health
The "Caring for Your Mental Health" page is a simple resource about when and how to ask for help more generally. It is focused on situations that are not necessarily emergencies.
get help now

About
Mind Health

Mind Health is guided by the central idea of humanizing mental health. We promote overall wellness and optimal performance through education, proactive care, mental skill development, and direct support. Our mission is to engage, educate, and serve the NBA community and to position mental health as an essential element of wellness and excellence — both on and off the court.

We see mental health as a part of our lived experiences and are here to help you navigate challenges but to also help you identify mental health-related opportunities and strengths.

When a mental health challenge is beginning to affect your life, it’s time to reach out for support. Talk with someone you trust, such as a friend, family member, counselor or faith leader. For immediate assistance, call or text "988" OR text "TEAM" to 741741 for access to free and confidential support.

There is nothing wrong with asking for help.

Be good to yourself. Be good to each other.