(670 The Score) Having opened more about his struggles with his mental health and anxiety in the last year, Bears tight end Trey Burton feels he's in a better place this season.
"It's really important," Burton said being public about his mental health issues. "It's my story. I can't change it. It's kind of something I've dealt with for a long time. The crazy thing about it is once you come out with being honest about suffering with mental illness, everybody wants to pinpoint that for everything that goes on. If I pull a hamstring, people will ask questions about (mental health). Like man, it's wild. Everything somehow connects with everything that happens. And so that's not necessarily the case. I've done really good at controlling it and keeping it under wraps, especially with the team of people that I've created around me. And so I think it's really important, and I hope more people are honest about what they go through."
Burton, 27, had 54 catches for 569 yards and six touchdowns in 16 regular-season games in 2018. He then missed the Bears' loss to the Eagles in the wild-card round because of a groin inflammation that he woke up with the day before the game.
Having to sit out the season-ending loss weighs on Burton to this day. He understands why some outsiders may believe his anxiety issues contributed to him sitting out, even though medical tests confirmed the extent of the physical injury.
Now, Burton is just excited to be back on the field at training camp after also having offseason surgery for a sports hernia. He's on a snap and workload limit of sorts, but he's feeling good -- physically and mentally.
"Surrounding yourself with people who truly have your best interests in mind has definitely helped me tremendously," Burton said. "Also, talking to people or being around people who have very similar things that I've been through has helped me a lot as well. Just opening up and being honest and not having to carry that burden or that weight of secrecy or trying to be the macho man tough guy, that I have no problems, I'm perfect -- I don't worry about any of that stuff."
