Mental Health of Athletes

Summary

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Q & A

What percentage of elite athletes are affected by mental illness?

Mental illness affects 35% of elite athletes.

What are some common mental health issues that manifest in athletes?

Common mental health issues in athletes include stress, eating disorders, burnout, depression, and anxiety.

What are some risk factors for mental health issues in athletes?

Risk factors include heavy training demands, pressure to perform well, inadequate sleep from intensive training, and stigma related to mental illness in sports.

Are there any gender differences in the likelihood of elite athletes being diagnosed with psychological problems?

Yes, elite female athletes are more likely to be diagnosed with a psychological problem than men and appear more susceptible to difficulties encountered in their environment.

What is the prevalence rate of anxiety disorders among female athletes compared to males?

Female athletes are 56 percent more likely than males to have suffered from an anxiety disorder over their lifetime.

Why is stigma a significant issue in the athletic world?

Stigma is predominant due to the emphasis on appearing physically and mentally fit, and the belief that mental illness is a sign of weakness.

What are the two conditions identified as uniquely impacting athletes?

The two conditions uniquely impacting athletes are performance anxiety and identity loss.

How can high levels of anxiety affect an athlete's performance?

High levels of anxiety can be detrimental to the body and can lead to poor performance.

What are the two subcomponents of performance anxiety?

The two subcomponents of performance anxiety are cognitive anxiety, which is the mental component, and somatic anxiety, which is the physical component.

How does the average career length differ across different sports?

The average career length varies by sport; for example, NFL football athletes play an average of 3.5 years, NBA basketball players play about 4.8 years, baseball players about 5.6 years, and NHL hockey league players play an average of 5.5 years.

What is the unique aspect of athletes' mental health related to identity?

Athletes are susceptible to struggling with identity loss or identity crises, particularly due to unidimensional identity where they exclusively identify as an athlete.

What are some resources available to help athletes struggling with mental illness in Canada?

In Canada, resources such as the Canadian Center for Mental Health and Sport and Synergy Sport and Mental Health provide support and services to athletes struggling with mental illness.

What are the three main preventative components to address the mental well-being of athletes?

The three main preventative components are mental health literacy programs, individually focused development programs, and mental health screenings.

Outlines

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Keywords

💡Elite Athletes

Elite athletes refer to individuals who are at the top of their sport, often competing at a professional or international level. In the context of the video, they are highlighted as representatives of human potential and are also shown to be susceptible to mental health issues, which is a central theme of the video.

💡Mental Illness

Mental illness encompasses a wide range of mental health conditions that affect mood, thinking, and behavior, impairing an individual's ability to function. The video discusses that 35% of elite athletes are affected by mental illness, emphasizing its prevalence even among those who are considered the peak of human potential.

💡Stress

Stress is a common response to demanding or threatening situations and can manifest physically and emotionally. In the video, stress is identified as one of the mental health issues that elite athletes face, often due to the heavy training demands and pressure to perform well.

💡Eating Disorders

Eating disorders are serious mental health conditions characterized by abnormal eating habits that negatively affect a person's physical or mental health. The script mentions eating disorders as one of the mental health issues that may affect elite athletes, reflecting the pressures they face regarding body image and performance.

💡Burnout

Burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It is identified in the video as a mental health issue that can affect athletes, particularly due to the intense training and competition schedules they follow.

💡Depression

Depression is a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest. The video script notes that depression is a mental health concern for elite athletes, which can be exacerbated by the high-pressure environment they operate in.

💡Anxiety

Anxiety is a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome. The script discusses anxiety as a prevalent issue among athletes, with elite female athletes being more susceptible to anxiety disorders than their male counterparts.

💡Performance Anxiety

Performance anxiety is the fear or anxiety related to the performance of a task under pressure. The video explains that performance anxiety is a common mental health disorder among athletes, where high levels can lead to poor performance and detrimental effects on the body.

💡Identity Loss

Identity loss refers to the struggle of losing a significant part of one's self-concept or identity. The video script discusses how athletes, particularly those with a unidimensional identity as an athlete, can experience identity crises, especially when they face retirement, injury, or other factors that threaten their athletic role.

💡Mental Health Literacy

Mental health literacy involves understanding mental health issues and knowing how to recognize, manage, and seek help for them. The video emphasizes the importance of mental health literacy programs for athletes, coaches, and support staff to create a culture that values mental health and well-being.

