8 Concussions Changed His Life Forever ft. Ryan Sutton & Seth Mendelsohn
Eight concussions changed Ryan Sutton’s life. One football concussion changed Seth Mendelsohn's. Their warning for athletes is bigger than sport.
From anxiety and invisible symptoms to stigma, coaching gaps, and return-to-play rules, concussion recovery is still widely misunderstood.
In this episode, we break down:
- Ryan Sutton’s experience with eight concussions, including repeated hockey injuries and lasting symptoms
- How concussions can affect anxiety, headaches, confidence, mental health, and athletic identity
- Why concussion symptoms are often invisible and why athletes can still face stigma for sitting out
- The culture of playing through pain in hockey, football, and other contact sports
- Concussion resources in Canada, including return-to-play and return-to-learn guidance
- Why youth athletes, parents, coaches, and sports organizations still face major education gaps
- How professional concussion protocols and changing policies are influencing grassroots sports
- Why concussion treatment has shifted away from prolonged rest toward a gradual return to activity
- The challenge volunteer coaches face when recognizing possible brain injuries during competition
- Heads Up CAN’s “Challenge the Stigma” campaign and its work sharing lived concussion experiences
- How Heads Up CAN is expanding concussion education through Ontario school boards, universities, research, and its Inside the Concussion Landscape series
- Hosts: Jim Lang
- Guests: Ryan Sutton, Seth Mendelsohn
Heads Up Concussion Advocacy Network was founded in 2017 to improve concussion awareness, education, advocacy, and research. The organization also uses its apparel and community storytelling to start conversations around brain injuries and concussion stigma.
Timestamps:
- 00:00 Intro
- 02:36 Mental health effects of concussion
- 04:38 Sports culture, stigma, and invisible injuries
- 06:27 Concussion resources and return-to-play guidance
- 08:53 Why one concussion can change an athlete’s future
- 10:43 How pro sports protocols reach youth sports
- 12:28 Volunteer coaches, parents, and delayed symptoms
- 14:09 What “Challenge the Stigma” means
- 16:30 Concussion anxiety and mental health support
- 18:18 Building a community around lived experience
- 21:00 Research, university partnerships, and what’s next
- 23:15 Using social media to expand concussion education
If you enjoyed this, don’t forget to like, subscribe, and share your thoughts in the comments.
Visit https://www.tplmedia.ca
Links:
Pillars: Health
#ConcussionAwareness #BrainInjury #MentalHealth #YouthSports #ConcussionRecovery
RELATED VIDEOS
Did Canada Learn Anything From COVID-19?
Canada lost nearly 65,000 people to COVID-19, yet six years later there has still been no national inquiry into what went wrong.
Jim Lang, Liam DeBoer
Why Fasting Worked When Every Diet Failed Us
They lost nearly 50 pounds combined. Their biggest change was not another diet, but changing when and how often they ate. Paul an
Paul Micucci, Shara Micucci
Canada Spends $399B on Healthcare. Why the Wait?
Canada spends nearly $400 billion on healthcare, yet patients still face doctor shortages, long waits, and growing hospital fundin
Paul Micucci, Liam DeBoer
-900x506.png&w=3840&q=75)
All the content you need for every media platform
Sponsored Ad
The MAID Program ft Tom Koch
Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) remains one of Canada's most controversial and emotionally charged public policy debates. Where
Mike Wixson
Is Social Media Breaking Our Kids? ft. Steve Joordens
Kids are losing the ability to talk face-to-face — and social media may be the reason. Steve Joordens explains how phones, AI, dop
Paul Micucci
Canada’s Cancer Crisis: Why Are We Still Falling Behind?
Cancer remains one of the biggest health battles facing Canadians, and this conversation asks the hard question: why are cancer ra
Jim Lang, Paul Micucci
Exciting promotions on rkitchen.ca
Sponsored Ad