May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Thus sparked this most recent blog post…
A competitive athletes’ persona is often very closely tied to their athletic performance potential. When an athlete suffers an injury that takes them out of training and/or competition, they are at risk for various mental health disorders.
The World Health Organization defines mental health as ‘a state of wellbeing in which every individual realizes her or his own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community’ (WHO, 2014).
For an athlete, their community is their team, and being able to work productively relates to their ability to train and compete at a high level.
When an athlete suffers an injury, they often view injury as a major negative life event.
The psychological stress they encounter can trigger mental health issues such as depression and suicidal ideation, anxiety, disordered eating, and substance use/abuse.
Many athletes neglect to seek help for these issues due to seeing it as a sign of weakness or feeling like they should be able to push through psychological obstacles like the physical ones they encounter in their training and/or competition.
The psychological stress of injury does not only impact competitive athletes, but also the everyday active individual. When someone suffers an injury and they can no longer participate in the activities they enjoy, just like competitive athletes, these individuals can also develop various mental health disorders or exacerbate existing ones.
Resources for mental health and depression can be difficult to obtain. Often there is embarrassment associated with seeking the help individuals need when struggling with mental health conditions following injury.
As a physical therapist, my goal is to treat the whole athlete. That means asking the tough questions about mental health and helping my patients navigate finding the help they need. My role is also to build confidence and help restore the injured athlete’s sense of potential by helping restore function of the injury area.
If you are suffering from injury and don’t know where to start. Give me a call today (682) 800-4943. Physical therapy can help restore function and confidence which is a piece of the puzzle to improve overall mental wellbeing!
Sources:
https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/50/3/145.short
https://ebrary.net/187058/psychology/downside_sports_injury_poor_mental_health_injured_athletes
https://www.donovanmentalperformance.com/9-athlete-mental-health-resources
