Currently, due to the increased competition, athletes may frequently suffer from mental health problems. Elite sports organizations rarely provide a proper environment that stimulates both the physical and psychological development of contestants. Therefore, athletes might crumble under pressure, lose their social connections, and succumb to means of escapism such as alcohol and drugs. Sports organizations and coaches should pay more attention to the emotional health of athletes to prevent psychological complications and breakdowns among competitors.
Some of the possible mental health risks among athletes include stress due to injuries, overtraining, lack of social support, negative life events, and impaired sleep. Any of these factors might intensely affect the performance of the athlete. Therefore, it is crucial to propose a framework that would allow preventing and treating mental health disorders. Purcell, Gwyther and Rice (2019) provide a framework consisting of several steps. The first level of the structure is the preventative component. To the extent possible, coaches should encourage athletes to seek early help, work on the development of personality traits of athletes and provide mental health screenings and feedback (Purcell, Gwyther and Rice, 2019). It is also critical to persistently work on mental health literacy among competitors since it would reduce stigma and support athletes in the initial stages.
The second stage of the framework is the treatment component. In most cases, individually focused programs are necessary to identify and treat mental health problems (Purcell, Gwyther and Rice, 2019). For instance, if an athlete suffers from a lack of social relationships and alcohol problems, they require an individually focused program. Such treatment emphasizes the competitor as an individual and helps them manage life-sport balance better. According to Purcell, Gwyther and Rice (2019, p. 5), “a focus on developing a nonathletic identity must occur at all phases of the sporting career.” However, if the mental health disorder progresses, there is a need for specialized care that can be provided only by licensed professionals. Furthermore, during the treatment phase, implementing an emergency plan is required for athletes with psychological complications (Purcell, Gwyther and Rice, 2019). For this framework, it is also crucial that the confidentiality of the athlete is maintained since it has a beneficial effect on the mental health of the competitor. The key stakeholders of this strategy are the owners of the sports organization and the athlete.
There are some other recommendations that sports organizations might find useful to maintain the mental health of athletes better. Henriksen et al. (2019) propose several ideas to increase the quality of the training environment. They suggest that researchers should pronounce a clearer definition of mental health in sports; hence, it would be possible to propose a more detailed framework (Henriksen et al., 2019). Another suggestion is that sports organizations and sponsors should provide more finances to mental health research (Henriksen et al., 2019). In addition, sports associations should also consider mental health as the most significant factor in the career and life of the athlete (Henriksen et al., 2019). Therefore, it is crucial to acknowledge the significance of mental health for athletes and act accordingly.
To conclude, mental health problems pose a serious threat to competitors and their performance. Among elite athletes, psychological complications include overtraining, sleep disorders, depression, and various types of social struggles. Moreover, on the highest level of sports, an enormous load of pressure is put on the competitors. Therefore, sports organizations and coaches should provide a more balanced training regime, regular mental health screenings, and individual recovery plans to the athletes.
References
Henriksen, K. et al. (2019). ‘Consensus statement on improving the mental health of high performance athletes’, International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 18(5), pp. 553-560. Web.
Purcell, R., Gwyther, K. and Rice, S. M. (2019). ‘Mental health in elite athletes: increased awareness requires an early intervention framework to respond to athlete needs’, Sports Medicine – Open, 4(1), pp. 1-8