Athletes are a special population that do not receive the mental health services they so often need. Sport psychologists, mental toughness coaches, and performance enhancement coaches are typically sought after in order to help athletes increase their competitive edge, get a leg up on their competition, and perform at the top of their game, however, there is a more challenging aspect to sport that has long gone ignored: mental health.
While I love the strengths-based approach to helping athletes compete at top level, I have also witnessed a lot of emotional and mental pain while talking with athletes. They typically present to my office initially because they need to get out of a slump or they feel they buckle under pressure. When we start doing the work, it is often the case there is a lot more going on than what meets the eye. They have academic pressures, difficulties coping with family issues, internal struggles, confusion about their athletic identity, disordered eating, depression, the list goes on.
What I have also witnessed too many times is the denial of mental health in the sports world. Coaches want them to “toughen up” and “get on with it”, parents want them to listen to the coaches, and the athlete is caught in a dangerous balancing act, trying to meet everyone else’s expectations, while maintaining grades or work, and trying to figure themselves out. This is surely one game that they will always lose.
In recent months the NFL and NBA have made it mandatory for teams to have psychologists on staff. This is a huge step for mental health in athletics and it is a NECESSARY step to say the least. We see professional athletes come out weekly about their struggles with mental health and how seeking help was crucial to their wellbeing. It is my hope that our younger athletes will look at these stories and know that it is okay to seek help and it is okay to talk about mental health, especially in athletics.
This new blog series features athletes of all levels who have faced adversity in their athletic careers and are bravely telling their stories in order to spread awareness of the possible hardships athletes face, break the stigma of mental health in sport, and advocate for better access to mental health services for athletes.
Thank You!
Kelsey