Mental Health In Sports: Why Is Depression Common In Athletes?

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People all over the world watch professional athletes and admire their physical strength and commitment to their sport. We watch them break bones, tear muscles, and take hard falls. And everyone worries about the physical challenges of these injuries. However, the focus should be on depression and athletes and overall mental health in sports.  

2020 Olympics Highlight The Importance Of Mental Health In Sports

It’s not the medal-winning performances or world-record-breaking moments that highlight the 2020 Olympics. It is Simone Biles’s jaw-dropping decision to stop competing in the middle of the women’s gymnastic team event. 

As onlookers saw no physical injuries, fellow athletes rallied around her because they can relate to the mental challenges athletes face every day. People see athletes as role models and heroes, but they are human like everyone else. 

American sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson, while training for the Olympics, admitted to smoking legal cannabis to cope with the pain of losing her birth mother. The pressure of the sport alone is overwhelming. However, adding a traumatic event can be more than a person can handle. 

While anyone can develop depression or anxiety, specific risk factors increase the risk of athletes with mental health issues. These risk factors include:

  • Injury
  • Overtraining
  • Losing competitions
  • Concussion
  • Retirement
  • The pressure of being in the public eye

Aware of the challenges young athletes face, the International Olympic Committee increased mental health resources. They established the “Mentally Fit Helpline” and had psychiatrists and psychologists in the Olympic village. 

Student Athletes and Mental Health Issues

On top of the practice and the pressure from coaches and parents, student athletes have homework and social lives. This is a lot of pressure put on teens and young adults. On top of all this, injuries happen. Although injuries typically heal, they can increase depression in athletes.

Athletes with mental health issues may:

  • Develop an eating disorder
  • Deal with burnout
  • Struggle with anxiety and depression

Sports are known for the “walk it off” and “toughen up” mentality. As a result, athletes young and old have kept their mental struggles a secret. But, Simone Biles has shown athletes and non-athletes that mental health is normal and nothing to be ashamed of. 

How Common are Athletes with Mental Health Issues?

Mental health struggles among athletes are more common than most people think. The more present and former athletes come forward with their struggle with depression and anxiety, the more we discover the importance of mental health in sports. 

For example, 34 percent of current professional athletes struggle with depression or anxiety. In comparison, 26 percent of former professional athletes also struggle with anxiety or depression. Theathletes with mental health issues general population struggles at a much lower rate of around 20 percent.

College athletes with mental health issues may ignore symptoms of depression until they worsen. As many as 24 percent develop clinical depression. While moderate to severe depression affects over 6 percent. However, only about 10 percent seek help. 

Recognizing Athletes with Mental Health Issues

It is essential to watch for signs of depression and other mental health disorders in your friends, family, and, most importantly yourself. Unfortunately, one in four people experience mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety. However, the added pressure of sports can increase the risk. 

Signs of depression in athletes include:

  • Poor performance
  • Irritability
  • Anxiety
  • Sadness
  • Lack of self-esteem
  • Fatigue
  • Failing to recover after injury
  • Loss of interest in fun activities
  • Isolation/withdrawal
  • Change in personality
  • Change in sleep pattern
  • Changes in eating habits
  • Problems concentrating
  • Alcohol abuse

Ignoring the signs and symptoms of depression in athletes can be life-threatening because untreated depression can lead to thoughts of suicide and self-harm. If you or someone you love is struggling with depression, it’s crucial to seek help immediately. 

Challenges Athletes Face That Leads To Depression

The pressure to do well in sports begins at a young age. And in the beginning, kids have fun and enjoy learning to play. But the pressure to have game-winning performances increases as kids hit high school. 

These pressures can lead to the following: 

Perfectionism 

While it is admirable to be dedicated and want to be perfect, we are all human, and the stress of perfectionism leads to more significant problems. Athletes often overtrain to improve their performance. However, this can lead to injuries. As a result, athletes may struggle with depression and feeling worthless.

Fear

Athletes often struggle with the fear of disappointing their families and coaches. They fear they are “not enough,” so they train harder. In addition, being in the public eye means everyone will see if they lose. 

Injuries

Every athlete’s worst fear is getting injured. Injuries can mean weeks or months in physical therapy. The inability to play, the worry over getting better, and the challenges of recovery can increase depression in athletes. 

