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Abigail Shipley
Abstract
Those struggling from mental health issues of all kinds is very common in todays society.
Surprisingly, a lot of athletes suffer as well. Their suffering can impact their performance as well
as their daily lives. As someone who feels strongly toward the mental well-being of a human as
well as the importance sports in an individuals life, I believe in the importance of bringing
awareness to the mental health in athletes. From personal pressures, coach pressures and family
pressures, a lot more can be done to help bring change to how we view mental illness.
In todays fast-moving society, anxiety, depression and other mental health topics effect a
large amount of people. According to News Week, about 18.2% of the American adult
population suffer from some type of mental illness (Beekeepers 2014). Thats 42.5 million
Americans! Especially in the world of sports, physical health is often put before mental health,
leaving a lot of athletes suffering in silence from various mental health issues. It is important for
coaches as well as other athletes to be aware of the effects mental health has on an athlete both
on and off the field or court, as well as what can be done to raise awareness about mental health
Symptoms of mental illnesses, anxiety specifically, can vary from athlete to athlete but it
is still important for coaches, family members and teammates to be aware of what the general
symptoms are if there is speculation that a team member is suffering. One example of an
emotional symptom is a level of disconnect. This can mean that a team member is not bonding
with other players or is disconnecting his/her self from other members. An example of a
cognitive symptom is a vicious cycle of negative or distracting thoughts. While this symptom
cant be identified directly, the thoughts can cause the athlete to act in a certain manner. For
example, preventing the player from performing a task because he or she believes they wont be
able to do it. For me, this means while most athletes experience some level of doubt or
anxiousness, these thoughts are more powerful and controlling and in some cases, can cause an
athlete to not want to play at all. There are various symptoms for anxiety, the most common
being: shortness or shallow of breath, muscle tension and rapid heart rate. Physical symptoms
can cause an athlete to not be able to perform to their highest ability physically because they
believe their body is shutting down. Lastly, behavioral symptoms tie all four together. This
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prevents a player from performing certain tasks out of fear and anxiety; similar to performance
anxiety. Behavior symptoms can be subtle or extreme. Subtly, a player might step outside of the
huddle in between plays because theyre worked up over the next play theyre going to have to
perform. Or, extreme in the sense that they remove themselves from the play all together out of
fear and anxiousness. I think that all four symptoms tie together to ultimately make a player not
It can be argued that an athlete is not able to perform to their highest ability, is fearful of
certain plays or is at disconnect from the team due to confidence issues and self-doubt. While
this is a possibility for a number of athletes, especially young ones just getting started, the
symptoms described are extremely persistent. It is not a simple fear of a certain route that might
be ran in a football game, but an over-powering fear of multiple routes, even if the football
player has run it a hundred times before. What might look like a lack of confidence to a coach or
fan, can be a serious mental struggle for the player. For example, a basketball player is going to
make a lay-up and ends up falling and spraining his ankle. Recovery time is short and in a few
weeks, he is able to get back on the court and start practicing again. The coach asks him to go for
a lay-up; for a player who doesnt suffer from anxiety, this may be scary at first, but he will go
for it. For an extremely anxious player, this can be a very daunting task. Its not just a level of
confidence, but impending thoughts of doubt and fear that he will sprain his ankle again, or
worse fracture it, and never be able to play again. It is thoughts like those that keep a player from
performing to their highest ability. From those thoughts, other doubts in confidence and ability
can stem.
