The Mind Game: The Effects Of Mental Health In Athletes

Dating back to the B.C, small sports were created for people to have some sort of entertainment and a way to avoid the problems people were facing. These sports were then put into the greek olympics where people competed in different categories and their goals were to amuse the audience and showcase their skills. This is what inspired the concept of sports and since then sports have become one of the most talked about topics and continues to be used for strength and amusement. Doing sports was a way to face fears and overcome difficulties. In fact, sports were what got people through the most difficult times each country has battled. The whole purpose of a sport was to serve as a distraction from reality, but times have changed. Sports have developed into a major justification for the amount of people getting diagnosed with a mental disease. Sports take away the time and energy an average person needs to live healthy and happy. The newer generations don’t realize how sports can have a large effect on a person.

For some athletes, sports can be a good way to cope with stress. When they hit the court or the field, they feel as if all of their worries from that day vanish. But for others, sports can be how a person identifies his or herself and where they derive most of their self-esteem. So that moment when you realize something in your body or your mind isn’t right, you push through it and tell yourself it will go away. But sometimes the pain gets worse. So you have two

Before exploring the health of an athlete its important to understand what mental health is. Mental health is characterised by emotional wellbeing and resilience to stress (ClearingHouseForSport Australian Government Ralph Richards 9th June 2016). Mentally healthy individuals are able to cope with daily stresses and fully participate in family, work and in this case sport activities. A mental disorder is a diagnosable illness that affects a persons thinking, emotional state and behaviour and disrupts his/her ability to carry out normal daily activities and maintain personal relationships. Exercise has many benefits, not only for physical health but also your mental health as well. In the brain, exercise stimulates chemicals that improve an

What many people fail to see in an athlete is the amount of talent in them, the commitment they have, the intense training they go through, and the competitive attitude they posses. The physical challenges they face and endure is astonishing. An average person works eight hours a day behind a desk with his computer. Imagine working the same number of hours everyday while training your abilities, maintaining your physical form, and sharpening your skills (Anonymous par. 4). That is what a professional athlete endures. Athletes face short career lengths. They also face a lot of competitiveness; therefore, an athlete is at the top of his game when he is still young. Professional athletes also face the risk of career ending injuries when they are fighting to win a game and be the best they can. Combining all those problems they face, the average career length of an athlete is five years (Keown par. 2). Not only do these athletes need to stay in shape, but they also have to perform well. But all the hard works leads to health issues such as lack of sleep, fatigue, and continuous tension (Wilson par.3). If they are not able to put up to the

In America, the sports industry is one of the largest and most powerful country; whether the sport is football, baseball, basketball, or any of the other sports the country has. Recently reports and documented cases have risen involving some of these sports’ greatest athletes, as well as current players, dealing with concussions (Famous sports concussions, 2012). Numerous athletes, some of them being the sport’s highest profile players, were found to have several mental illnesses and diseases, that have been attributed to head injuries sustained while they were playing their sports. The biggest and most predominant of these injuries is concussions. They can cause not only immediate issues, but also a lifetime of health

Concussions are currently one of the most debated, studied and controversial subjects among all levels of athletics. This dangerous brain condition has only been properly studied and monitored for a brief period of time, and until recently, the dangerous side effects of concussions were not among the public eye. Issues such as dementia, migraines and depression are among the issues that those who suffer concussions are at risk for. Looking into the culture of athletics, the mindset that is driven into young athletes from an early age all the way throughout their entire athletic career, no matter the level, to see if there is a correlation between the values that they are taught and their history of possible concussions and concussion

Depression is a mental health disorder that interferes with the physical and psychological well-being of an individual. ‘About 1 in 5 adults have a mental illness in any given year. Mental illness can begin at any age, from childhood through to later adult years, but most begin in teen life.’ (Staff, n.d.) The stress of school and the expectation that parents have for their children is high. This can put a lot of pressure on students, it can effect their everday life, work and relationships. These issues can also heavily affect adults too. Its hard enough as it is for everday people to deal with depression but when you’re an elite athlete this can be a real problem. Athletes are at risk for depression as they’re in high pressure sporting events, there’s also personal and team expectations. Individual disposition may increase bouts of mental health issues in athletes. Also the media has a big influence in the lives of athletes and can be brutal to an athlete.

Sports is the epitome of entertainment in the world. Athletes put their bodies on the line everyday for the entertainment of their audience, and for most athletes, their respective sports is an escape from their troubles. Engaging in sports activity is a great game to play or a great thing to do because it’s fun and delighting, however, health is one of the most important things that deserve to be right at the front of people's mind. There have been diverse studies on concussions in sports and how it affects the lives of people. A study done by Time Magazine (2015) exhibit how concussion influence the lives of athletes in different ways. The reason for choosing this topic is because I've heard a lot about it and I think it's interesting and I also want to learn more about it. In this paper, I'll emphasize on concussion how people get affected and how it impact/affect the lives of victims/people who actually have it.