Treating Mental Health In Sports

Many sports teams and coaches understand the struggles their players go through. Not only the physical struggles of the sport, but they also recognize the mental challenges of competition. 

The NBA, for example, developed programs and initiatives in 2015 that provide players with comprehensive mental health services. Each year they continue improving and being recognized as a leader in mental health around the world. 

How Can Psychotherapy Help Athletes With Mental Health Issues

Psychotherapy or individual therapy is crucial to treating any mental health disorder. Sitting down one-on-one with a therapist helps work through personal and professional issues without judgment. 

Treating mental health in sports can help athletes:

  • Improve performance
  • Heal past mental or physical trauma
  • Build self-esteem
  • Increase motivation
  • Cope with injuries
  • Improve communication
  • Set realistic goals
  • Develop self-care routines

An athlete generally has an excellent support team. However, an athlete may have a struggle they are ashamed to tell their coach or family. For this reason, psychotherapy offers privacy and confidentiality.

Don’t Struggle Alone Let Lido Wellness Help

If you or a loved one is struggling with depression or any mental health issue, it is crucial to seek help. We can help you find a balance between being the best and still making self-care a priority. Contact us today to find out more. 

References:

https://www.athletesforhope.org/2019/05/mental-health-and-athletes/

https://www.nfhs.org/articles/challenges-of-mental-health-issues-in-high-school-athletics?ArtId=257316

No One’s Perfect: Perfectionist Disorder Help

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Take a moment to reflect on the qualities you value in yourself. For many of us, a term like “hardworking,” “a go-getter,” or “ambitious” might rank somewhere near the top of our list. We might value the effort we are willing to put into our work, our appearance, our relationships, or finding an overall sense of success. Many of us are searching for that moment where we can look at our lives and say “I’ve made it and now I can feel good about myself.” This is where perfectionist disorder comes in. 

Now, take a moment to reflect on what “making it” would look like. What expectations do you hold yourself to and how will you know you’ve succeeded in meeting them? This question might elicit a list of goals you are working toward or status symbols you are working to achieve. Many of us have high expectations of ourselves and work hard to meet expectations of ourselves and work really hard to meet those expectations.

Society of Perfection Disorders

In the United States, we have become a society of achievement oriented people often driven by our desire to be the best and to prove ourselves. Many of us gain a sense of purpose and self-worth from our achievements. We work long hours to attain tangible proof of our value in the world. We tell ourselves, “If I can just get that job, or that promotion, or that house or car, or body, then I will be happy. Then I can slow down and enjoy my life.” But, what happens when we reach these goals and what happens when we don’t?Perfectionist Disorder help

We all like to say we don’t expect perfection, but it is the thing many of us strive for anyway. The dictionary definition of perfection is “the condition, state, or quality of being free or as free as possible from all flaws or defects.” As we begin to expect perfection from ourselves, we continuously set ourselves up for increased anxiety followed by disappointment and a diminished sense of self-worth. No one can achieve perfection, because as humans, not a single one of us is perfect.

Psychological Perfectionist Disorder

According to the American Psychological Association, rates of perfectionist disorder in the United States have increased dramatically since the 1980s. A study conducted among English-speaking cultures such as Canada, America, and the UK, Curran and Hill found that the proportion of people who showed perfectionist traits had risen 33% from 1989 to 2016. Another study conducted by Kathleen Kawamura looked at cultural differences in perfectionism. She found that Asian-American students exhibited significantly higher rates of perfectionistic traits than their Caucasian-American counterparts.

Culture plays an important role in the way we view ourselves and the expectations we hold ourselves to. This study found that parents who came from Asian cultures had higher achievement based expectations of their children, which was carried over into the children’s expectations of perfection in themselves, especially as it related to academic achievement. While this is only one example, I believe it’s important for us to stop to think about the ways in which our environment, society, parents, or teachers impact the way we treat ourselves. Did you grow up feeling that there were high expectations placed on you to achieve or behave in a certain way?    

Working as a therapist, and from personal experience, I have seen the way perfectionism impacts one’s mental health. Perfectionist disorder is tied to higher rates of depression, anxiety, and eating disorders. We work so hard to achieve our goals and meet our expectations. When all of that work finally pays off, we rarely take the time to appreciate it before looking ahead to the next accomplishment. We often punish and berate ourselves for the mistakes we inevitably make along the way and feel a sense of disappointment or depression when we don’t meet our unrealistic expectations.