💡Mental Health Screening

Mental health screening is the process of identifying potential mental health issues through assessments. The video suggests that mental health screenings should be a part of routine health checks for athletes to promote self-awareness and early intervention.

Highlights

Mental illness affects 35% of elite athletes, manifesting as stress, eating disorders, burnout, depression, and anxiety.

Heavy training demands, pressure to perform, inadequate sleep, and stigma are risk factors heightened in elite athletes.

Elite female athletes are more likely to be diagnosed with a psychological problem and are more susceptible to environmental difficulties.

Female athletes are 56% more likely than males to have suffered from an anxiety disorder over their lifetime.

Stigma is predominant in sports due to the emphasis on appearing physically and mentally fit and the belief that mental illness is a sign of weakness.

Athletes fear that disclosing mental health issues could reduce their chances of maintaining or signing professional contracts or advertising campaigns.

Performance anxiety and identity loss are two conditions uniquely impacting athletes.

Moderate levels of anxiety can improve performance, but high levels can lead to poor performance and detrimental effects on the body.

Performance anxiety consists of cognitive and somatic components, affecting mental and physical well-being.

Anxiety can lead to gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, muscular, and behavioral effects.

Different sports have varying career lengths, affecting athletes' levels of performance anxiety and fear of injury.

Athletes are susceptible to unidimensional identity, identifying exclusively as an athlete due to intense demands of their sport.

Unidimensional identity can become problematic when athletes face instability in their role, such as retirement, injury, or inability to improve.

The strength of an athlete's association with their athletic identity influences their emotional reactions to successes and failures.

Athletes who solely identify as an athlete struggle more with identity crises when they stop playing sports compared to those with other identities.

Athletes coming forward to open up about mental illness helps decrease stigma and empower people to talk about mental health.

Three main preventative components to address athletes' mental well-being are mental health literacy, individually focused development programs, and mental health screenings.

Mental health literacy programs should be provided to athletes, coaches, support staff, and family to create a culture that values mental health.

Individually focused development programs help athletes develop a non-athletic identity and manage life-sport balance.

Mental health screenings should be included alongside routine physical health checks to promote self-awareness.

The Canadian Center for Mental Health and Sport provides mental health services and participates in research and community engagement initiatives.

Synergy Sport and Mental Health is a clinic focusing on assessment and treatment of mental health in competitive athletes.

It is important to normalize athletes showing emotion and caring about their health and well-being.

The sports community has made strides in shifting the conversation towards mental health and reducing stigma.

