Mental Health in Sports

Mental health is often overlooked in sports. As an athlete, mental health can be seen as a weakness. In regard to mental health, we are often told to "tough it out" or "get over it," and that's supposed to make everything better. But it doesn’t. Being an athlete is all about competitiveness – you always want to win. But sometimes, it comes at a cost: feeling overwhelmed about performance, pushing yourself past your limits, stress, anxiety, trying to juggle school and sports, high expectations, and burnout. These are all things that many athletes face throughout their careers in sports.

Personally, I struggle with being overwhelmed by my performance in hockey. Often, my mood is based on how I perform at practices and games. I’ve had many conversations with my coach about how I don’t even know why I feel the way I do. Some days, the stress overcomes my love for the sport. But I’m learning to deal with it in healthy ways. First, I’ve started talking about my feelings much more. I find that when I talk about them, whatever was bothering me becomes much less serious once I speak it out loud. Secondly, I’ve built a better routine and allowed more time for my body and mind to recover, which gives me a better chance to perform well and avoid stress. Finally, I remind myself that it’s not a big deal and focus on the bigger picture. Will I remember that bad pass I made in practice in the future? No. So, I can move on and focus on making a good next pass.

To conclude, I’d just like to say that it’s okay to struggle with mental health in sports. You just have to find a trustworthy support system to help you become mentally stronger so you can perform better.