Brian Neuner knows what success looks like in several fields.
From KOMU 8 sports director, to president of a local bank, to the board of Special Olympics Missouri, he’s seen the summit of several careers.
“People that know me would say I’m an extrovert,” he said.
But Neuner also knows what rock bottom looks like.
“I had an invisible weighted blanket on me,” he said. “And that invisible blanket was so heavy, I just couldn’t throw it off anytime I wanted.”
After suffering injuries from a fall and recovering during COVID-19 isolation, Neuner’s world was knocked off its axis.
“I kind of lost myself,” he said. “I became an introvert.”
Neuner was diagnosed with anxiety and depression, a diagnosis that felt devastating at the time.
“That really knocked me off balance,” he said. “They were manageable, but not curable.”
Experiencing anxiety and depression was something Neuner didn’t know how to navigate at first.
“There can be shame associated with it,” he said. “You don’t want people to look at you different.”
But Neuner isn’t alone. The suicide rate among men is nearly four times higher than it is among women. Experiencing mental health issues and not taking steps to make positive change is largely due in part to men’s relationship with their masculinity.
“We’re just supposed to kind of suck it up and just move on,” said Gary Lembke, a clinical provider supervisor at Burrell Behavioral Health.
It’s a mindset Lembke said many men have when it comes to talking about mental health.
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“One of the biggest hurdles is actually just them acknowledging that ‘I have this issue and I want to deal with it,'” he said.
Once Neuner began to get professional help, he slowly but surely began to open up about his experiences.
“It took three years before I felt comfortable with my game plan,” Neuner said. “That’s when I started telling people and reaching out more.”
That’s also when Neuner began building Mental Health Huddle, a platform aimed at educating others and reaching those who have had similar experiences.
“My goal is to increase awareness, help them put a face on somebody that they know or can relate to,” he said.
Neuner speaks to groups across the country about what he’s gone through, calling it the ‘patient’s point of view.’
But getting to where he is today wasn’t easy for Neuner.
“It’s still not easy,” he said. “There are days that I can’t even tell you why I’m depressed, but I am.”
Managing his mental health is an ongoing journey for Neuner.
“You got to work,” he said. “You got to be willing to put in the work beneath the work.”
Pushing back against the status quo and opening up about his mental health struggles has allowed others to help Neuner navigate them.
“You got to allow yourself to be vulnerable and the people that really want to help you will,” he said.
Mental Health Huddle is celebrating its first year this July. It’s a milestone Neuner would have never reached without confronting the challenges that used to control him.
“It’s rewarding. It’s therapeutic,” he said. “I’m just so grateful.”