Is Hockey Really Ready To Talk About Depression?

The hockey world is reeling from some major blows lately, including the deaths of three of their enforcers. Amid the myriad reports from within the league that claim to be “looking into the problem”, there is one article with a level of insight that stands out. In the September 8th edition of the Globe and Mail, Gary Mason wrote an editorial where he alluded to the “complicated back stories” that would have traced these players’ lack of mental peace far beyond their time on the ice. In the last line of his article, Mason quotes a line from his interview with Donald Brashear, one of the most feared fighters in the NHL: “I never had anyone to hold me and tell me they loved me. My mom never did. I just didn’t have that in my life.” I don’t know if Donald was an addict or if he was depressed, but the interviewer seems to be hinting at something that may lie hidden in the mist.
Studies have shown that people who suffer from addiction and depression have low levels of serotonin in their brains. Studies have also shown that these low levels of “happy chemicals” almost always coincide with a childhood of neglect or abuse, or some major life trauma. Mr Mason’s comments could not fit into this template more accurately. It is this kind of dot connecting that we need more of in our society if we are ever going to get to the bottom of issues like addiction and depression. The code of silence surrounding these topics needs to be broken, and we need more doctors like Gabor Mate looking into these matters than we need more pharmaceutical remedies. We need to move toward a future where we shine a light on a silent killer that moves amongst us.