Michael Strahan and Jay Glazer.Photo: Roy Rochlin/FilmMagic
FOX SportsNFL Inside ReporterJay Glazerhas painfully struggled withdepression and anxietyfor most of his life, trying multiple ways to help himself privately as best he could.
“When my depression and anxiety hit, it’s debilitating and I feel it physically,” the 53-year-old tells PEOPLE. “I feel it in the left side of my gut. I feel it behind my ribcage and my joints ache like it’s raining really bad and I just got out of a 50 round fight. When your depression and anxiety hits, you feel so unloved. I know the world. I have so much love, but you just feel so unloved.”
Glazer first publicly detailed his experiences with mental health in his memoir and guided help bookUnbreakable, which is set to be released in paperback on April 4. But for a long time, it was a story he kept close to his chest, away from even his best friend of 30 years,Michael Strahan.
“I didn’t tell him until last year,” the author shares of opening up to Strahan, 51, about his mental health. “We were supposed to go to dinner, and I finally was like, ‘Hey, I can’t go to dinner tonight.’ He’s like, ‘Why not?’ and I’m like, ‘The beast got out of the box.'”
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The “beast” is what the sports commentator refers to himself as when he would not be in a good mental state and would use drugs and alcohol to help cope with the attacks.
“In the past, I would’ve taken a Vicodin and some other s— and alcohol to just mask it and hide it,” the author shares. “Then it would get worse, but I would’ve gone out. [That was the] first time, I’m like, ‘I can’t go out.’ "
Once Glazer got real with his best pal, Strahan jumped right in with a helping hand.
“Michael’s like, ‘You want me to come over?'” Glazer explains. “And I was like, ‘No,’ and he said, ‘You want to talk about it?’ I said, ‘Not tonight. I just want to get to bed and sleep it off.’ "
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The GMA co-host couldn’t believe Glazer had kept his personal struggles so private for all of their years of friendship.
“He said, ‘Why have you never told me about it?’ Glazer said of his friend’s questioning. “And I said, ‘I don’t make up the rules of this thing. With you, I felt shame.’ Because we’re so competitive. He said, ‘Yeah, but I could have been there for you for 30 years. You took my ability as a friend away, to be your best friend.’ "
Now that Strahan is aware of Glazer’s struggles, the Unbreakable Performance Center’s founder leans on not just his FOX Sports co-host, but the entire team.
“I had a really bad anxiety attack about 20 minutes before showing a playoff game,” Glazer shares. “I felt like crying. I turned to Curt Menefee, and I texted him and I said, ‘Hey man, I’m really going through it. I just feel like crying right now, man.’ He’s like, ‘What’s up?’ I said, ‘Don’t know what triggered it, but I’m really hurting right now.’ He’s getting ready to host the show and he’s like, ‘Do you want to step in the other room?’ I’m like, ‘No, just being able to tell you, so I don’t walk this walk alone is help enough.’ That’s where it’s really been great for me.”
Today, Glazer uses healthier therapies like going to his center’s workout facilities, meditation and communicating when he feels an attack looming.
Courtesy of Harper Collins
“One of the things I’ve tried to do is I have these tools that I use now,” Glazer shares. “So for me, having a team is huge. That’s one of my pillars to get out of it. God could be a pillar, my dog, my son and these different teams, this FOX NFL Sunday team.”
“When I’m having a morning where I wake up when the sky is falling and I can’t get out of bed, I will call four friends and tell them, ‘Hey, man, sky’s falling today. I am struggling,’ " Glazer says. “And just for them to be there for me, but then, one of my other pillars is to be of service. There’s so many ways to be of service.”
Jay Glazer and Dwayne Johnson.Courtesy of Jay Glazer
“So I’ll call four other friends and not tell them I’m struggling, just to check up on them to see how they’re doing because that’s my way of being a service. It’s a combination that gets me through —and then laughter.”
source: people.com
