Former Stanley Cup Champion loving life after battle with Mental Health and getting Sober

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Ryan
April 11, 2023 (5:26 PM)

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While many people think the life of a professional athlete is glamorous and how could anyone deal with any issues when they are making so much money to just play a sport.

Well, there is a lot of pressure that goes into being a professional athlete. You have millions of people watching you, cheering you, booing you. You need to preform at the best of your ability at all times and be prepared to accept the criticism when you don't.

You need to maintain the peak of your physical ability at all times in order to preform, exercise, nutrition, emotions. There is a lot that goes into being an athlete that is not glamourous.

When players retire, they often go into a state of depression as the thing they've trained and spent their whole life doing is now over, and a lot end up having mental health issues.

Former Stanley Cup Champion Brent Sopel is someone who went through this, and now is sharing his story with the world and trying to make it a better place for those athletes who also struggle with issues. He started a program called "Why Program" which is a mentorship program for young players and also explores why mental health happens to people.

After discovering his previously undiagnosed Dyslexia and getting sober, former #Blackhawks Stanley Cup winner Brent Sopel found a new lease on life. Now he's using his experiences to help youth hockey players through a new mental health initiative

After discovering his previously undiagnosed Dyslexia and getting sober, former #Blackhawks Stanley Cup winner Brent Sopel found a new lease on life. Now he's using his experiences to help youth hockey players through a new mental health initiative. Story at 10:30 @GNSportsTV pic.twitter.com/BLzzo5fnv0� Josh Frydman (@Josh_Frydman) January 21, 2023