Jarren Duran wants those struggling with mental health to know they're not alone

New York Times

09-04-2025

BOSTON — For 12 minutes, Jarren Duran stood behind a podium in the Boston Red Sox clubhouse and discussed his mental health struggles and the message he hopes to get across in sharing his suicide attempt and recovery process in a new Netflix documentary.
Duran spoke about his battles with depression and struggles with mental health in the fourth episode of Netflix's eight-part documentary, 'The Clubhouse: A year with the Red Sox.' The entire series was released Tuesday.
Advertisement
'The whole purpose of me sharing it is just to kind of get it out there and let people know that they're not alone,' Duran said Tuesday, noting he has not seen the documentary yet. 'Even if I can just help one person, it's meaningful. I'm just trying to let people know that there's always help and to make sure that they're reaching out.'
When Netflix announced in early 2024 that it would follow the team for a season-long documentary, Duran said he hadn't thought much about sharing his journey despite having started to open up publicly about some of his mental health struggles. Over the course of the series, Duran is interviewed several times, but he said the conversation he had with Netflix director Greg Whiteley in the fourth episode, 'Still Alive,' happened organically and it wasn't something he'd planned to reveal.
'I was sitting there kind of quiet, didn't really think that it was a good moment to talk about it, but then, I just kind of thought this could possibly help people out there that don't really want to talk about it,' Duran said. 'I just kind of took that leap of faith and hoped that it was going to do more good than bad.'
Duran said support from the Red Sox and his teammates has been invaluable over the past few years as he worked through his mental health struggles and implored others to reach out for help.
'Even hearing this kind of stuff, (teammates) haven't changed the way they've talked to me or anything like that,' he said. 'So that's been the biggest thing; I didn't want it to be this thing where they like treating me differently, but no, they're still talking smack to me and I'm talking smack back to them. We still have that love language. So, it's been awesome.'
One of Duran's closest friends on the team, Rob Refsnyder, has seen Duran's struggles up close and commended Duran for sharing his story.
Advertisement
'I know it's going to impact a lot of people, a lot of younger people that are probably a little bit embarrassed or scared or they don't really know who to talk to about how they're feeling,' Refsnyder said. 'It takes a lot of guts to put yourself out there on such a national stage.
'Shoot. I mean, we weren't having these conversations when I first started playing at the major-league level (in 2015),' he added. 'I think a lot of people struggle silently, and I think slowly the way conversation has gotten more of it's OK to ask for help. It's a lot more common than you think.'
The 28-year-old Duran acknowledged it wasn't easy to speak up and he still has down moments, but he has learned methods to manage his mental well-being, particularly by journaling his thoughts.
'I've definitely reached out a lot more than I used to, that's a big thing for me,' he said. 'Even when I tell myself, I'm not going to bother with this, I go back to stuff that I journaled like, 'Hey, if you ever get into this headspace again, make sure you reach out.' So I'm just reminding myself that it's important to reach out. Knowing that other people are doing that because I talked about it, it's really heartwarming. And I hope that I can help spread the love that people need to support each other.'
On Monday when news about the 'Still Alive' episode was initially reported, Samaritans, Inc., a suicide prevention service in the Boston area, received triple the number of texts compared to March 2025 to Hey Sam, its youth peer-to-peer text line for people under the age of 25 (Text: 439-726). As part of the national 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, Samaritans also fielded more than twice as many calls compared to the previous Monday.
Duran is launching the Jarren Duran Community Foundation and selling T-shirts with the phrases: 'Still alive, F— 'em' and 'Silence the demons' on the front and back. A portion of the proceeds go toward his foundation.
A post shared by Big Swole (@duranjarren)
'I want to kind of focus on everybody, but also the younger generation, because I know growing up I had no idea what was going on (in terms of getting help),' he said. 'So I feel like if we can help them at a younger age, it just prepares them for their adulthood.
'I've seen a couple comments on some of my posts that are about kids, like, 'Hey, I'm your biggest fan, and knowing that you're talking about it means I can talk about it, so I wanted to say thank you.' Seeing that stuff hits really, really deep.'
Manager Alex Cora noted the importance of Duran raising awareness to an issue so many people struggle with alone.
Advertisement
'He's standing in that clubhouse talking about real stuff,' Cora said, adding that he believes Duran should win MLB's annual Roberto Clemente Award. 'The growth from the player, from the person, the relationships, we're very proud of him. We're saving lives now, that's what he's doing. He's saving lives. For a guy that wears his emotions on his sleeves, we should applaud him.
'We're very proud of him.'
If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741.