For many athletes, their participation in sport forms a major part of their lives. It is where they spend most of their time, where they find their purpose, enjoyment and friends. Having a fulfilling training environment can be good for an athlete’s mental health and general wellbeing.
We all have times when life gets on top of us. Sometimes that can be related to our training, or competition. Sometimes, it can be something else – like our health, our relationships or our general circumstances.
It is vital that we each work to protect our own mental health. Every athlete deserves a training environment which enables them to thrive, because a toxic environment can be corrosive to mental health. It is everyone’s responsibility to help create a thriving environment in sport – coaches, officials, backroom staff, parents and athletes.
What is mental health?
Mental health is the way we think and feel, and our ability to handle ups and downs. It is something that we all have. When we enjoy good mental health, we have a sense of purpose and direction, the energy to do things we want to do, and the ability to deal with the challenges that happen in our lives.
When it comes to physical health, we know there is a place for keeping ourselves fit, and a place for getting appropriate help as early as possible so that we can get better. Mental health is just the same. If you enjoy good mental health, you can:
· Make the most of your potential
· Cope with what life throws at you
· Play a full part in your relationships, your training environment, and your community
Our mental health doesn’t always stay the same. It can fluctuate as circumstances change and as we move through different stages in our lives. Distress is a word used to describe when a person isn’t coping, for whatever reason. It could be something at home, pressure at work or school, or the start of a mental health problem, like depression. When we feel distressed, we need a compassionate, human response. The earlier we are able to recognise when something isn’t right, the earlier we can get support.
What are mental health problems?
We all have times when we feel down, stressed or frightened. Most of the time, those feelings pass, but sometimes they develop into a mental health problem like anxiety or depression, which can impact on our daily lives. For some people, mental health problems become complex, and require support and treatment for life.
Factors like poverty, genetics, childhood trauma, discrimination, or ongoing physical illness make it more likely that we develop mental health problems, but mental health problems can happen to anyone. Most people have some experience of a mental health problem(1), and the latest large-scale survey in England suggested that one in six people experience the symptoms of a mental health problem in any given week(2).
Different mental health problems affect people in different ways and it’s key to understand an individual’s experience. Diagnosis is not a definitive way to understand a person’s experience. For example, some people with a diagnosis of schizophrenia are able to manage the condition well and aren’t severely affected by symptoms, but some people with anxiety are severely impacted by their condition.
How do you recognise a mental health problem?
If we have significant challenges in our home or sport life, the chances are that it has an impact on our mental health.
Mental health problems can have a lot of different symptoms and signs. As a rule, you should seek help from the GP if you have difficult feelings that are:
· Stopping you from getting on with life
· Having a big impact on the people you live or train with
· Affecting your mood over several weeks
· Causing you to have thoughts of suicide
You might notice that you are more tired than normal at training, might make uncharacteristic mistakes, find it hard to motivate yourself, your timekeeping might slip, or you might become short tempered. You might look or feel tired or drained. You might isolate yourself, avoid friends, training mates or appear distracted. You might procrastinate more, or grind to a halt altogether. Alternatively, you might speed up or become chaotic, expect more of yourself than you feel able to deliver, or take on more work than you can manage.
It can be hard to spot these early warning signs in yourself, and it can be helpful to have people around you to help you connect this to your mental health.
If things progress, you might see more obvious signs of a mental health problem – outbursts of anger or emotion, absence from training, or not looking after your appearances as you normally would, or you might notice you’re having difficulty sleeping.
Why don’t people talk about mental health?
In the UK the prevailing culture is that to be successful in sport you have to be obsessed with it – to live and breathe it. Moreover, we talk about athletes being mentally tough, and resilient. An athlete showing distress, and needing to seek support for their mental health, might be seen as a sign of weakness. But this isn’t a helpful mindset. Awareness of mental health is increasing, but we still face a world where people with mental health problems face discrimination, and can face challenges getting the help they need.
Many people who experience distress try to keep their feelings hidden because they are afraid of other people’s responses.
Fear of discrimination and feelings of shame are among the top reasons people give for not telling their friends and family about their mental health problems(3).
