Elite Athletes Mental Health Issues

Over the years, the growth and changes in competitive sports has increased significantly. Sports games are now available twenty four seven weather it’s on national television or the radio, these activities have become a staple to American culture. Due in part to this, organizations have changed American athletics from more of a fun playtime to competition. Although, we may enjoy watching an intense sports game on television, the emotional and physical long term effects outweigh the entertainment of the people eagerly watching these activities occur. Also, the motivation to play the sport has become less about the team aspect and more about the emphasis on victory. Due to the unhealthy support from those around developing athletes, they’re

Today in sport we see athlete’s lives dominated by their sport. The structure of day-to-day life as an athlete becomes their foundation. Everything is mapped out for them in an effort to keep them focused and on track. Being an athlete becomes a part of you and defines you as a person. So what happens when it is all over? What happens when that part has to end?

A study done by Coakley (1992) looks at the causes of burnout. However, Coakley (1992) views burnout not from the stress of competition but rather, the social organizations. In conversations with 15 athletes it was found that young athletes leave sports due to two factors. First, was a constrained set of life experiences leading to the development of a unidimensional self-concept. Second was power relationships in and around sports that seriously restricted young athletes’ control over their lives (Coakley, 1992). Most of the time that these athletes had

In the second journal by (Rapp, 2006) the researcher conducted a test by which, “Individual responses of injured athletes varied from those who took injury in stride to those who required psychiatric intervention.” Rapp (p. 9) This seemed to significantly designate the further examination of the importance of not simply “Assuming mood disturbances nor overlooking a serious emotional response in the injured athlete.” Rapp (pg.13) Therefore, the athlete can be diagnosed in a clinical sense with the appropriate testing to confirm or rule out the need for psychiatric help at the time

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,

The negative impact mental health has had on student-athletes is a continuous problem across the globe and has been a topic of interest in the research world for many years. The stigma behind mental health have lead to symptoms of depression and anxiety, reluctance to seek help, the sense of helplessness and loneliness and many more. In a student-athlete, these stress levels are brought upon the individual for multiple reasons. For example, student-athletes have to accomplish a certain degree of success both on the playing field and in the classroom (A.P. , Deitrick, J.M. , & Reynolds, E. (2016). Maintaining a required average and playing time can become not only physically but mentally exhausting. This literature review will discuss the barriers and facilitators to mental health in student-athletes and how the stigmatization of those student-athletes who suffer from a mental illness have an impact on their everyday life.

One group took part in an aerobic exercise program, another was given SSRI, (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor) which is a used as an antidepressant in many athletes struggling to cope with pressure. The third group was to do both of the programs together. At the 16-week mark, depression had lowered in all three groups. In fact, about 60-70% of the participants could no longer be classified as having severe depression (June 2009 Harvard Medical School). The groups scores rating on levels of depression were relatively the same, this suggests that for those who need or want to avoid drugs, exercise in a suitable substitute for antidepressants. Keep in mind though, that the swiftest response occurred with the group taking antidepressants and that it can be difficult to stay motivated to exercise when you are depressed. This shows how beneficial exercise can be when trying to relieve depression in athletes and social sport participants but this is not true for elite athletes as exercise is already a massive contributor to their lives, so although that exercise can help people suffering from depression, there is clearly other severe factors that are affecting an elite athletes mental

In today’s society, it is a known fact that sports are one of the main forms of entertainment for most people. Back then, sports were more for fun than anything else. They were not as huge and competitive as they are at this moment. The sports industry has become a business for the people that profit off of them such as promoters, sports apparel companies, and even the athletes turn sports into a profession. As a result, athletes can go to great lengths to succeed, as far as taking performance-enhancing drugs to obtain that which we all desire, the money, fame, glory, as well as for the passion that they possess for their own distinctive sports. Although, most people are taught as infants, that they should stop at nothing and do anything in their power to acquire what they wish for, the line between determination and insanity is extremely fine. There is such a thing as too much work and there

