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UNBC athlete's inspiring mental health journey earns school's first Canada West honour

Rich Abney awarded Top Feature Story for Michael Henman's courageous mental health journey
Jess Balzer
Jess Balzer
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Michael Henman (left) and UNBC Athletics Sports Information Officer Rich Abney. (via UNBC Athletics)

UNBC Athletics has won another award for an incredible story of a Timberwolves athlete's journey through life struggles.

Sports Information Officer Rich Abney's piece entitled "What a Journey" about men's soccer player Michael Henman has been honoured as "Top Feature Story" for the Canada West's 2019-20 Sports Information and Digital Awards.

It's the department's first award in the category and Abney's second in the last three months after taking home gold for his written piece at the 2020 Best of CASE VIII Awards. 

Henman, a second-year striker with UNBC, opened up about his struggles with anxiety and his mental health in a heartfelt story, hoping to share it to help others. 

“I didn’t want to believe I had a psychological problem," Henman said in the piece. 

"It was a weakness. I was embarrassed by the idea, and quite frankly, I was terrified. We saw multiple doctors, psychologists, therapists, and naturopaths before I began to realize I had anxiety.

“I do not want this to be a ‘Hey, look at me, I have anxiety but I am doing great, give me credit’ story. I hope this is a way for kids who are struggling to see what happened to me and realize they can do it too. This is for the kids who are struggling with mental health.

“I want people to realize they’re not the only ones feeling that way. I know what this feels like. I want to help. If there is someone out there dealing with what I deal with, or worse, I can’t just sit back and do nothing. Maybe this article coming out helps one person, and that will all be worth it. To have an idea what they are going through, I need to stand up. I am not going to sit by and let it happen.”

Henman said while he went through some of the darkest moments of his life and wishes mental illness hasn't descended on him, it's also changed his life for the better. 

“In a way, I wish all this didn’t happen. But, in a sense, I am glad I got anxiety in the first place. I wouldn’t be right here, right now, if I didn’t have it. It has made me stronger. It’s weird that the worst thing that happened to me has ended up being so rewarding. I don’t want to say it is the worst thing, because everyone is dealing with something. But it was really bad. And yet, here I am.”

Runner-up for Canada West's "Top Feature Story" category was Mike Still from the University of Manitoba with "Garth Pischke's legendary career spans decades of winning."