Mental Health in High Performing Athletes

Lesson Snapshot

• Learning Intent - Discover how Mental Health can affect performance in

high level athletes.

• Success Criteria - I can provide 2 examples of how mental health can

affect performance.
 Athletes vs ‘Normal’ people

In the world of professional sport athletes can get

paid extraordinary amounts of money, they play
the sport that they love as a job, they’re famous,
and they seem to not have a worry in the world.

Does that really sound like a lifestyle that could

make someone depressed ?
 Mental Health Rates

Among professional athletes, data shows that up

to 35% of elite athletes suffer from a mental
health crisis which may manifest as stress, eating
disorders, burnout, or depression and anxiety.

Lets discuss some of the contributing factors that

lead athletes to poor mental health.
 Why athletes suffer from Mental Health

• In sport, there are physical and psychological challenges,

however, athletes also have to deal with personal challenges,
just like the general population.

• All these different stressors can impact athletic performance and

influence training, career transitions, interpersonal relationships
and physical rehabilitation, if not properly addressed
 Stressors for Athletes

Athletes not only have to cope with stressors in their Personal Life, but also their sporting life.
When situations get worse, it will issues will very commonly cross over affecting both aspects of
their life.

Personal Life Sporting Life

Relationships High Expectation (Media, Community, Team)
Traumatic Life events (accident, illness, family) Intense Training
Balancing Family and Sport High workload
Financial Issues (Some sports) Long term, chronic or career ending injury
Media attention Poor Performance
Financial Decision (Contract/Sponsors)
Pressure and Expectation from Family
Always in the Spotlight/Media
Retirement phase
Not seeking support
 Athletes Seeking Support

Elite athletes, particularly men, tend to not seek for support or help for mental health problems for various reasons such
as:

• Stigma
• Lack of understanding about mental health and it's potential influence on performance
• The perception of help seeking as a sign of weakness
• Sport's culture of masculine ideas, valuing strength and mental toughness
• Athletes being encouraged to minimise and suppress signs of weakness and vulnerability
• Fears of being excluded from the team
• Fears of being not allowed to compete
• Athletes feeling that they cannot raise their mental health concern in their specific sport organisation
 Guess the Player

1.

Dane Gagai
 Guess the Player

2.

Daniel Tupou
 Guess the Player

3. Josh Addo-Carr
 Guess the Player

4.
Jack Bostock
 Guess the Player

5.
Tom
Trbojevic
 Guess the Player

6.
Nicho Hynes
 Guess the Player

7. Valentine Holmes
 Guess the Player

8. Zac Lomax
 Guess the Player

9.
Reece Walsh
 Guess the Player

10.
Sunia Turuva
 Class Discussion 1

• “When managing physical injuries, prevention is always better than

a cure and mental health should be looked at through the same
lens.”

• Discuss the quote above. Do you agree or disagree ?

• Write a 2 sentence response to the above quote outlining your
views.
 Pressure- Ashley Taylor: The decline of the million-
dollar man

• He was Rookie of the Year in 2016 and was lauded by the NRL pundits as the next big thing.
• Taylor's mix of speed and power was profound, as well as his kicking game.
• He had the key attributes of a good number six. But he wasn't be able to master the mental side of the game.
He lacked consistency which hurt his status in first grade.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmJgs71xGYM
• What happens to something after a constant build up of pressure over time… It breaks!
• “I needed to take the time away from it all to try and escape if you want to call it that.”
• “I’ve seen a fair few family and friends commit suicide because they didn’t ask for help, There’s been too many
in my community where I’m from.” he said.
• Admitted to rehab for issues with gambling/ alcohol abuse
• Retires from NRL at 27 years old
 Injuries- They hurt more than just the body

• A survey found that athletes were significantly more likely to report ‘high to
very high’ psychological distress compared to general community norms
(17.15% versus 9.5%), and more likely to report symptoms of depression
and anxiety at a level that would warrant professional health care only
when recovering from long term injuries.
• In your books, provide one reason (1 sentence) why, mental health issues
such as depression and anxiety may only present after a serious injury for
high level athletes such as NRL players.
 Case Study

• Greg Inglis
• GI’s struggles with mental health issues have been well
publicised. Lets take a look at his story about mental health in
his own words.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iH-vLTxagHU
• Explain in a sentence one of Greg’s main stressors.