Introduction
Participating in sports and taking care of your academics are the most important aspects of being a student-athlete. Hence, you must always maintain an optimum balance between the two, put up with practices and games, study and write exams, and always put your best foot forward to excel.
Such rigorous activities help you build your skills, but on bad days, they can be frustrating and impact your mental health, which can implicitly or explicitly affect your well-being. Therefore, it’s necessary to take care of your mental health as a student-athlete.
Mental Health Of Student Athletes
Time crunches, injuries, training, practice sessions, and academic performance are just some of the stressors in a student athlete’s life. Plus, there is an existing idea that athletes are ‘mentally tough’ for the game and are expected to be the same outside the field, too.
This can create a disconnect between you and your emotions, often due to the normalisation of stress. Stigma is another factor which is present in society regarding taking care of your mental health or seeking support when required.
These gaps need to be addressed, as this will help to improve the mind-body connection, which is beneficial in sports and studies.
Improvement is rewarding and provides us with a feeling of satisfaction, contentment, and a sense of fulfilling our goals and purpose related to sports and academics.
How Does Participating In Sports Impact The Mental Health Of Student-Athletes?
Sports impact the mental health of student athletes in different ways, and these are learned through training and competitive games.
Mood and Endorphins—Physical activity is a major stimulant for endorphins and serotonin, which play a major role in happiness and confidence (D’souza et al., 2020). This uplifts the player’s mood, playing a crucial role in overall well-being.
Playing with a Team—It builds the quality of being a team player, working/playing with a team, and playing individual games. This provides a different culture compared to academics, wherein you are studying by yourself. You make new friends and have people who share the same goal as you, which motivates you to perform better.
Instilling Qualities—Instinct, mutual respect, and self-worth are built at a deeper level as they require you to survive in the game. Using these to have healthy competition allows you to present your acumen and game in front of everyone.
Such an environment is crucial for a confident personality. It also keeps physical health in check, and you are not just sitting with your books all day.
Challenges That Student Athletes Face Regarding Mental Health
Lack of Time—You mostly devote your time to studies and sports, with the pressure to excel in both. This creates an imbalance of all work and no rest, which can be exhausting for the mind and body on a daily basis.
Prone to Injuries—Constant exertion can lead to injury, especially during intense games. It is important to playfully or be safe with movements, as an injury can severely impact your game and studies.
Team and Individual Performance – In team games, the pressure to be recognised while also being a team player creates a dilemma in performing and can make you slow during the games.
Academic Performance – Academic pressure also plays as a challenge on certain days, assignments and exams clashing with games, exams and tests are major stressors in a student’s life. Being a student-athlete you are navigating through these multiple avenues and performing your best in all.
These are some of the challenges that student-athletes face regarding mental health.
What Strategies And Resources Are Available To Support Mental Health Of Student-Athletes?
Rest and Leisure time – Resting and taking out time for yourself to do things other than what you are expected to do does wonders in terms of rejuvenating your instincts and senses and provides your body a time to relax and feel energised.
Evaluation and Reflection – Visualising your games, reflecting on your strong moves and bad moves are a great source of understanding yourself, it builds a connection between our mind and body for us to stay grounded and keep practising and help us improve ourselves and allow us to introspect.
Trust your skills – ‘You’ are your greatest resource, skills you have developed with training, taking up multiple challenges and building resilience while balancing your game and studies is a great achievement. Focus on your journey and know when you want to seek support.
Strategies and resources are available to support mental health of student athletes are various, and it starts with you, to ask for support and learn those strategies from your peers, coaches and experts.
What Can Educational Institutions Do To Prioritise Positive Mental Health Of Student-Athletes?
Scheduling – Teachers and administrative staff can help the student-athletes by making a schedule in which there is an optimum gap between important academic days and sports days with ample time for the student to prepare for both, as it enhances the focus on thing at a time
Bring in Experts – Conversations around mental health and the positive effect it has on performance can be facilitated by the educational institution to prioritise positive mental health of student-athletes.
Group discussions – Discussions between the team and coaches on a regular basis in which they tell about their grievances and problems regarding academics, sports, other team players etc. can set up an effective channel of communication between everyone and problems can be resolved by inducing harmony between different parties.
Conclusion
Student-athletes are required to fulfil multiple roles, including a student, an athlete, a friend, a team player, etc., but also require multiple lines of support in their journey. Skill development in exams and matches are just some of the tasks they are required to do on a daily basis. This cycle of constantly working can have an impact on your mental health. Hence, it is important to assess the challenges you face, be aware of them, practice strategies, and seek resources that are provided by the educational institutes and people around you whom you trust. Mastering the mind game is basically being informed about yourself, your emotions, and your capabilities, and it boosts your overall growth and performance.
References
Dsouza, J. M., Chakraborty, A., & Veigas, J. (2020). Biological Connection to the Feeling of Happiness. Journal of Clinical & Diagnostic Research, 14(10), 1–5. https://doi.org/10.7860/JCDR/2020/45423.14092
Jewett, R., Sabiston, C. M., Brunet, J., O’Loughlin, E. K., Scarapicchia, T., & O’Loughlin, J. (2014). School Sport Participation During Adolescence and Mental Health in Early Adulthood. Journal of Adolescent Health, 55(5), 640–644. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2014.04.018
Murphy, J., Patte, K. A., Sullivan, P., & Leatherdale, S. T. (2021). Exploring the Association Between Sport Participation and Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression in a Sample of Canadian High School Students. Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology, 15(3), 268–287. https://doi.org/10.1123/jcsp.2020-0048
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