E092 Shayne Corson Depression Anxiety and More
Let’s Be Well Together Podcast - Episode 92
Date: October 31, 2023
Participants: John Webster, Elise Seifert and Sheila Webster
Guest: Shayne Corson
Start Times and Segments:
[0:00:16] What’s On Your Mind: Art contributes to wellness. She’s working with a pottery wheel and learning to hand build. It’s been enjoyable. Follow Elise’s pottery experiences in Instagram- link here: @potteryby.elise
[0:10:31] Expanding Minds Interview: [Mental Wellness] It’s Part 1 of a two-part interview of former NHL player Shayne Corson, who played for the Montreal Canadiens, Edmonton Oilers, St. Louis Blues, Toronto Maple Leafs and Dallas Stars. He captained two NHL clubs in his 19-season professional career. He played for Canada at the Canada Cup, World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, World Cup of Hockey and 1998 Winter Olympics. Over the course of his life, Shayne suffered from anxiety, depression and panic attacks. He kept these conditions to himself. His coaches, general managers and agent didn’t know. During the 2003 Stanley Cup playoffs, Shayne stopped playing for the Maple Leafs in the midst of a playoff series. He had been experiencing physical symptoms of anxiety. They were so severe that he didn’t know what was happening to him. At times he thought he was dying. Shayne started to get help from doctors. He started to feel better when he reached out for help. One of the best ways to break down stigma and make it easier for people to seek help for mental health conditions to hear from people like Shayne, who shares his struggles, experiences and recovery.
[0:31:16] Adventures of the Retired Artist: Sheila describes five life lessons dance taught her, after decades of performing and teaching: the importance of stretching; there are times you must perform; pushing through; love of all music; and listening to her body.
[0:36:59] Move That Body: 6 components of physical exercise: balance, coordination, agility, speed, power and reaction time.
[0:41:39] Running Popup : One of many examples of feeling the flow on a run – really enjoying the present. Running brings so many opportunities in life to savour the moment.
[0:43:40] Flipside of the Coin: Sheila and John are about to become empty nesters. They wonder what will happen.
Quotes and Take-Aways:
Shayne – It helps me to be able to tell my story. It’s therapy to me and it helps me as much as I hope it helps other people.
Shayne – I suffered with depression and anxiety on my own for years. I didn’t mention anything to anybody until I left the Maple Leafs in 2003. I suffered with it from early on, since my dad’s death in 1993. I hid for almost 10 years before I even told oner person.
Shayne –My conditions went to a next level after my dad passed away. It started with anxiety and then I started getting depressed. I was crying on my own a lot and experiencing different things. It snowballed over the years. Eventually I remember sitting on a couch. I felt fine as was watching TV. I started having what I now know is a panic attack. I thought it was a heart attack at the time. I thought I was dying. Somehow I made it up the stairs on my hands and knees and told my wife I thought I was dying. I was sweating and shaking. I asked her to call the doc. Fortunately for me the doctors for the Montreal Canadiens were amazing people. He rushed over to the house right away and checked all my vitals. He explained to me that I was having a panic attack. The panic attacks started happening more frequently, then daily. I felt like I was in a panic attack constantly. At one point, I was feeling I was in a dark hole and I would never come out of that dark hole. I thought the only way out was to kill myself. I started having thoughts of killing myself on a daily basis. Something would snap and I’d think, “I can’t do that.” Thoughts of hurting myself started happening more often.
Shayne – I hadn’t reached out for help at that point. I was embarrassed. I thought I was a big strong hockey player and I would be able to get out of it. People who were close to me knew I was suffering with something, but they thought it was something I could snap out of because I was a big strong guy and fairly healthy. They always saw me pull through lots of things, so they expect me to pull through this. They tell me to snap out of it. It was a little bit about that, but it was being embarrassed and scared and shy to tell someone I was struggling with mental health because it was quite a stigma back in the day and still is to this day. I was afraid of losing my job. I made my livelihood playing hockey. That’s how I paid my bills and for my home and for my food and for my family’s clothes and everything else. I also had to take care of my mom. I was afraid to lose my job at that time and didn’t want to tell anybody and thought that if I did they might let me go or release me from playing the game I love to play.
Shayne – People are very good at hiding mental health struggles and not telling people, because they’re afraid or scared to talk about it, or embarrassed or shy. You shouldn’t be, but you are, and I know I was and lots of people have been. They’ve told me so. They’re scared of losing jobs, or friends or family members or their lives. There are lots of things that come into it. It’s a very scary thing. Your mind is powerful and strong. I’ve been through lots of injuries and sicknesses, but there is nothing like dealing with mental health illnesses. It’s the most powerful thing I’ve been through in my life.
Shayne – That’s why I left the game. I had no choice at that point. I was either going to walk away and get the help I needed to get and admit that I needed help, or I was going to die. I knew that. I had lost 15 to 20 pounds. I couldn’t eat. Every time I tried to eat something it would just come straight back up. I was having darker thoughts about killing myself or hurting myself pretty much every day. There was a stretch where I didn’t leave the house for twelve days and just laid over an ottoman and cuddled with my German shepherd dog and just thought it was going to be the end at some point. I knew at that point that it was either time to leave the game I love to play and loved being a part of, especially at the funnest time which is playoff time, and get the help I needed, or I wasn’t going to be around to be able to do things like I’m doing right now.
Shayne – I knew that I needed to get help. My mom was at the game. She always met me outside the wise room. When I left the dressing room I said to my mom, “I need help. I’ve been going through a lot of different things mentally and health wise. I’ve been having some very bad thoughts about killing myself and I can’t do it anymore”. She said, “That’s great. Let’s find you the help you need.”
Shayne – I had a great support system once my family knew what I was going through. I had all the doctors I needed. I had my family, my wife, my kids, my sisters and my mom. I had Darcy and other close friends that I could open up to after I came out with it. After talking about it, I’ve had so many people reach out to me and say, “hey if you need to talk”, or “be strong”, or “it’s okay not to be okay.”
Shayne – The help for everyone is different. You need to find what you feel comfortable with and what makes you feel better. It might not happen right away. I didn’t happen right away for me. It’s different for everyone. You need to find what makes you feel safe, confident and happy; that makes you feel you’re going in the right direction; that give you the feeling that you have hope. Hope is big thing. Putting out your hand and asking for help and hope is the first step.
Bulletin Board Quote brought to you by Sheila: Your room is gone! Your stuff is gone!
Guest Information: Shayne Corson is a National Hockey League player who played for the Montreal Canadiens, Edmonton Oilers, St. Louis Blues, Toronto Maple Leafs and Dallas Stars. He captained two NHL clubs during his 19-season professional career. He played for Canada at the Canada Cup, World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, World Cup of Hockey and 1998 Winter Olympics. Over the course of his life, Shayne suffered from anxiety, depression and panic attacks. He kept these conditions to himself. His coaches, general managers and agent didn’t know. During the 2003 Stanley Cup playoffs, Shayne stopped playing for the Maple Leafs in the midst of a playoff series. He had been experiencing physical symptoms of anxiety. They were so severe that he didn’t know what was happening to him. At times he thought he was dying. Shayne started to get help from doctors. He started to feel better when he reached out for help. One of the best ways to break down stigma and make it easier for people to seek help for mental health conditions to hear from people like Shayne, who shares his struggles, experiences and recovery.
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(-(-_(-_-)_-)-) Your wellness check-in team
John, Sammy, Cameron, Sheila, Elise, Isabelle and Julie