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Addison Nellis

Mrs. Brower

Adv. Comp

14 Nov. 2021

Mental Health in Athletes

Should your love for your sport outweigh the importance of your mental health? In

today's time anxiety and depression is at an all time high for teenagers and young adults,

especially those participating in extracurriculars. The stress of performing well along with

making sure your other responsibilities are taken care of or coming back from or experiencing an

injury all play a factor in student athletes mental health. Before focusing on specifically athletes,

some background knowledge of the mental health pandemic is necessary.

As we all know mental health for all ages has been an issue since the beginning of time,

and just in recent years we have started to do something about it. About one in five adults suffer

from a mental illness in the U.S.; that is around 51.5 million people (National Alliance on Mental

Health). Not only do adults experience this disease but so do children. From ages six to

seventeen, 16.5% also struggle with mental illnesses. These diseases include: Depression,

Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, Anxiety Disorders, PTSD, and many more. As a parent,

teacher, coach, or peer some signs you should look for are excessive worrying or fear, constant

feeling of sadness, confused thinking or trouble concentrating, prolonged irritability or anger,

change in sleep habits, or suicidal thoughts are all signs of a mental disorder.

When evaluating and observing your own behavior or the behavior of peers, some things

to think about are their environment. This is especially important when recognizing mental

illnesses in athletes or young adults. Although mental illnesses can be formed by extrinsic things
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such as stressful environments, unhealthy sleeping or eating habits, or a traumatic event, it can

also be caused by genetics. A mental illness can be present in a person from the day they are

born but they might not experience symptoms until later in their life, these symptoms could be

caused by any negative experience. “If someone has a parent or sibling with major depression,

that person probably has a 2 or 3 times greater risk of developing depression compared with the

average person (or around 20-30% instead of 10%)”(Genetics of Brain Function). In the study

done by Harvard Medicine, the researchers say that about 50% of people with depression

developed the disease from genetics, and the other 50% developed it through environmental

stress. Some things to know about stress is that it affects everybody. Stress is your brain's natural

way of responding to any difficult task, whether that be mental or physical. It is important for

student athletes to realize and understand that they have stress in their daily routine and learn

healthy coping mechanisms along with taking care of their body. Stress may seem like it only

affects the way you think but with the build up of anxiousness or fear it can cause things such as

loss of sleep, bad eating habits, failure in the immune and digestive system, and problems with

the reproductive system. Athletes can face stress through school work and grades, injuries,

performance, or pressure put on them by peers. The National Institute of Mental Health suggests

anyone who is feeling stressed to be observant and recognize their situation, to seek help from a

healthcare professional, get at least 30 minutes of exercise each day, and to set goals and

priorities.

Although mental health should be a priority for everyone, females are more susceptible to

mental illnesses. In a study done by Frank R. Nixdorf I, in the article Depression Among Elite

Athletes: Prevalence and Psychological Factors, 21% of the tested athletes showed signs of

depressive disorder. In this study females were 6% more likely to show these symptoms. In the
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U.S. about 25% of females experience a mental health disorder where only 15% of males do.

Along with females being more vulnerable to mental illnesses they are also more likely to

experience a serious injury. Such injuries include runners knee, stress fractures, shin splints,

plantar fasciitis. These injuries are due to the wider range of motion of women's hips and pelvis

which can cause extra strain on the knee and lower body muscles and ligaments. Along with the

motion of the hips and pelvis women tend to have smaller and weaker muscles supporting their

knees which can also lead to injuries such as an ACL or MCL tear. Injuries cause a mental illness

but mental illnesses can also cause injuries. A study done by Altius Group shows that poor

mental health or an athlete diagnosed with a mental illness shows about a 15% longer recovery

rate than those who are mentally healthy. Another alarming discovery was that out of a study of

668 injured athletes, showed that after 12 months of recovery all showed increasing signs of

depression and anxiety. Those same athletes also experienced higher levels of pain during their

recovery time, some spending more nights in the hospital.

