Mental Health of Athletes
2021 August 03 12:31 mbenbenek 359¤ 840¤
There is a growing trend of some of the world's best athletes stepping back from competitions due to mental health (Biles, Osaka). Some others (Djokovic) criticize this mindset, saying the ability to handle pressure is part of being a champion. Should the ability to compete factor into how we view athletic dominance (e.g. world rankings, GOAT conversation)?
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2021 August 03 19:58 Eihposono 919¤ 179¤
If it does, then we need to hold society and sports administrations accountable to investing in mental health support - just like they'd invest in tools and programs to strengthen other parts of the body.
Some of this also likely comes down to privilege and internalized conceptions of strength - and also potentially the sport you play (the Twisties have left people paralyzed). Realistically Black women and other minorities are going to face more stress as a part of day to day life - Black Olympic athletes are still prone to being unlawfully profiled and persecuted by police (Bianca Williams). Per the Micheal Phelps documentary, suicide is an "epidemic" amongst Olympic athletes - regardless of what they say out loud.
TL;DR If we want our athletes to live to compete another day and push more and more boundaries of human performance, treating mental stress like any other injury has to become normalized.
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2021 August 04 05:17 TLST11 251¤ 2¤
Definitely agree with your last point, normalising mental stress is critical. Sporting hero’s are role models to a lot of people and by them showing it’s ok to be not ok, hopefully will give more strength to speak up about their own mental health.
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2021 August 05 00:24 stuartscott 106¤
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2021 August 04 13:39 stuartscott 527¤
An athlete's ability to compete is a package deal (mind + body).
As others have said, we need to tackle the stigma surrounding mental health, but I worry that wont happen until we actually understand the mind - still quite an enigma in medical science.
Hopefully we'll get to the point where an athlete pulling out of a competition due to a mental health issue is met with the same response as pulling out due to a torn ligament, broken bone, or other physical ailment; "I'm sorry, that sucks, hope you feel better soon!"
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