This cycle is made worse by the messages we receive from the outside world. We are surrounded by highly curated images of other people’s lives, filled with career success, expensive homes, and elaborate vacations. We don’t get to see the way others struggle, so we feel defeated when we struggle. This only pushes us to keep striving for the perfection we perceive in others. 

The Perfectionism Trap

The trap of a perfectionist disorder in our achievement oriented society, leaves us feeling generally unfulfilled, dissatisfied, and exhausted. We never feel like we’ve really accomplished anything because we are too focused on our flaws and always looking toward the next thing we have to achieve. I have found myself caught in this trap often. Even in writing this post, I have struggled with getting out of the perfectionist trap.

I have written and rewritten this blog post over and over again, trying to make sure it’s “perfect.” Pretty ironic when I’m writing about all the ways perfectionism hurts us. I have high expectations of myself and I have to consciously remind myself that I am not a perfect person and this doesn’t have to be a perfectly written blog. I have had to take a moment to examine my expectations, just as I asked you to do at the beginning. I would like to share some ways I have found helpful in challenging my achievement oriented perfectionist tendencies in hopes they can help you escape the trap.

  • Mindfulness/Meditation
  • Practice self-compassion; take the time to say kind things about yourself or practice self-affirmations
  • Take the time to really celebrate your accomplishments
  • Ask yourself what you would expect of someone you love
  • Try to remind yourself to see yourself the way people who care about you see you
  • Learn something new just for fun
  • Find things you can do that you enjoy just because you enjoy them, not because you have to be good at them or because you’re working toward a goal
  • Give yourself permission to slow down. Have that lazy Sunday!
  • Journal about the things you are grateful for in your life
  • Take a break from looking at the “perfect” lives of others on social media
  • Remember that no one is perfect, not even you

Am I Okay?

Perfectionism hinders us from truly enjoying our lives. In my opinion, it is our imperfections and our flaws that make us who we are and makes each of us unique. If we were all perfect people, we would likely all be the same. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to live in a world where everyone is the same perfect version of a human. Our flaws are what make us interesting and often help us feel vulnerable and connected with others. I find beauty in your imperfections and I hope you can learn to see that beauty too. 

If you are interested in reading more or working on embracing your imperfections, I would highly recommend The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown.

Tayler Deamon, LMFT

Primary Therapist

 

Cited Studies:

“Perfectionism Is Increasing Over Time: A Meta-Analysis of Birth Cohort Differences From 1989 to 2016” by Thomas Curran and Andrew P. Hill (https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/bul-bul0000138.pdf)

“Differences in Perfectionism Across Cultures: A study of Asian-American and Caucasian College Students” by Kathleen Y. Kawamura

(https://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3470&context=theses)

Discovering Your Mental Health Counselor

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Whenever I am asked why I became a mental health counselor, I typically try to be as honest as I can and explain that I just followed a hunch.  Many therapists go into the field in some part due to their own positive experiences in therapy.  Be it assisting with past trauma, navigating dysfunctional family patterns, or managing mental health diagnoses, there is usually a sense of wanting to give back what was once received in therapy.

My experience was somewhat different.  I had not had any exposure to therapy, and all things considered I had what many would consider a rather privileged life.  Nonetheless, my intuition guided me to the field and I have never looked back.  To be honest though, and I suppose somewhat ironically, I had always had this nagging thought, “Can I really help individuals suffering from mental illness when I had never experienced it myself?” As it would turn out, about two years ago I got a glimpse of what that suffering might feel like.

Origins of a Mental Health Counselor

On a random early day of summer in 2019 I was exercising in the park and was struck by a very sudden, and very targeted headache.  As I walked home I was somewhat rattled and my mind of course began it’s dance between telling myself that it was nothing, and wondering if I had a brian tumor.  This led to a series of conversations with my wife and eventually to a doctors appointment, and subsequent CT scan.  Fortunately, the scan was negative and I was fine … physically.