In our modern day, sport is highly valued and supported in our society. Our sports heroes are role models to society and are easily viewed as invincible. However this is a dangerous assumption as mental illness is an evident issue among the sporting community. These mental health issues in sport are only beginning to receive light and only due to the drastic negative effects it has already had on athletes. Stigma promoted by the media encourages athletes to believe that mental illness is a weakness to the athletes performance. This thinking only compounds the issues. The athletes do not want to damage or tarnish the view of their fans and will often ignore any symptoms of mental health illnesses, if help is offered, they may refuse or only

In addition, roughly 30% have outlined current involvement in football commonly through coaching. Didehbani, Cullum, Mansinghani, Conover, and Hart (2013) detailed retired NFL players with a mean of 58.6 years old years and have had a professional football career of 9.17 years. Their research also reveals that two-thirds of the participants are actively involved in business than football. However, both articles used different statistics of the participants to further compare and identify the relationship between the incidences of depression in retired football athletes. Schewenk et al. (2007) highlighted the median time since retirement (25 years) and the reports of reasoning behind their retirement whereas Didehbani et al. (2013) also included control participants in which a history of concussions and involvement in football were

The transition out of sport can be problematic for professional, elite, collegiate, and high school athletes. In addition, Warriner and Lavallee (2008) stated that the retirement process is specific to the individual. It is imperative to also evaluate athletes’ transition out of sport on an individual level. Before evaluating the literature, it is important to understand the majority of research that has documented individual perspectives is predominantly qualitative. Most studies utilized small sample sizes with semi-structured interviews. However, some authors utilized various quantitative measures as well, i.e., the Athlete Retirement Questionnaire (AIQ), the Life After Sports Scale (LASS), the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale (AIMS), and the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS). Therefore, validation of the findings will be determined by the level of consistency among the different studies.

The life of a professional athlete is a pinwheel spinning in the wind. The lives of these individuals are turning in a constant cyclone of directions with emotions high at all times. Blowing every which way, they never knowing if the given moment is a struggling challenge or a positive accomplishment. At any second, that moment can be blown into the wind, possibly never to return.

Many athletes spend too much time trying hard to specialize in just one specific sport their whole life, which often leads to them feeling down or depressed about their sport. Coaches of high performance athletes tend to just slam as much training as they can into their athletes in hopes to make them better, stronger, faster, but in return are often challenged by burnout.

For the athlete to continue achieving high performance in spite of a toxic relationship, toxic stress should be isolated as much as possible. The most direct (yet most difficult) way to achieve this is to heal the toxicity in the parent/child relationship. One must break the cycle of inflictions exhibited in these relationships; while many toxic parents unknowingly latch onto or inhumanely punish their children, their children, seeking self-confidence from their microsystem, create circumstances to pull themselves closer to their parents, creating familial turmoil and testing their parents’ aptitude to “save” them (in which they will continue to be disappointed) (Dunham,

In a similar qualitative study, Marks (2014) examined the experiences of six former NCAA, Division 1 and Division III athletes who were forced to retire because of injury. Participants were required to complete a questionnaire that asked for demographics including gender, ethnicity, sport played, nature of injury, and when the injury took place (Marks, 2014). Following the questionnaire, the athletes completed an interview with the researcher. Topics covered in the interview included information about the athlete’s career, information about experiencing the injury, coping strategies used after the injury, and thoughts and feelings after learning the injury was career-ending (Marks, 2014). The reactions of the athletes in this study were consistent with the reactions of athletes in the previously discussed studies. One athlete felt disappointed while watching his teammates being drafted at the same time he was supposed to be drafted (Marks, 2014). Another athlete expressed feelings of depression, as he attempted to come back his senior year, but could not physically sustain the demands of the sport (Marks, 2014). Although Marks (2014) only obtained six participants for her study, she provided results that were consistent with that of Sparks (1998), and Heird and Steinfeldt (2013). Moreover, each of the three previously discussed studies were based off of athletes who were forced into retirement. Therefore, it is imperative to examine the specific transition effects