Transcripts

athletes represent the peak of human

potential they can reflect our hopes and

dreams but they can also reflect our

failures and shortcomings

mental illness affects 35 of elite

athletes which may manifest as stress

eating disorders burnout or depression

and anxiety

some risk factors that are heightened in

this population are heavy training

demands

pressure to perform well inadequate

sleep from intensive training

and stigma related to mental illness in

sports

statistics show that elite female

athletes are more likely to be diagnosed

with a psychological problem than men

and appear more susceptible to

difficulties encountered in their

environment

than their male counterparts female

athletes were also 56 percent more

likely than males to have suffered from

an anxiety disorder over their lifetime

the stigma attached to mental illness is

predominant in the athletic world due to

emphasis on appearing physically and

mentally fit

and the belief that mental illness is a

sign of weakness

stigma is the main reason why many

athletes with mental health conditions

don't seek the help they need

many athletes fear that disclosing

mental health symptoms

or disorders could reduce chances of

maintaining or signing professional team

contracts or major advertising campaigns

two conditions identified as uniquely

impacting athletes

are performance anxiety and identity

loss performance anxiety is one of the

most common mental health disorders

athletes experience moderate levels of

anxiety can be beneficial and can

improve performance

however high levels of anxiety can be

detrimental to the body and can lead to

poor performance

performance anxiety is an unpleasant

psychological state

in reaction to perceived stress

concerning the performance of a task

under pressure

there are two subcomponents of

performance anxiety cognitive

and somatic cognitive anxiety is the

mental component of anxiety which

consists of negative expectations of

one's self and success

such as images of failure and negative

self-talk

on the other hand somatic anxiety is the

physical component which consists of

negative symptoms such as dry throat and

high blood pressure

the physiological perspective of anxiety

consists of physical symptoms that

affect different parts of the body

the gastrointestinal effects lead to

frequent urination diarrhea and upset

stomach

the cardiovascular effects lead to

increased heart rate and blood pressure

muscular effects leading to twitching of

muscles and tremors which are

uncontrolled shaking

and lastly behavioral effects such as

uncontrollable anger

problems communicating and unkind

behavior

the psychological perspective of anxiety

includes psychological symptoms

such as difficulty concentrating due to

racing negative thoughts

difficulties in decision making

confusion

and trouble learning new information

each sport has a different length of

average career that athletes play

swimmers start training and competing

earlier on in their age and continue to

compete until their early to mid 30s

whereas other sports athletes have an

average number of years they play

for instance in the nfl football

athletes play an average of

3.5 years in the nba basketball players

play about 4.8 years and in baseball

baseball players tend to play about 5.6

years and in the nhl

hockey league players play an average of

5.5 years

thus each sport has a different length

of career due to the shorter number of

years

athletes perform they experience high

levels of performance anxiety due to the

fear of getting injured and failure

many sports have higher risk of injury

than others for example

basketball is one of the sports that

causes the most number of injuries

overall all of these factors can

increase an athlete's anxiety and lead

to detrimental effects

the other unique aspect that factors

into athletes mental health is their

susceptibility to struggling with

identity loss or identity crises

an individual's identity consists of

multiple groups

such as student friend or family member

each identity has its own rules and

behaviors that we

as individuals adhere to and performing

these rules and behaviors

further solidify our association with

that identity

athletes are particularly susceptible to

unidimensional identity

meaning they exclusively identify as an

athlete

this occurs due to intense physical and

mental demands

and the necessity for elite athletes to

spend majority of their time being

solely dedicated to their sport

this effect is increased in individual

sports and sports which the age of

specialization is younger

in team sports athletes face a unique

struggle of separating their perception

of themselves as an individual

since their identity is so entwined with

their team

when this unidimensional identity

becomes a problem is when an individual

faces instability of their role as an

athlete

either due to pending retirement injury

inability to improve or other factors

that may remove an athlete from their

sport

additionally the demanding nature of

high performance sports

increases the risk for emotional

exhaustion and poor mental health

how much an athlete is influenced in

their behavior and emotional reactions

to their athletic identity is

proportional to their strength of

association with their athletic identity

so the stronger an individual identifies

as an athlete

the more satisfaction they get from

their successes but also the more they

are devastated by their failures

this also translates to how much they're

affected by identity crises

so someone who solely identifies as an

athlete

will struggle more with an identity

crisis when they stop playing sport than

an individual who has other identities

such as being a family member or a

friend

you know but you know i have an anxiety

when i had my panic attack and had my

episode

i was out there on the floor many

athletes have come forward recently

opening up about mental illness and

struggles and utilize their platforms as

a role model to spread awareness

decrease stigma and empower people

around the world to talk about mental

health

current research demonstrates that the

three main preventative components to

address the mental well-being of

athletes include

mental health literacy individually

focused development programs

and mental health screenings mental

health literacy programs should be

provided to athletes

coaches support staff and family to

create a culture that values enhancing

mental health and well-being

the educational training can be

customized to address specific aspects

of a sport

such as team versus individual sport

athlete specific risk factors

how to seek help and coping strategies

to self-manage psychological distress

individually focused development

programs can assist athletes to identify

personal goals and acquire the skills

necessary to achieve them

this helps develop a parallel

non-athletic identity

skills to manage life sport balance and

to prepare them for the life outside of

competitive sport

mental health screening should be

included alongside routine physical

health checks by medical staff

screening should provide feedback to

athletes to help promote self-awareness

such as their mental state and triggers

for symptoms

critical times to screen would include

following severe injury

and during the transition into and out

of sport so what resources are there

available to help athletes struggling

with mental illness

in canada there are various support

lines and resources available

the canadian center for mental health

and sport is a registered charity

supporting the mental health and

performance of competitive athletes

coaches and performing artists this

organization provides mental health

services in person and through

telehealth as well as participates in

various research and community

engagement initiatives

to sustain positive change another great

resource is synergy sport and mental

health

a clinic focusing on assessment and

treatment of mental health and wellness

in competitive and elite athletes

services include psychiatric

consultations treatment plans and

medical management

it gets amazing courage from players to

come out

and talk about these issues they're

dealing with as you can get help

remember mentally ill does not mean

mentally weak

it is important that we normalize

athletes showing emotion and caring

about their health and well-being we

have a long way to go

but there is hope looking at the strides

that the sports community has made

recently

the conversation is beginning to shift

and mental health is starting to prevail

thanks for listening and don't forget to

tune into the demystifying medicine

youtube page for more interesting

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