Dr. Mena Mirhom: Boy’s Emotional Health, Body Image & Mental Health in the NBA
BeingMe is a teen mental health podcast, hosted by Dr. Neha Chaudhary and Hazuri Dhillon, for BeMe Health
About This Episode
On this episode of BeingMe podcast, Dr. Neha Chaudhary and her co-host, Hazuri Dhillon, are joined by Dr. Mena Mirhom, MD, FAPA, a Columbia-trained, board-certified psychiatrist. He is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University, where he currently teaches public psychiatry fellows.
Dr. Mirhom is a national speaker on mental health and wellness and a consultant for the Mental Health & Wellness Initiative of the NBPA (National Basketball Player Association), where he works with NBA players and staff with any mental health needs.
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Let’s Talk About It
In general, the landscape of mental health in sports has shifted so much over the past couple of years to make it more mainstream. Just because I am an athlete and I have ‘the life’ doesn’t mean I am immune to mental illness.
The thing that I think a lot of us, as fans or just the casual person, may not always realize is that the majority of the NBA is not superstars. There’s only a handful of people who are on top of the world. A lot of people are grinding, struggling, trying to make it. On TV, on Instagram, life looks super glamorous and easy. But athletes are the same. It is not just glamor and ease.
Depression can be different in the way it looks in boys and men. It’s not just sadness and crying. There’s more to it than that. Sometimes our symptoms as young men and young boys, the way we can behave when we’re depressed, are more about being irritable and acting out.
Because athletes, millionaires, fancy-schmancy people can prioritize their emotional health and be proactive about it, you and I can do the same too. It doesn’t have to mean that we’re in crisis, it doesn’t have to mean that we’re less than anyone or that there is something wrong with us in any particular way. In a way, this is prevention, this is about becoming healthy, not just avoiding being sick.
About BeMe
BeMe is a mobile mental health platform — made for and With Teens In Mind™ — to improve teen well-being by bringing together the best aspects of social, gaming, and streaming engagement along with human coaching and clinical care.
Our Hosts
- Dr. Neha Chaudhary, Chief Medical Officer, BeMe Health
- Hazuri Dhillon, BeMe Teen Advisory Board
Producer
- Derek E. Baird, Chief Youth Officer, BeMe Health
Date of Recording
- June 10, 2022 @ BeMe Studios
