In 2015, former Chicago Bears quarterback Erik Kramer made headlines for all the wrong reasons. He tried to commit suicide. A series of tragic events after his playing career coupled with a depression that followed him for years saw him land in a hotel room with a gun to his chin. When he pulled the trigger, it should’ve been over. It wasn’t though. Kramer survived and now for the first time, he opened up about what happened.

Full credit goes to Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times for writing a fantastic piece. Kramer’s battle with depression actually began back in 1994 when he signed with the Bears. Before that his football career had been mostly spent as a backup who was elevated to starter when needed. Kramer could handle those expectations easily enough. That all changed when he signed in Chicago. He thought he was ready for the challenge of being “the guy.” He wasn’t.

Kramer’s first suicidal thought came in 1994, his first season with the Bears. He wasn’t used to the weight of a franchise’s expectations…

…‘Chicago tabbed me to be their guy,’’ he said. ‘‘That hadn’t happened in my life — ever.’’

Kramer suffered a separated right shoulder in the Bears’ third game of 1994 and started only three more times all season.

‘‘That’s what sent me into my first depression,’’ he said. ‘‘Getting paid like a starter but not being one. I remember thinking that people must be looking at me a little funny.’’

Every morning, Kramer debated whether he wanted to make the turn into Halas Hall. When he did, he wondered whether he would get out of the car.

“It was a dark, heavy, black internal cloud,’’ he said. ‘‘Nothing felt good. Breathing didn’t feel good. Being awake didn’t feel good. Making eye contact was out of the question.’’

Kramer soon sought help.

He spoke to a psychologist and got on antidepressants. It helped. Football no longer became a source of his fears. He played the best season of his career in 1995, setting franchise records for passing yards (3,838) and touchdowns (29) that remain standing today. While he won’t be remembered as the best quarterback in team history, he is far from the worst. It wasn’t until after football that Kramer got into trouble.

Dealing with post-career depression isn’t uncommon for athletes. However, the former Bears quarterback had it way worse. Over the course of five years at one point, everything went wrong. He got divorced, split with his girlfriend, and became distant from his son Dylan. Yet that was just the beginning. The hammer blows that followed were what truly set him on the path to the scariest moment of his life.

Erik Kramer pinpoints one even that drove him over the edge

Losing both of his parents in 2012 to cancer was about as bad as it got for him. However, the crippling blow had already landed a year prior. His 18-year old son Griffen, a quarterback himself in high school, died of a heroin overdose. Kramer said receiving that horrible news was what sent him into the spiral that led to him planning his suicide four years later. He never quite recovered from that loss.

Right before he pulled the trigger though, his survival instinct kicked in. He sent text messages to people he knew, subconsciously reaching out for help. One of them was to a former high school friend Chris Germann. The Los Angeles sheriff didn’t open the text for 10 minutes. When he did, he went into an immediate scramble to seek help. He called anybody and everybody trying to get through to Kramer’s room while also calling an ambulance.

It was too late. The gun had already gone off.

Yet something amazing happened. The hotel finally patched Germann through to the former QB’s hotel room.

‘‘I’ll be damned if he didn’t answer,’’ Germann said. ‘‘He was moaning.’’

Kramer had shot himself. The bullet traveled from under his chin through his tongue and sinus cavity and out the top of his head.

But Kramer was alive.

‘‘I told him he needed to drop whatever’s in his hand,’’ Germann said.

The gun hit the floor.

He told Kramer to walk to the door, which he had propped open with bloody towels, to greet the officer. He did.

With a hole in his head, Kramer walked outside, down a flight of stairs and into a waiting ambulance.

Despite unbelievable odds, Erik Kramer had survived. It was never a question that the man was tough. Yet this proved his resilience was beyond compare. Not only did he survive the treatments that followed, but he also took back control of his life. He got married again but soon divorced the woman because she was stealing money from him. She’s facing 12 felony charges and could land in prison soon.

Kramer isn’t letting that stop him either. The man is now coaching high school football. He has ambitions to be a head coach one day. His brain injury has healed to a point where his memories have returned. Money isn’t an issue. Friends and family actively support him. It is an incredible story of personal triumph. One Bears fans must hear as a reminder that even in the darkest times, there is a way back to the light.

All you have to do is reach out and ask for help.