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A common belief of many coaches or others affiliated with sports and coaching is that the
physical health of an athlete is more important than the mental. While physical health is
extremely important and vital to any human being, athlete or not, the quality of ones mental
health can affect the physical. According the 2007 NCAA Managing Mental Health handbook,
mental health problems have the ability to affect athletic performance and limit training and
competition until properly treated (NCAA 2007). A way to think about this is label mental
health problems as an injury as you would a physical problem. This sparks further questions
for me, would you let a physical injury go untreated? Would you tell your athlete or child to keep
playing if their leg was broken? Would you tell them its all in their head? Of course not, you
want your athlete healthy and performing to the best of their ability, so you would seek the
necessary help and treatment to get them there. The same actions should be taken when it comes
to mental health. Just because you might not be able to physically see their suffering, doesnt
mean its not there and it doesnt mean they arent affected. Once a coach or family member is
able to identify symptoms or speak to their athlete about what they may be going through, it is
important to seek treatment. Just like you wouldnt let a broken leg go untreated; mental illnesses
should never go untreated either. It is more common now than ever for sporting teams, especially
in the collegiate level, to have a mental health sports therapist on staff. Having a mental health
sports therapist already on staff is extremely helpful because it is more likely for the athlete to
reach out for help and trust the therapist if they feel he or she can relate to them. Even if an
athlete isnt suffering from anxiety, depression or any other mental health issue, sometimes
someone to talk to other than your coach is important. There is truly nothing better than a good
bond between a coach and athlete, but sometimes thats surface level. When someone is facing
such extreme pressure from something like playing a sport collegiately or professionally, being
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able to relieve stress and vent to someone who you know wont judge or tell anyone else, is
reassuring. No matter the severity of the mental illness, therapy should be the number one thing
on an athletes road to recovery. The support of family, friends, team members and coaches is
Over recent years, it has become more common than ever before for professional athletes
to speak up about mental health and be advocates for awareness and treatment. In 2006, MLB
pitcher Zack Greinke took off seven months from baseball in order to seek treatment for his
social anxiety. (Cuncic 2016) Although Greinke wont speak publicly about his condition, or talk
to the media much at all, his formal coach from the Royals, Dayton Moore, has shared his
thoughts. I cant speak to this because Ive never experienced it, but I can only imagine how
difficult it must have been for him to recognize his condition and evaluate it honestly and do
something about it, Moore said. Hes been able to take all of those experiences and combine
them and thats why he is where he is today (Cuncic 2016). Despite Greinke not publicly
speaking, his story is still important because it shows other professional athletes that its okay not
to be okay. Its easy for athletes to feel like they have to maintain a certain image in the spotlight
because of their profession; its time to break that stigma down. In 2010, Metta World Peace sat
in an L.A psychiatric hospital and spent time with 13 adults and 23 children (Medina 2012). He
learned their individual stories and connected with them on a personal level. After winning the
2010 NBA Championship with the Lakers, Mr. World Peace gave a humbling speech. This was
unstable home, as well as the counseling his received throughout the years for anger and
behavioral issues. Metta World Peaces speech was extremely uplifting and showed the
importance of advocating for mental health. Since then, Mr. World Peace has donated $200
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million to schools for advancements in mental health as well as auctioning off his 2010 NBA
Championship ring ($615,006) to benefit mental charities (Medina 2012). There is a lot to learn
from athletes like Zack Greinke and Metta World Peace. They break through the stigmas that
keep athletes from speaking up about their mental health. In the future, I hope there are further
advancements on mental health and it will become normal to speak about ones mental
It can be argued that therapy in athletes can be distracting or unnecessary, but there are
multiple reasons why seeking treatment or therapy for mental health issues is important. A few
of them being: the idea of mental toughness, improving your performance and learning coping
strategies. Mental toughness is something the majority of athletes struggle with, especially those
playing in the professional level. From a young age, they are told that they need to just get over
it or shake it off (Graves 2017). This can be extremely damaging to ones mental stability
when they are suffering through anxious or depressive thoughts. Instead of seeking help, they are
too afraid to speak up so they dont look weak. Therapy can also improve an athletes
performance. The same amount of effort that is put into the physical performance should be put
into their mental performance. If anxious thoughts are constantly causing an athlete to believe
that he or she cannot do it, he or she will not do it. If an athlete comes into practice with an
anxious body and mind, the way they which they practice and perform will reflect that. Lastly,
learning coping strategies helps avoid both the idea of mental toughness and performance. When
attending therapy, the therapist will tailor their coping mechanisms specifically to the athlete.
This means that whatever is weighing on their mind or body when at practice or at a game, they
will be able to have control over. I encourage athletes who may be struggling to reach out their
coaches or staff in higher management to ask about therapy and possible treatment options. Even
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if an athlete isnt struggling mentally, but just had a bad day or week at practice or outside of
practice, therapists are there to listen and help no matter the size of the problem.
After reading various articles, listening to podcasts done by professionals and observing
professional sports setting, its not surprising why athletes can suffer from such mental health
problems. As someone who has suffered through social and generalized anxiety in their lifetime,
I believe in the importance of advocating for mental health. During my time as a sports
journalism student at Arizona State, I hope to use my talents and my personal experiences to
continue to push for mental health to be more openly talked about. In the near future, I hope for
more professional athletes to step forward about their struggles, for college sport teams to make
sure there is a sports mental health therapist on staff and for families to let their children know,
athlete or not, that they can come to them with any struggle they may be having. With these
small changes, I believe we will be able to give athletes who struggle with mental health the
References
Bourgase , C. (2016, March). Coaching Players with Anxiety Disorders. Retrieved November 20,
Graves , N. (2017, May 10). Why An Athlete Should See a Mental Health Therapist . Retrieved
post/2017/05/10/%E2%80%9C13-Reasons-Why%E2%80%9D-An-Athlete-Should-See
a-Mental-Health-Sports-Therapist
Performance Training [Audio blog review]. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20, 2017, from
http://www.peaksports.com/sport-psychology-videos-podcasts
Thompson, R. A., Dr., & Sherman, R. T., Dr. (2007). Managing Student-Athletes' Mental
https://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/files/2007_managing_mental_health_0.pdf.