St. Louis University men’s basketball player Terrence “TJ” Hargrove Jr. led East St. Louis to its first state championship in 2019 and he also leads a campaign for youth mental health.
Hargrove, who bravely shares his struggles with depression, spoke with students at Lincoln Middle School in East St. Louis on Monday, April 24th as part of National Every Kid Healthy Week. Mental Health Awareness Month, which has been observed since 1949, began on May 1.
Speaking on “Mindfulness Monday,” Hargrove said, “Everybody goes through things.”
“Let people help. I promise that will make it so much better.” – TJ Hargrove
Hargrove was recently named a recipient of the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) 2023 Perry Wallace Most Courageous Award because he is using his platform as a high-performing student athlete to draw attention to help remove societal stigmas associated with mental health challenges.
He spoke of coping with depression and strategies which helped him “walk through tougher times.”
“To get through the dark days, surround yourself with a great group of people,” Hargrove said, adding that his mother and father have been important to his mental health improvements. “Let people help. I promise that will make it so much better,” he said.
“It is not uncommon for teens and young adults to feel overwhelmed dealing with school and life responsibilities,” said Tiffany Gholson, East St. Louis School District 189 Parent and Student Support Services director.
“Student athletes may have added stressors like performance anxiety and societal expectations. Seeking help and support can make all the difference.”
According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIH), young adults aged 18-25 years had the highest prevalence of any mental illness, at a rate of 33.7%. A study conducted by Boston University reports that the suicide rate among Black youth has been increasing faster than any other racial/ethnic group since the year 2000.
The pandemic significantly increased Black youth’s reports of anxiety and depression.
Arthur C. Evans, American Psychological Association CEO, recently joined White House Domestic Policy Advisor Susan Rice and U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy for a roundtable discussion on addressing the mental health crisis among Black youths – especially males.
“When I became a psychologist 30 years ago, we didn’t hear young people in general, and certainly not young Black men, talking about mental health issues so openly,” Evans said.
He said a key to improving Black youth mental health is by focusing on prevention efforts.
“We can try to treat all of the kids once they develop problems, or we can create psychologically healthy school environments where kids are less likely to develop problems, or if they do develop, they are identified much earlier and sent for care faster,” Evans said.
“These kinds of upstream strategies help ensure that the workforce isn’t limited to people with a license and degree, but instead, teachers and managers are working to create psychologically healthy environments. That’s how we have a better shot at reducing demand for our services.”
Rice said, “We’re building a system with enough capacity and the right competencies to treat everyone.”
“We’re connecting people to culturally competent and trauma-informed services that they need by tackling high costs and other barriers.”
The suicide rate among Black people between 2018 and 2021 increased by 19.2%, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The quickest rise happened among those ages 10 to 24 with the suicide rate among Black youth rising by 36.6%.
Murthy, the first surgeon general of Indian descent, said he struggled with his mental health as a child “when I realized my skin and culture were different from those around me.”
“So much was different in my life that it made me feel like I didn’t quite fit in,” he said.
“I also didn’t tell anybody about it because I felt a sense of shame. A shame that too many people feel when it comes to their mental health and wellbeing.”
He would later learn that one of his uncles had taken his own life, and that his family didn’t know how to address the issue.
“It’s taken us a long time to recognize as a country that mental health is no less important than our physical health. And it’s something we should be able to talk about as openly and as honestly as we would talk about a broken ankle or sprained wrist,” he said.
Hargrove knows the importance of openly addressing mental health issues, and he told the Lincoln students it is not a weakness to ask for help when they are feeling down.
He advised students “In whatever you do, give it 120%.
Saying a key to his success is the fact “I ain’t got time for trouble,” he added that “school must be first” for athletes and non-athletes.
“I encourage [you] students to learn time management for future success,” he said.