Why Ryan Day, the Ohio State football coach, and his wife Nina are Mental Health Champions

 

 

Since taking on his present position in 2019, the Ohio State head football coach has, after all, amassed an amazing resume that includes two Big Ten titles, two trips to the College Football Playoffs, the coaching of twelve first-team All-Americans, and four Heisman Trophy finalists. Even with those successes, Day’s greatest accomplishment might not have anything to do with Saturday afternoon games or rankings. Rather, it centers on a covert, off-the-field health concern and the steps he has taken to bring it to the attention of the young men he coaches as well as the larger Central Ohio community at large (and beyond).

Day and his spouse, Christina “Nina” Day, announced in August that they would be donating $1 million to the OSU Wexner Medical Center and College of Medicine via the Nina and Ryan Day Resilience Fund, which they had recently created. With a focus on young adults, the fund will be used to combat the stigma associated with mental health issues, expand the availability of resources for mental health treatment, and launch studies on resilience—the capacity of a person to overcome hardship, stress, and trauma.

The Days have a strong belief in mental health and well-being, which is supported by their own personal pain and firsthand experience. This is why their advocacy is more than just a pet subject. When Day’s father committed suicide when he was eight years old, talking about mental health was frowned upon and stigmatized. He has stated that it took him a long time to realize and accept that his father’s death was due to mental illness.

However, Day warns that a tragedy shouldn’t be necessary to start a dialogue on mental health. He says, “Everyone can partake in trying to make sure you are mentally healthy and also breaking the stigma attached to mental health,” in a recent interview conducted in his Woody Hayes Athletic Center office.

This day, Nina, who has struggled with anxiety her entire life, is seated behind him. She states that throughout her final two years of college, her severe anxiety caused her to give up on things she enjoyed doing, including playing basketball. She says, “It was just that I felt like I was suffering alone.” “Back then, you just couldn’t talk about it.”

Their contribution will contribute to preventing feelings of isolation and loneliness among young adults in the future. Dr. K. Luan Phan, chair of Ohio State’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, states, “We believe that as young adults migrate away from home into school or a job, they face a period of transition that is often positive and exciting but can also be challenging and stressful.” “We believe that the key to enhancing prevention as well as early intervention efforts is to better prepare young adults with the skill sets necessary to develop and cultivate resilience in the face of adversity.”

The Nina and Ryan Day Resilience Fund, according to Phan, will create a number of components that start on the OSU campus and spread outward. The first will consist of a series of programs aimed at combating the stigma associated with mental health issues in order to motivate those who are experiencing difficulties to seek assistance. A campaign to raise awareness will also be launched, enabling students to make advantage of the tools already in place on campus, strengthen their resilience, and acquire effective coping mechanisms. This is probably going to start with College of Medicine students as part of their orientation to the school. Peer therapy and tech-based chat lines via texting or apps will also be provided under the initiative.

Lastly, Phan and his colleagues will investigate the social, psychological, and biological aspects of risk and resilience. He anticipates that this research project may monitor and trace a group of pupils, recording their results in terms of mental and behavioral health and charting their course throughout time.

After the research at the College of Medicine is confirmed, Phan hopes that it will spread to other campuses in the state and nation, starting with the larger OSU campus. “We want to become the leaders of student mental health and young adult mental health more broadly,” he adds. Phan and his group intend to create and release a lot of young adult content in the future.