The Stigma of Mental Health and Its Impact on Student Athletes

Caribou, Maine (WAGM) – Although we continue to raise awareness about mental health, whether we like it or not, the stigma still exists and can have a huge impact on athletes’ athletic performance.

Amy Deprey: “I definitely think there’s a stigma around mental health and our student athletes. A lot of people when they think about mental health, they think people are weak if their struggle and weakness isn’t something a student athlete wants to associate So I think because of that stigma, a lot of our student-athletes don’t reach out for support and don’t talk about the challenges that they have.”

Amy Deprey, Child and Family Administrative Manager for AMHC’s Behavioral Health Home, says mental health can have a big impact on an athlete’s ability to perform.

Amy Deprey: “If you feel good physically and emotionally you’re going to perform better, if you’re struggling with a physical ailment and you’re struggling with depression or anxiety, it’s going to affect your ability to perform.”

Carly Flowers: “I see mental health as a physical injury, so if someone has a physical injury, they’re not performing at their best, and mental health if they’re struggling in any aspect of their life, whether it’s in a specific sport or maybe in the classroom or at home, they don’t know 100 percent at their best, so I think it affects them when they walk into a practice or game when they’re not okay, they can’t focus properly.” .

And while male and female athletes experience similar issues when it comes to mental health, there are some differences in how they are approached and how it might affect them.

Amy Deprey: “Female athletes will probably ask for help faster or earlier than our male athletes because it is more socially acceptable for our women to talk about their feelings and emotions. You may see your female athlete acting sad or more emotional than our male athletes “. become more agitated and aggressive.

But while there are problems, there are also solutions or steps that can be taken to better understand the mindset of the student-athletes around you, starting with not focusing so much on expectations as winning.

Amy Deprey: “I think one of the ways we can change this is by changing the conversation, and by changing the conversation we need to change the questions. So when your young athlete comes home instead of asking a question that usually results in a a verbal response like “did you win” I think a better question is “tell me about the game” “how was the game” And that usually leads to a dialogue with your student athlete where you could be in a conversation of 10 to 15 minutes before we get to the result of the game.”

Carly Flowers: “I think in my role as athletic director and what I push coaches to do is also talk to them, get to know their athletes, get to know them as people. Because then we can figure out what’s different, we can see those changes as they happen.” , we can know that they might be struggling with something and then we can pull them aside and just find out more about what’s going on, be supportive, offer to meet someone to talk to to help find resources.”

Deprey and Flowers reiterate that keeping the conversation going is key, as it can really help those who may be feeling scared by talking about something that makes them feel vulnerable, athlete or not, and asking for help, whether through coaches. and teachers or professionals, if you think you need it.

Jonathon Eigenmann, sports news source.

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