Athletes experience an immense amount of pressure and expectation to perform well in their sport. Balancing schoolwork, social lives, family, jobs, internships, injuries, college applications, college visits, and being an athlete is proven to be overwhelming for people, specifically student athletes, including here at Carlsbad.
Many athletes attempt to push down the mental health issues and continue with their lives. However, it is very common for student athletes to experience mental health problems due to the stress and pressure. Dr. Vanderkruik from Mass General Brigham says that there still may be some stigma or barriers to athletes talking about mental health because of inaccurate perceptions. Some people may worry that admitting that you have anxiety or another issue is a sign of weakness, whereas it’s the opposite because acknowledging such concerns and seeking help are signs of strength.
“Mental Health is a huge aspect of sports that I feel like really is not talked about much. Obviously, it gets brought up in schools and certain lessons, but the purpose of playing a competitive sport is to perform well, and many people forget a lot of aspects that get you to play well, like the mentality of the player,” senior Josiah Frazier said.
Many athletes may not realize the signs of mental health concerns, as they have gotten used to them over the years of experiencing those issues. Therefore, it is difficult for athletes to recognize and address issues concerning their mental health.
“I feel like I’ve experienced so much stress and pressure over the years from softball, and I have gotten used to it,” senior Gabby Nevarrez said. “No one really addresses it in high school sports and club sports growing up, so it’s kind of just swept under the rug, and you keep pushing.”
Sports can get exhausting for student-athletes when they have to miss out on activities with friends, family, and school. There are signs to look for when an athlete’s mental health starts to crash due to all of the other surrounding elements that get added into the equation.
“It sucks when I have to miss out on things that I wanna do to go to practice or a game. I love playing, but it definitely gets in the way of me having fun with my friends on occasion,” Frazier said.
There have been multiple studies that explain the scientific terms in which people start to show signs of mental health issues due to being a stressed-out student-athlete. The main factor shown in all of the symptoms is stress and being held back from social activities. Research provided by American Public University shows that the father of Serena and Venus Williams, who coached these tennis players to stardom, always said that sport is 70% mental. Generally, athletes can self-identify that they have mental health concerns because they may be dealing with the emotions surrounding a physical injury, depression, or anxiety.
“How I play is entirely impacted by my mentality. If I have been stressed or feeling down, it affects me on the field,” Nevarrez said. “If I have been locked in and calm, then I tend to play better. It’s kind of crazy to think about how much a person’s mental health affects their game.”
Students at Carlsbad High School even experience severe stress, injury, depression, or anxiety due to all of the factors contributing to being a student athlete. Many students express that they have great people to reach out to if they need help or are feeling down on themselves.
“I have so many people I feel like I can go to if I need help. We have great coaches and a great community at Carlsbad. I feel extremely supported to always do my best and actually have fun when playing, even when I’m feeling down or stressed out of my mind,” Frazier said.
The first step to recovery when experiencing mental health issues, including depression, anxiety, stress, exclusion, or the feeling of being overwhelmed, is to recognize the circumstance and situation to address the issue. Students tend to just push it down and pray the issue will go away, when the only way to fix it is to take accountability and realize what is happening to their mental health, and ask for help. Mass General of Brighman provides research that some people may worry that admitting that they have anxiety or another issue is a sign of weakness, whereas it’s actually quite the opposite; acknowledging such concerns and seeking help are signs of strength.
“I feel like it’s so important to ask for help if you need it; if you don’t, then you will dig yourself into a deeper hole where it is more difficult to come out of,” Nevarrez said.
