Big Cass (aka: CaZXL) recently sat down with Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet to talk about several topics regarding his WWE exit and his battle with depression. Cass says he thinks more athletes need to start talking openly about mental health, and people are making things worse by not talking about it.
“I feel like not enough people talk about it, especially in sports or wrestling. If you suffer from depression, you bury that deep deep down and you don’t let anybody see it — or you don’t talk about it — it’s the worst thing you can do. Everybody’s embarrassed or there’s a stigma out there that you’re weak, or that you’re a ‘p*ssy.’ So you don’t say anything and you keep it to yourself and you don’t go seek help. Whether that’s talk therapy or cognitive behavioral therapy, or see a psychiatrist, or whatever it is … people don’t do it. And then that just leads to disaster.”
Cass cited his own issues with mental health and alcoholism and said putting on a happy face makes things worse, and he should have sought out help sooner.
“Burying it down is just the worst thing you can do. It makes life hell on a daily basis. I was dealing with depression and anxiety having to walk around locker rooms and pretend like everything was ok and put on a face like ‘oh, I’m very happy,’ but I wasn’t happy. I really should’ve spoken up. I should’ve gone and sought out help way earlier than I did. Because it just led to an absolute downfall of me, my career and William Patrick Morrissey III as a human being. I really should’ve just grew a set of balls and just went and got help. And I didn’t do that.”
“I would love to spread the word on mental health. I just think it’s something that isn’t talked about enough. I feel like it’s something that is looked down upon and I feel like the stigma needs to change cause it’s really affecting people’s lives. People are out there offing themselves, committing suicide everyday, man. These are things that shouldn’t happen.”
Related: Big Cass Details Battle With Depression & Feeling Like He Let WWE Down Before His Exit
