Souhan: Anxiety and depression in the NFL helped inspire Lindsey Young’s children’s book

When Lindsey Young held her book-launching party, Vikings legend Alan Page and current Vikings star Aaron Jones showed up.

Young writes for the Vikings’ website. Her new book, “Olivia the Brave: A Children’s Book on Anxiety and Worry,” wouldn’t seem to appeal to football players, but times have changed.

Decades ago, it was difficult to get a Vikings player to admit he had a broken leg even as he scratched his cast. Asking about mental and emotional vulnerabilities would have drawn a glare, at best.

Young has distinguished herself by writing in-depth features and treating players as humans first. She has found that even the fiercest athletes have become more attuned to frailty.

“I feel like there has definitely been a shifting of the tides,” Young said. “People are realizing that it’s a strength to be open and honest about what you’re dealing with and seek support. There’s no stigma attached to an athlete having a sprained ankle, or even cancer. Why can’t we have the same conversations about anxiety, depression or OCD?”

After seeing former Vikings defensive lineman Jalyn Holmes post resources for mental health support on his Instagram account, she contacted him, and wound up creating the “Getting Open” series for Vikings.com. That turned into an 11-part series involving 11 current and former members of the organization.

A former Timberwolf also provided inspiration.

Kevin Love, later in his career, publicly addressed his mental health challenges.

“That was so impactful because he was such a big-name athlete,” Young said. “When he wrote his story for The Players Tribune, and there were a few lines in there that made me feel like he was inside my brain.

“We couldn’t have had different life experiences, and he was this famous professional athlete, but I felt seen. I think it’s so powerful to have athletes talking about these challenges, because the outside perception might be that they’re rich, and when you have more money you have less problems. That’s not usually the case. You might have more resources, but mental health challenges definitely don’t discriminate.”

Young was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder when she was 14.

“Anxiety has been a part of my story for most of my life,” she said. “I was a very anxious child, as well. While I never want those things to define me, they are a part of my story. And in my adult life, post-college, I’ve dealt with depression. Navigating those two things has been something that I’ve learned to do. And as frustrating and difficult as it can be, I also feel like I’m able to look at the flip side of these things, and I’m able to relate to somebody else going through something difficult. I’m grateful for that.”

She began writing when she was a child, and her fifth-grade teacher told her she could be great someday. Her father loved Minnesota sports, and as the oldest child, Young became his football-watching partner.

They watched a lot of Vikings games together. “I couldn’t think of anything better than combining my love of writing with my love of sports,” she said.

Now she covers Alan Page’s franchise, and has followed Page’s lead. Page and his daughter, Kamie, have written a number of children’s books, including “Alan and His Perfectly Pointy Impossibly Perpendicular Pinky,” a reference to a football injury Page never had repaired. If you ask the former Minnesota Supreme Court Justice for directions, he can send you north and west with one gesture.

If anything could surpass having Page’s support, it would be a comment made by the daughter of one of Young’s friends. The daughter deals with anxiety and is autistic. After reading “Olivia the Brave,” she asked, “Mom, how did Miss Lindsey know to write this book about me?”

“That hit me in the heart,” Young said. “That is exactly why I wrote this book, so that kids can read it and feel understood and seen.”