Amid mental health crisis in young people, student-athletes need more attention
Lexington Herald-LeaderMay 20, 2022
The recent suicides of six
The worsening crisis in mental health among adolescents and young adults is not particular to those involved in sports. Emergency room visits for mental health concerns, including suicide attempts, rose sharply among adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading the
At the high school and college levels (and increasingly for children in middle school), athletes often experience tremendous and public pressure to perform perfectly to please coaches, parents, and to position themselves to advance and succeed to the next level. Families commonly spend thousands of dollars to ensure that children are able to pursue the highest echelons of training for their respective sports. It is potentially tough on a young person to feel they’ve let a parent down after a family commits time and money toward the player’s development. They may worry that making a mistake or missing a shot risks losing a parent’s love. Additionally, to keep one’s place on the team often means that the young person is tasked with performing well enough to remain in their program, at their school, among their peers.
Perhaps more than anything, the young athlete often builds their identity around their sport. According to licensed psychologist
While many individuals do not disclose their struggles with mental health, psychologist Tanya Stackhammer described the need to observe changes in behavior and daily functioning which may signal when a problem arises. “Physical changes in appearance or hygiene, social withdrawal, increase in substance use, notable increases or decreases in need for sleep, lowered grades, poor work performance, or an increase in risky, reckless, or self-harm behaviors, and athletes may exhibit withdrawal, avoidance, or isolation from team activities, seem uncharacteristically disengaged from their sport, or exhibit a change in work/training performance. There are some clear behaviors that indicate an individual is ‘making a plan’ which include putting their affairs in order and acquiring the means to die by suicide. The general warning signs of suicidality can include changes in mood such as extreme depression, burnout, or a sudden lift in spirits after a severe depressive episode. When a young person describes hopelessness, having nothing to live for, or voices difficulty picturing their future, these can be signs of severe depression and possible suicidal thinking. In athletes, this may appear as not seeing a plan for themselves after they finish their sport, and can be exacerbated by an injury or involuntary end to their playing career.
Coaches may feel that the topic of mental health is off-limits or too detached from their role in helping the player to win games, while parents may worry that bringing up the topic of suicide may make a young person more likely to consider the unthinkable. It’s helpful to know that talking about depression and suicide does not make people more suicidal. Additionally, mental health and performance improve when pressure is acknowledged and addressed with support.
To gauge how teens and young adults are managing the balance of sports and all life’s other demands, it’s helpful to use open-ended questions to allow the individual to express their own thoughts versus answering ‘yes or no’ questions. For example, “Tell me about the pressure that you’re feeling.” This gives the opportunity for the player to feel safe verbalizing their feelings without worrying that they will get in trouble or lose playing time. Opening a conversation about a student-athlete’s well-being once warning signs are observed can be as simple as saying “I’ve noticed you seem distressed lately. I am concerned about you and I care about how you’re doing.” Another way of ascertaining how safe the adolescent or young adult is would be to ask how willing the individual would be to seek help in the future from a coach, family member, friend, or counselor should they ever experience depression or suicidal thoughts. This gives an opportunity to figure out a safety plan, and to establish for the person that the door is open if they need support in the future.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. To adequately address the mental health crisis among our student-athletes, every parent, coach, and loved one should be ready to open and continue the conversation about competitive pressure, depression, and suicide, to plan for safety, and to communicate to the young person that their value to the world far exceeds their playing statistics. There is much more life to live after the game.
If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts, seek help immediately by calling the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 800-273-8255.
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