Depression isn't selective. It can hit any one of us at any time without warning.
Whether you're a major league baseball coach, high school teacher, stock trader or something else, depression isn't picky and it is hell on whoever it hits.
Former Giants coach Tim Flannery detailed his own bout with depression after the death of his father for the NBC Sports documentary "HEADSTRONG: Mental health and sports."
"When you're out there all alone, in cities away from support, it's really easy to have your mind go a different route and convince you of a whole bunch of things," Flannery said. "Because people lose their families, they lose themselves in the demand of the schedule and the demand of trying to win.
"It's difficult. There was a year in [1999] after my dad passed away -- he died viciously of Alzheimer's and he was 73 years old," Flannery continued. "I was dealing with that every day then coaching in the big leagues every night. After that year, I went into a chemical depression where I couldn't get out of bed for 13 months. I was chronic fatigue.
"I didn't think I was ever going to get well again. Alone, weeping, medicating. It's not actually just the game but it's all that comes with it that people don't see that causes other reactions. But you've got to find a way to stay healthy."
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For Flannery, it was his love of music that helped him during his bout with depression and throughout his playing and coaching career.
"If I didn't have my music, that saved me night after night," Flannery said. "Music therapy you realize what it does to you -- makes you feel really good. My music is my way to help others through performing. The music's been a great friend and it's gotten better and better and better. Just like anything else, you have to do the reps, you got to do the shows, you got to play the games, you got to play over and over and over to get to a point where you look back and you realize that if you work hard and if you prepare and if you dream -- some of those dreams can come true."
[RELATED: Watch all of the vignettes from HEADSTRONG]
You can watch all of the "HEADSTRONG: Mental Health and Sports" vignettes right here. The full documentary will be playing all month on NBC Sports Bay Area and NBC Sports California.
Check our channel listings page for times and dates.
