Ex-NHL goalie Clint Malarchuk opens up on mental illness in 'The Crazy Game'

Former hockey goaltender Clint Malarchuk is famous for nearly dying on the ice during an NHL game in 1989 after a wayward skate blade sliced his neck. But in his new memoir, The Crazy Game, he reveals that moment was just one of a handful of near-death experiences. 

Malarchuk joins Jian to talk about his battle with depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and alcoholism. He opens up about his wife Joanie, who was with him when he shot himself in the head, how he continues to deal with mental illness today, and whether he thinks the stigma around it is changing.

"Those wounds are still there," Malarchuk says. "I have to cope every day -- to what degree is the question. Every day is going to be a challenge. Some days are easy, some days aren't easy."

He explains how being on the ice was his "escape" from the demons that plagued him during his life, from when he was first hospitalized at 12 years old for anxiety.

"When you let your guard down it's like the devil gets inside you," he says. "Going to the game would be my only time when I think I was really at peace."

Malarchuk says he hopes his new book will help in the fight against the stigma of mental illness. "If you're mentally ill, are you going to tell your boss? Probably not, and we need to change that."