Buckle up, y'all. I'm fixin to talk about Naomi Osaka.

In case you haven't checked the news in a day or two, the tennis champ pulled out of the French Open, citing depression and anxiety issues, specifically around being required to address the press. While a good deal of public opinion is on her side, she's also been demeaned, vilified, and ridiculed for making this decision, mostly because too many people still don't take depression and anxiety seriously as a health issue.

Friends, it is most definitely a health issue.

Listen. I spent all of my teenage years and early adulthood in a cycle of depression. I knew I didn't feel good but I didn't know why, and I thought "this is just the way things are," so I pushed myself through it, over and over and over again. I didn't ask for help because I didn't know I needed help. I mean, I would have a bad spell, and then I'd get better, so it must not be that serious, right? But every time I went back into the hole, it was deeper than before. 

I was 34 years old before I dug a hole I couldn't get out of anymore. Think about that for a minute. Thirty. Four. Years. Old. I pushed myself through this on again/off again cycle from adolescence until well into adulthood before I finally asked for help. And y'all, I didn't have to do that. 

You might well ask why I didn't get help before. I've already said I didn't think I needed it, so I never mentioned it to anyone. And here's the funny (and very cruel) thing about depression - you often don't know how sick you really were until you come out on the other side. I thought crying in the bathroom every day at work, and crying in the car every day on the way home, was an effective coping mechanism. (News flash: it wasn't.)

I went to counseling. I got medication. I felt way better - but even then, I still had another breakdown. You can think you're ready to take things on, so you take on more than you're really ready for, and you crash again. 

It looks to me like Naomi is trying to prevent that crash. What many people are decrying as the actions of a "spoiled diva" who "doesn't want to do her job" is a young woman protecting her health. If she were a man, I imagine the reactions would be more like "oh, isn't he so brave for taking care of himself." And let's not forget that WOC often have their health concerns dismissed like they don't matter.

Look. Naomi Osaka doesn't owe us anything. She doesn't owe the world a performance, and she doesn't owe the press an appearance, regardless of what sport officials say. "But that's part of her job!" Really? Why? Why is it necessary to require athletes to talk to the press? It has ZERO to do with athletics. ZE.RO. Some people just want to play their game and go rest. Let them do it. If others want to talk to the press, fine. But don't *make* them.

Moreover, she doesn't owe us an explanation of why she did what she did, but she opened herself up, and that's an incredibly brave thing to do. We should be living in a more enlightened age, but the stigma around depression and anxiety is relentless and continues in spite of the best efforts of many organizations to educate the public about mental health.

I wish I had said "enough" when I was 23, instead of continuing to roll that boulder uphill for another 11 years. I still push the boulder, but now I have the presence of mind to know when to rest, and when to ask for help. 

If you or someone you know needs help with depression or anxiety, please call Mental Health America at 800-969-6642, or visit their website at https://www.mhanational.org/. Don't push the boulder uphill when you don't have to.