BOSTON -- Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran didn’t reveal his 2022 suicide attempt to Netflix cameras to unburden himself. Instead, Duran made it clear his primary motive is to help others.
“The whole purpose of me sharing it is just to get it out there and let people know that they're not alone,” Duran said on Tuesday. “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.”
An eight-part docuseries, “The Clubhouse: A Year with the Red Sox,” was released by Netflix on Tuesday.
Media members who received pre-screeners were able to release info about Duran’s revelations in Episode 4 on Monday.
It appears as if Duran’s openness about his mental health struggles made an immediate impact.
Samaritans, Inc., a Boston-based suicide prevention and mental health services center that includes a telephone hotline and peer-to-peer texting service for people up to 24 years old, said they received three times the amount of communications as normal on Monday night.
“It means a lot,” Duran said, when apprised of that. “That was the whole purpose of me sharing. It's not easy to talk about, but I just really thought deep down that if I could help at least one person, that it was gonna be meaningful. And to hear that is awesome. I hope I can help inspire people to talk about it more.”
“We're very proud of him,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “He’s saving lives, that’s what he’s doing. For a guy that wears his emotions on his sleeves, I think we should applaud him.”
While Duran spoke in the middle of the clubhouse, teammates stood closely in the vicinity as a sign of support.
“They've been amazing,” said Duran. “I mean, they've always been amazing to me. And even hearing this kind of stuff, they haven't changed the way they've talked to me or anything like that. I didn't want it to be this thing where they treated me differently. They're still talking smack to me and I'm talking smack back to them. And I still have that love language. So it's been awesome.”
During his darkest moments in 2022, Duran was struggling mightily to live up to his own expectations, not to mention those of the organization and the fanbase.
After a strong 2023 season, Duran emerged into an All-Star in ‘24. But even as he enjoys professional success, Duran knows paying attention to his mental health is of utmost importance.
“I'm doing well,” said Duran. “I'm in a good spot now, and I have a really good support group around me, and teammates, coaches, friends and family. I'm just thankful to have those people behind me.”
Reaching out to people is still something that isn’t all that comfortable for Duran, but he’s working at it.
Journaling his feelings has also been a helpful tool for Duran.
“I've definitely reached out a lot more than I used to, and that's a big thing for me,” said Duran. “And even when I tell myself, ‘I'm not going to bother someone with this,’ l go back to like stuff that I journaled before that told me like, ‘Hey, if you ever get into this headspace again, make sure you reach out.’ So I just kind of remind myself that it's important to reach out and just knowing that other people are doing that, because I talk about it, it's really heartwarming. And I hope that I can help spread the love that people need to support each other.”
When he initially agreed to be one of the players extensively interviewed in the Netflix docuseries, Duran didn’t necessarily plan on sharing details of his suicide attempt.
“No, not at all. But the situation just kind of happened, just kind of unfolded, and I was kind of sitting there kind of quiet, didn't really think that it was a good moment to talk about it,” Duran said. “But then I just kind of thought this could possibly help people out there that don't really want to talk about it. So I just kind of took that leap of faith and hoped that it was going to do more good than bad.”
Duran is in the process of starting his own foundation that will help people get the support they need for mental health.
“For me, I just want people to feel like they have somebody to talk to and that we can get them the help they need,” Duran said. “I know 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. So I feel like if we can help them at a younger age, it just prepares them for their adulthood.”