To go along with stress and injuries, overtraining has become a big factor in athletes

mental health as well. So many athletes are more focused on their performance than anything

else and are willing to do whatever it takes in order to stay in the game, compete during practice,

or stay in shape during the off season. Both male and female athletes have pressure on their

shoulder to perform at a high level no matter what sport or position they play. In a study done by

At Your Own Risk, 54% of tested athletes admitted to playing through an injury. When these

athletes were asked why they continued to play, most responded by expressing they had a fear of

letting their school, parents, team, or coaches down. Along with the 54% of athletes playing

through an injury, 42% reported that they had downplayed or lied about their physical state. This

is a direct example of how anxiety or stress can cause an athlete harm or in the worst case, death.
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Although the main focus is on keeping athletes safe and raising the issue of athletes mental

health, coaches are also a big part of the problem. In the same study 53% of coaches said they

had experienced pressure or complaints from parents for not playing their kid or keeping them in

the ame after experiencing an injury (At Your Own Risk). This can cause the coaches as much

stress if not more than players. This stress can be carried into practice or games and result in

aggressive or abusive behavior. Many athletes are pushed too much by coaches causing an over

use of a recovery injury or a development of a new injury. Some coaches have been fired for

making their athletes compete or practice under extreme fatigue or not allowing breaks. This

type of behavior can make an athlete scared of a coach and fear more of letting them down. Not

only can this cause a disturbance in the relationship between the player and coach but it can also

cause a gap between teammates.

Although there has not been much research done on the true mental health of student

athletes, they are part of today's society where mental health is becoming a serious issue.

Scientists say that people who are active and practice regular physical activity are less likely to

develop a mental illness, which would lead many to believe that athletes are not only physically

healthy but also mentally.

Winning a big game or having a record time is just as much mental as it is physical. In

order to be at your peak of training or preformance your mentality needs to be in check. Don’t let

the fear of a poor performance or the pressure of a coach get in the way of keeping yourself

happy and healthy. A win in the brain is a win on the field.

Works Cited:

Altius Group. “How Physical Injury Affects Mental Health.” Altius Group, Altius Group,

30 Nov. 2020,

altius-group.com.au/news-and-research/news/physical-injury-and-mental-health-the

-reality-of-recovery/.

“Apa PsycNet.” American Psychological Association, American Psychological

Association, 2019, psycnet.apa.org/record/2022-01217-001.

“At Your Own Risk: Information for Student Athletes.” Atyourownrisk.org, 2021,

https://www.atyourownrisk.org/studentathletes/.

Genetics of Brain Function. “Major Depression and Genetics.” Genetics of Brain Function,

Harvard Medicine , 2020, med.stanford.edu/depressiongenetics/mddandgenes.html.

Hughes, Lynette, and Gerard Leavey. “Setting the Bar: Athletes and Vulnerability to Mental

Illness.” British Journal of Psychiatry, vol. 200, no. 2, 2012, pp. 95–96.,

doi:10.1192/bjp.bp.111.095976.

Kellezi, Blerina, et al. “The Impact of Psychological Factors on Recovery from Injury: A

Multicentre Cohort Study.” Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology,

Springer Berlin Heidelberg, July 2017,

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5504249/.
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Kilcullen, J. R., Scofield, B. E., Cummins, A. L., & Carr, B. M. (2021). Collegiate athlete mental

health: Comparing treatment-seeking student-athletes and nonathletes on service

utilization, clinical presentation, and outcomes. Sport, Exercise, and Performance

Psychology. Advance online publication

Lingner M , Scholz B , Kammermayer T , Schüler S ...

www.germanjournalsportsmedicine.com/fileadmin/content/archiv2014/Heft_6/orig

_kreinest.pdf.

“Mental Health by the Numbers.” NAMI, National Alliance on Mental Illnesses,

www.nami.org/mhstats.

O'Brien, K. T., & Kilrea, K. A. (2021). Unitive experience and athlete mental health: Exploring

relationships to sport-related anxiety, motivation, and well-being. The Humanistic

Psychologist, 49(2), 314–337

“The Mental Health of Australian Elite Athletes .” Define_me, Journal of Science and

Medicine in Sports, 2018, www.jsams.org/article/S1440-2440(14)00075-9/fulltext.

“What Causes Mental Illness?” MHA Screening, 13 May 2021,

screening.mhanational.org/content/what-causes-mental-illness/.

Zehntner, Chris. "Toughen up snowflake! Sports coaches can be emotionally abusive—here's

how to recognise it." Gale Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection, Gale, 2021. Gale In

Context: Opposing Viewpoints,

link.gale.com/apps/doc/TCRJGZ535327332/OVIC?u=lom_accessmich&sid=bookmark-

OVIC&xid=7e8c4e1f. Accessed 2 Nov. 2021. Originally published as "Toughen up

snowflake! Sports coaches can be emotionally abusive—here's how to recognise it," The

Conversation, 24 Feb. 2019.