When we create cultures where people can be themselves, it is easier for people to speak about mental health concerns without fear, and easier for them to reach out for help when they need it.
Even so, the decision to disclose distress is not one people take lightly. It is vital that training environments become places where people feel safe to be themselves.
Looking after your mental health
We can take steps to improve our own mental health, and build our ability to cope with adversity.
Self-care is a skill that needs to be practiced. It isn’t easy, especially if we feel anxious, depressed or low in self-esteem.
Below are 10 evidence-based ways to improve your mental health. There’s bound to be one or two you do well. These can be your assets – your go-to methods for working on your wellbeing. Then, look for one or two you find hard. These can be your challenges. It may be that these areas are the ones you neglect when you’re stressed – for example, isolating yourself or comfort eating might be ways you try to cope, but these behaviours are the opposite of what the evidence tell us works for our mental health. Finally, look for one or two areas you feel you could work on, or try.
1. Talk about your feelings– it’s not a sign of weakness, it’s part of taking charge of your wellbeing and doing what you can to stay healthy. Think about what you want to disclose, who to and when a good time and place to do this could be. This doesn’t have to be talking to a professional; your partner, friends and family can all be a sounding board.
2. Active relaxation. A change of scene or change of pace is good for your mental health. It might be a book, a podcast, or a weekend exploring somewhere new. A few minutes can be enough to destress you. Give yourself some ‘me time’.
3. Eat well. Food affects how we feel, both immediately and in the longer term. Try and plan mealtimes – be organised. If you’re feeling low, try reducing or giving up caffeine and refined sugar.
4. Drink sensibly. Drinking alcohol can change our mood. If you feel anxious, you may drink too much and end up behaving in a way you’d rather not, which will increase feelings of anxiety in the medium to long term.
5. Keep in touch. Relationships are key. Loneliness can be as bad for our mental health as smoking or obesity(4). We don’t always get to choose who we train with, and if we don’t get on with people it can create tension. You may need to practise more self-care at these times. The politics of our training environments can be a real challenge, especially when we have mental health problems. Maintain your family relationships and friendships, even when things get tough.
6. Ask for help. We’re not superhuman. It’s ok to get tired or overwhelmed by how we feel or when things don’t go to plan. Start with an appointment at your GP, and they may be able to refer you to a counsellor.
7. Sleep. It’s essential. Listen to your body. Without good sleep, our mental health suffers and our concentration goes downhill. It can be hard to take time off, or take holidays, during the in-season phase of competition. However, try to plan periods of leave for the year so that you always have a break to look forward to.
8. Do something you’re good at. You are more than your sport. What activities can you lose yourself in? What did you love doing in the past? Enjoying yourself can help beat stress. And achieving outside your sport setting will boost your self-esteem(5).
9. Accept who you are. We’re all different. You’re unique. Feeling good about yourself will boost your confidence to learn new skills, visit new places and make new friends. Good self-esteem, in turn, helps you cope when life takes a difficult turn. It can be tempting to invest everything in building self-esteem around training or competition success. That often means that people with mental health problems give everything to their training and are high achievers. It also creates a risk that when things go wrong, when mistakes are made, or when change is necessary, people may take it personally.
10. Care for others. This is an important part of keeping up relationships with the people close to you. Be a listening ear for other people in your training environment… #AskTwice
References
1. Mental Health Foundation. (2017). Surviving or Thriving? The state of the UK’s mental health. Mental Health Foundation: London.
2 McManus, S., Bebbington, P., Jenkins, R., & Brugha, T. (Eds.) (2016). Mental health and wellbeing in England: Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey 2014. Leeds: NHS Digital.
3 Mental Health Foundation. (2016). Added Value: Mental health as a workplace asset. Mental Health Foundation: London.
4 Holt-Lunstad, J., Smith, T.B. & Layton, J.B. (2010). Social Relationships and Mortality Risk: A Meta-analytic Review. PLoS Med, 7 (7). http://dx.doi. org/10.1371/journal. pmed.1000316
5 NHS Choices (2014). Raising Low Self-Esteem. Available at: www.nhs.uk/livewell/mentalhealth/pages/ dealingwithlowself-esteem.aspx [Accessed 30/10/15].
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