Haircuts for Mental Health? There's More Than One Way to Tackle Stigma

What do pro basketball player Kevin Love and pro football player The Gronk have in common with actor John Hamm and Kristen Bell (aka Veronica Mars)? No, they're not launching a new morning talk show called "Love Gronk Hamm Bell," although I'd probably watch that.

But they are all talking about something important — helping add light to a conversation that's lingered too long in the dark, by working to dispel the stigma around mental health care. John Hamm has talked openly about how therapy has helped him with depression, and Kristen Bell has talked about her own experiences with anxiety and depression.

Kevin Love on HBO’s The Shop

And recently, both Kevin Love and Rob Gronkowski joined LeBron James on his barbershop-themed HBO show The Shop to talk openly about their own mental health challenges. More about that in a minute.

But first, check out this key fact:

• One in four of us will experience some kind of mental health problem over the course of a year. Of those who experience issues, only 41 percent of adults living with a mental illness will receive the mental health services they need each year, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) reports.

I learned that when I spoke at the recent 39th Annual Mental Health and Aging Conference (MHAC) in Sacramento, co-hosted by the good folks at Turning Point Community Programs. Since 1981, the Mental Health and Aging Conference has been shining a light on developing theories and best practices for passionate mental health professionals serving the needs of older adults. And since 1976, Turning Point has focused on empowering people to live their best life by providing them with caring, support, and respect on the path to recovery and mental health.

The "respect" part of that equation is crucial. And it's why it makes such difference to have highly respected artists and athletes setting an example by demonstrating their own self-respect in the process of self-care.

Rob Gronkowski on HBO’s The Shop

LeBron James still has some pretty good moves, but none better in my opinion than giving Kevin Love and Rob Gronkowski a chance to talk openly on his show about their own mental health challenges. It's still rare to witness two well-known male athletes discussing what is still one of our nation's most stigmatized topics. 

But equally rare was the panel's supportive response. I was impressed with how the reaction to these men's stories skipped past the "You are so brave to share your story" moment and moved more quickly toward normalizing the very conversation that we're so often unwilling to share even among family and friends — let alone with a group of star-studded peers plus LeBron James's barber.

You can read more about this episode of The Shop and how it went down here:

• Kevin Love, Rob Gronkowski talk mental health on LeBron James' 'The Shop'

And of course, we owe a debt of thanks to organizations like Turning Point Community Programs for the important work they've been doing all these years to help carry the ball toward this cultural moment of support and respect. We're not at the goal yet — but at long last it feels like the momentum of the game is starting to shift in the right direction.

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In addition to appearing as a healthcare keynote speaker, Tim Clue is available as an education keynote speaker as well as a motivational speaker for business events of all kinds.