Falcons Tight End Hayden Hurst Opens Up About Depression ‘I Wanted It All To Be Over’

Atlanta Falcons tight end Hayden Hurst is fighting to end the stigma surrounding mental health and depression. He knows how tough these things can be, despite being a star NFL player, he’s been through it all himself. Today, Hurst opened up about his struggles with depression and how it affected every facet of his life and well-being.

“When it first started happening to me, I had no idea what the hell was going on,” Hayden said via Falcons.com. “I’ve always lived my life minute-by-minute, I never let really anything affect me. Then all of the sudden this thing I’ve been doing since I was a toddler was being taken away from me.”

Hurst would go on to talk about how his depression sent him down a bad path of booze and drugs. At one point, he just wanted his nightmare to end.

“One night it just caught up to me,” he said. “At that point, I just wanted out. I fought for so long and I wanted it to be over. … For some reason I got a second chance at this thing and I really have never looked back. It was the best and worst thing that ever happened to me.”

Hurst isn’t the only NFL player to open up about struggles with anxiety and depression. Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott has done the same thing. Hurst has said he admires how courageous Dak was to share his struggles.