25-year-old NASCAR driver, Cody Ware, is on a mission to de-stigmatize conversations surrounding mental health by sharing his own journey.
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Ware opened up about his experience battling depression, caused by a traumatic event from his childhood, in a short film titled The Battle Within.
The film highlights the experience of a teenage Ware who struggled finding friends in school and ended up getting involved with the wrong crowd. Wanting to do anything he could to fit in after being severely bullied, Ware took a trip to the woods one day with a group of his peers that would ultimately leave him fighting for his life.
“I really didn’t know what was going on, they just said we’d go do dumb teenage stuff out in the woods,” Ware recalls in the documentary. “I kinda remember looking at the creek [while in the woods] and next thing I know, I smell something burning…. I realized that what I smell is my skin on fire. I was doused in gasoline and lit on fire.”
Cody’s peers had covered him in gasoline and lit him on fire before running away, leaving him to die in the woods. While Ware miraculously survived, the chilling experience was just the beginning of not only a tedious recovery physically, but mentally as well.
“I was just kind of lost and hurt and in a lot of pain,” Cody explained in regards to his physical and mental well-being at the time of his recovery. “It just got progressively worse and worse.”
Ware developed unhealthy coping mechanisms suppressing his anger, rage, sadness and pain that the incident caused, ultimately leading him down a road to depression.
Over time, Cody reached out for help and has since seen major improvements in regards to his mental health. The positive changes he’s seen have inspired him to share his story in hopes he can help at least one other person.
“I wanted to be the person that wasn’t there for me when I was going through my issues,” Cody said. “There are people who are dealing with things and they’re too afraid to talk about it and the more I saw that, the more passion and fire [was] put in me to show, ‘hey, I’m a racer driver, I’m an athlete and I still deal with problems- it’s OK to deal with problems.’”
If you or someone you love is struggling today, please reach out for support here.
WATCH: Simple ways you can reduce anxiety and stress in your life
Audacy's I’m Listening initiative aims to encourage those who are dealing with mental health issues to understand they are not alone. If you or anyone you know is struggling with depression or anxiety, know that someone is always there. Additionally, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-273-8255.
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