Apparently, for my mind, it was too late though as a thought had been planted and began to grow into what would ultimately lead to my first panic attack.  I can so vividly remember laying down for bed one night and having the simple thought of “what if there had been something wrong with my brain and it somehow led to paralysis.”  This wasn’t a completely new thought, but something was different this time.  Perhaps it was the very real scare of getting the CT scan, because for some reason this time my body began to respond to the thought.  I felt a wave of fear come over me that I had never experienced before.

Mental Illness Signs

Fortunately, my training and knowledge as a therapist set in to help me feel in control.  I told my wife that I thought I may be having the early signs of a panic attack, sat up in my bed and breathed through it.  I regulated with relative ease and the panic did not take me.  I wrote it off as strange and I went back to bed.

Later that night I woke up to the same panic setting in.  However this time I could not breath my way out of it.  Suddenly memories started coming in of past experiences in which I felt the presence of panic, but didn’t know it at the time.  My mind was recalling these memories in an attempt to remember how I staved off the panic before.  I realized that it was connected to a feeling of claustrophobia, and I knew that going outside would likely stabilize me.

However, just like the deep breathing, this did not end the racing thoughts of panic.  In fact, it did the exact opposite as my thoughts went haywire with fear.  I thought to myself, “I’m outside! There is nothing trapping me in…why do I still feel trapped?!”  And that is when it clicked.  I experienced true panic.  The panic of being trapped inside my own mind.  Inside my own consciousness.

Series of Panic Attacks

What followed was a summer of intermittent panic attacks, mostly in the middle of the night.  Like I had heard described by clients in the past, I couldn’t tell what was worse … the actual panic attacks, or the fear of them.  I am fortunate enough to report that as time passed, the panic attacks faded away.  I still have some nights that I wake up and feel it lurking around the corner.  The lock has been opened in my mind, and I’m not sure when or what will open the door again.

While it may sound cliche to say, in the end I am thankful for this brief encounter with mental illness.  Not so that I can feel a part of or that in some way my work as a therapist will be made more credible by it.  Rather, I am thankful that I got just a glimpse of what so many people struggle with on a daily basis.

Mental Health Learnings

My experience as a a mental health counselor, matched with these encounters over that summer have taught me a great deal about mental health.  What I have learned about mental health, and more specifically mental illness, is that there is so much we do not know about it.  Mental illness might best be conceptualized as a part of the mind drifting from reality.  That is the best way I can describe a panic attack.

Once the panic sets in, reality itself is completely in question.  Everything is in question.  There is absolutely no guarantee that the mind will return to normal and this is absolutely terrifying.  Your grasp on reality feels so distant that within seconds the mind is convincing you that the panic is the true reality.  It deceives you into believing that the reality you have lived your whole life is the false one and that you have no hope of returning to it.  This all happens within seconds and you do not have one ounce of control over it.  I cannot imagine a worse torture.

Mental Health Therapy Learnings

I have worked with a wide variety of mental health issues within my practice as a therapist.  While there are certainly similarities, every case is also unique.  Every case is an opportunity to learn just a little more about the mind and to build greater understanding of the human experience.  What I have also learned about mental illness is that it demands our respect.  Mental illness wields a great power.

Whether it is depression, anxiety, panic, PTSD, delusions, or hallucinations, on some level mental illness starts to alter our grasp of reality.  Perhaps one day it drains the energy out of our body, or the next day it makes us think the worst case scenario is just around the corner and the next day it makes our body look 20 lbs heavier than it actually is and the next day it makes our senses see or hear something in the room that isn’t there.  The pages of the DSM are filled with mental health disorders.  While it may not sweep across every disorder that can be found, the common thread to be seen is that in one form or another, mental illness is a fracturing of our reality.

Identifying Mental Illness

I think it is important to identify mental illness in this manner.  It is important to identify the depth of mental illness so that we can aim to understand it better.  Not only so that we can know how to treat it better, but so we can have empathy for those who suffer from it.  Great strides have been made in more recent years to de-stigmatize mental illness and this is obviously a worthwhile endeavor.

I do, however, fear that in our effort to de-stigmatize, we may overshoot the mark and normalize it.  At the risk of being misinterpreted, I feel compelled to say that there is nothing normal about mental illness.  Mental illness is just that … an illness. And it’s an illness that deserves understanding, compassion, healing and respect. This is our approach at Lido Wellness Center, a mental health treatment center in Newport Beach, California.

Contact us now

Adam Swanson, LMFT

Primary Therapist