HOUSTON – New York Jets wide receiver Brandon Marshall was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder in 2011. He has since become an advocate for mental health.
Marshall and his wife, Michi, launched PROJECT 375, a nonprofit group with the mission of ending the stigma surround mental illness and disorders. Recently, Marshall had Houston Texans running back Arian Foster on as a guest in the Founder's Circle to talk about his experiences and challenges with mental health. Foster revealed a lot about his personal life and his struggles as a husband, father and player.
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"I went through a lot off the field, finding myself, trying to live up to the expectations of what I thought a man was, what I thought a professional athlete was, what I thought a son was, what I thought a father was, and a lot of the times, we are too egotistical to ask for help from anybody," Foster said.
Foster admitted that he was overwhelmed after he became an NFL player. He went from struggling in a domestic violent household with very little food to a multi-million dollar athlete.
"It had just been building up to the point where I was self medicating. I was drinking heavily," Foster said. "It was something that helped me because it was numbing."
Foster said it was his divorce that became the moment that he realized he needed to seek help.
"I was not the best husband. I just wasn't. that was because I didn't know how to be husband."
Foster said everything that he has been through has been a lesson. He said though this year has been hard on him career-wise with his season ending injury, he has been able to accept it.
"It's nothing that's going to break me as a human being," Foster said.
Later in the interview, Foster revealed that his sister suffers from bipolar disorder. Foster talked about her struggles and how she has been able to to overcome and succeed, despite the disorder.
"We lost years of our life, because we didn't know she was suffering from this disease, " he said.
Foster said his sister wanted him to share her story. She's been able to move forward and has a better attitude about suffering from bipolar disorder. Foster said his sister is getting her master's degree and it has been all on her own.
"If you could grant her one wish, what would it be?" Marshall asked.
Foster paused and began to tear up.
"I just really want her to find her happiness," he replied. "That would make me happy."
You can watch the full interview here.
