We need to accept that mental illness is a disease...most of all, we need to break the stigma.
Brandon Marshall,
NFL Wide Receiver
his may come as a shock, but there is still a stigma attached to mental health. According to estimates by the National Institute of Mental Health, approximately one in five people in the United States 18 or over, suffer from some form of mental illness. That statistic alone indicates an epidemic. Athletes may also be at increased risk, according to research by Lynette Hughes and Gerard Leavey of the Northern Ireland Association of Mental Health. They found that factors such as injuries, competitive failure and overtraining can lead to psychological distress. An NCAA survey of athletes found over the course of a year that 30% of them reported feeling depressed, while half said they experienced high levels of anxiety.
Why is this? Athletes
not only experience
regular physical
strain, but pressure
to perform,
scrutiny and
physical injury,
which can all
contribute to
increased
mental health
risks. Not to
mention once
they retire,
parting with a
sport that they
love can lead
to experi-
encing a loss of identity and purpose. The culture of sport can often keep them from seeking the help they need. Many athletes however, are speaking out. Some have even taken on mental health advocacy and raising awareness as their life’s work. Two such athletes are Daniel Carcillo, former NHL left winger and Brandon Marshall, NFL wide receiver.
Brandon Marshall speaks candidly about his own struggle with Bipolar Disorder, the stigma associated with mental health and the need to access support. In his May 31, 2017 article titled, “The Stigma,” he described his experience with treatment, “I spent three months in the outpatient program... I learned the tools and skills to help me cope with my emotions. I learned different meditation techniques, and I spoke with doctors and counselors about what I was feeling to get a better understanding
of where my emotions were coming from and how I could most effectively react and respond to them. I learned to self-regulate.” He credits his mental health treatment with helping him “get to the root of things that had been holding (him) back and allowed him to unlock his true potential” and says that getting treatment changed his life.
Many athletes in contact sports, also regularly sustain concussions which has been linked to a brain disorder called CTE or chronic traumatic encephalopathy. In a New York Times article on traumatic brain injury, brain ailments in veterans exposed to bombs are likened to those in athletes. "There is mounting evidence that traumatic brain injury can affect athletes and soldiers
T