NBA legend Magic Johnson visits Tallahassee to talk about teenage mental health

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – NBA superstar and legend, Magic Johnson, visited the capital to discuss teenagers and their mental health.

Local health professionals joined Johnson in bringing home the message that it is okay to seek help.

“Sometimes people fight, but that’s okay. Children have problems sometimes and that’s fine, ”said Johnson.

Many children haven’t seen their friends as often as they’d like because of COVID, and health professionals say the pandemic only increased psychological concerns among teenagers.

Panellists say that children should take their mental health as seriously as they take their physical health.

“We should empower those who are depressed or have feelings of undesirable well-being to raise their hands and seek help,” said Shevaun Harris, secretary for the Florida Department of Children and Families.

Panellists say that today’s teenagers are facing a range of new issues that their parents didn’t have to deal with when they were younger, including social media and the impact of the pandemic.

“What we saw is before the Delta variant came along, but after the initial shock, our numbers were the highest ever in terms of people asking for services as adolescents,” said Dr. Jay Reeve.

Dr. Reeve is President and CEO of the Apalachee Center. He says a role model like Magic Johnson talks about his own mental health issues, sending the message that teenagers are not alone and that help is out there.

“So having someone to be a role model, especially for teenagers, who step up and say, ‘No, we really need to talk about it,’ and Magic recently mentioned a few other athletes who came up and talked about their own mental struggles. I think that helps a lot in destigmatizing things, ”said Dr. Reeve.

Below are links to resources in our section in case anyone wants to talk about their mental health.

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