Wil Wheaton Talks About His Mental Illness in a Video for UROK

I love the way Wil Wheaton sort of plays himself on “The Big Bang Theory.” The characters interact with him as Wil Wheaton, Wesley Crusher from “Star Trek: TNG” and star of “Stand By Me” (and “Serial Apeist 2”). But the “Wil Wheaton” character, especially in the first few appearances, was arrogant and mean, a fitting “nemesis” for Sheldon Cooper, played by Jim Parsons.

Real-life Wil Wheaton is a proud fanboy and hero of nerd culture. He was one of the first celebrities on Twitter (@wilw), with more than 2.8 million followers.

And real-life Wil Wheaton has some mental illness issues. In a video for UROK, a non-profit group that helps teens understand mental illness, he talks about his anxiety and depression.

“You are not the only person in the world who has anxiety. You are not the only person in the world who has depression. You’re not the only person in the world who has thoughts of self-harm. There are people who want to help you. There are people who have spent their entire lives helping people like you and me and all of the people that you’re seeing in this video. And you’re not alone. You are okay.”

It is so easy for teenagers and even adults to think we are alone in our moments of sadness and fear. Many thanks to Wil Wheaton for his generosity and courage in sharing his story.

Project UROK invites everyone to share a video.

Project UROK is a nonprofit organization founded in 2014 by Jenny Jaffe. Their mission is “to create funny, meaningful videos for teenagers struggling with mental health issues, made by people who have been there before, to provide not only practical assistance, but also a sense of belonging, a sense of comfort, and a sense of hope.