LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — "I grew up in a very supportive family. I've always been very happy go lucky," shared Jhenna Gabriel. "It wasn't until a few years ago that I started to feel the distance from home, the distance from my family."
For Jhenna Gabriel, the symptoms of her mental health concern weren't always apparent.
Gabriel spent three seasons playing volleyball at the University of Texas. But it was during her junior year when the pressures of being a student-athlete set in and became overwhelming.
Gabriel said, "I reached a point where I was super stressed about games, having anxiety before practices and getting stuck in doing the same thing. Just losing touch with who I was as a person."
It wasn't until her senior year that Gabriel decided she needed help, got proactive and sought treatment for herself.
"I reached out to our trainer and I asked if I could set up an appointment with our sports therapists. I finally took that step and it was a big one for me," reflected Gabriel. "I didn't want to think that I needed to go to therapy just because of the negative connotation around it but I finally took that step and it was one of the best things I'd ever done."
Gabriel says she's now passionate about raising awareness about mental health, especially among student-athletes.
"There's so many people that are going through it that you don't even know," said Gabriel. "So the fact that I'm lucky enough to have a platform to speak on it, and I'm lucky enough that I feel comfortable enough to talk about it, it's really cool to know that I can make an impact."