Many studies have been done to find the benefits of athletics in high school students in years past, but a more significant topic presently is the effect that it has on suicide prevention. Being a part of a team gives social connections to students that they can lean on for anything they might need. Whether it be for physical or emotional needs. Both teammates and coaches give moral support to each other during both in and out of season. (Benefits of Sports) For ages 10-24 and 12-18, suicide is the second preeminent cause of death in adolescents. (Youth Suicide) A study was done by a group of people to analyze the correlation between athletic participation and suicidal tendencies. The data used is based on the 2005 Youth Risk Behavior Survey,

Youth sports is a common thing for kids to be apart of growing up, parents sign their kids up in hope of creating lifelong friendships, encouraging physical activity, and most of all to have fun. Youth sports was also created to introduce all different types of sports to children and have it open their eyes to different activities. Calvin H. Chang is the author of Handbook of Sports Psychology. Cheng explains how stress is caused at such a young age and most likely because of the pressure of their parents. Cheng mentioned “behavioral indicators of state anxiety include insomnia, losing one’s appetite, nervous laughter and being jittery. Physiological changes include increased heart rate, respiration, galvanic skin responses, and palmar sweating. Psychological measures include state anxiety and other in-depth measurements of negative thoughts and feelings” (Cheng 172). The stress from youth sports is taking a toll on children and causing their body more harm than good. Parents want what is best for their children, but they are pushing them harder than what they can handle. Jane E. Brody is the Personal Health columnist for The New York Times. She joined The Times as a

On average, today one in ten Americans over the age of 12 takes some sort of antidepressant (Campbell, 2014, p. 572.) The numbers and statistics on depression are astonishing. Throughout my education at temple I have briefly touched on the subject of athletes and depression, respectively. To further expand my knowledge on this topic I looked at multiple areas dealing with the correlation of exercise and depression, as well as, the effect depression has on athletes. These areas included topics such as: depression, the relationship between depression and exercise, struggles of athletes, depression found in athletes, and the idea of athletes overcoming depression. My main focus was to find the struggles that athlete 's face that could potentially lead them to develop depression. There are close to half a million-college athletes playing across the country (“Student-Athletes”, (n.d.) and there are roughly 16 million adults diagnosed with depression (“Depression.” (n.d.)

Modern society has many ills plaguing it. Some of these ills include excess stress and unacceptable behavior, both of which can be caused by the same thing: unhealthy placement of sports in modern society. By sports being considered practically ideal in society, many child athletes suffer from pressure to win and numerous people suffer from the poor behavior exhibited by certain adult athletes.

College athletics and the athletes themselves have become a focus for researchers to conduct studies observing health behaviors. Health behavior studies from these athletes range from alcohol abuse, anxiety, eating disorders, and lack of sleep. As a collegiate athlete commitment to athletics and academics is very important, but may also be a dwelling situation. Dr. Shelley Armstrong and Dr. Jody Oomen-Early, authors of, Social Connectedness, Self-Esteem, and Depression Symptomatology Among Collegiate Athletes Versus Nonathletes, compared collegiate athletes and nonathletes in search for any significant differences in social connectedness, self-esteem, and depression (Armstrong & Oomen-Early 2009).

For many athletes, all they think about is the next competition, the next practice, their next workout, but what many of them do not think about is the reality of needing to end their competition career. This stage of an athlete’s life may be a difficult one, and on average 1 in 6 retired elite athletes’ mental health is negatively impacted (Wippert & Wippert, 2008) (Wylleman, De Knop, Menkehorst, Theeboom, & Annerel, 1993). These issues may lead recently retired athletes to alcohol and substance abuse, depression, eating disorders, or even attempted suicide. The following will outline how elite athletes are affected psychologically when they retire from competition, and how athletes can prepare and work their way through this difficult transition.

For High Performance athletes, there can be a lot riding on their results and performance in competition. If athletes develop an over-reliance on sporting success as a source of self-worth and identity, it can lead to serious emotional issues if things do not go as desired. Athletes often identify their self-worth with their ability to perform, and performance failure has been significantly associated with depression (Taylor, 2015 pg.11; Troijan, 2016, pg. 137) Athletes face many struggles and when something goes wrong it can leave them not knowing where to turn for help. They can be left with they feelings that they are nothing, undeserving, and alone. This may also exacerbate their feelings of seclusion, depression, or grief. Most athletes