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How does Mental Health affect an athlete’s behaviour both in and outside
the sport and how does it affect their performance in the sport?
Meta- Analysis/ Literature review
Mental health contributes to an individual’s behaviour whether it’s positive or negative.
Many athletes within the sport industry suffer from mental illnesses and many athletes
won’t choose to actively seek help and guidance when needed, as well as industries in sport
who also don’t recognise or heed signs of individuals who may be experiencing any issues
with their mental health instead, they keep their struggles to themselves which furthermore
negatively affects their performance in the long term and causes deeper problems in the
future in terms of them sustaining their future as an athlete.
Reference from (pain doctor, 2013) suggests that Approximately 90% of all suicide acts are
from individuals who suffer from a mental illness. (Junior seau, 43) was a professional NFL
player who shot himself in the chest on May 2nd 2012 due to emotional trauma he was
experiencing. In the Netflix documentary (Junior seaus 30 for 30,2018) his death was
presented as a fatal warning sign that the severity of CTE is too high and one that the NFL
didn’t pay enough alert to. (The week, 2018) also reported that seau was considered on the
best players in the 1990s being considered a passionate, fist- player and how nobody saw
the events coming. This information also links back to (British association of sport and
exercise sciences, 2016) research about male athletes not opening up about their struggles
because of the masculinity stereotypes especially back in the 20 th century. It also proves the
lack of concentration high organisations such as the NFL pay toward their leading prospects
in terms of behavioural differences and their body language. It may also suggest the
difference in determination and attention to spot out and talk about mental behaviours in
higher excellence sectors of the sporting industry rather than lower sectors as research on
the surface from (The non-profit athletes for hope, 2014) have discovered that 35% of
professional athletes experience and talk about issues with their mental health however
recently many different athletes are starting to talk up and talk about their issues. For
example, Marcus Rashford’s more recent interviews on (Talk sport, 2020) explains about his
upbringing on mental health and many other athletes are starting to come up as well which
also suggests the biased information from the 6-year period between the 2 sources of
information as there are other athletes who don’t talk about their problems in interviews
and even more that we don’t know about who haven’t shared their experiences with the
public.
Abstract to mental health within the excellence sector of sport, the levels of poor mental
health within the participation sector are significantly lower according to online research.
Psychologist (Marc Ashley Harris, 2018) recorded that Mental ill health accounts for 13% of
global disease with predictions mentioning that depression alone will be the leading cause
of disease globally by 2030. Within the participation sector pumping along with Marc’s
analysis both psychologists (Caroline Bastemeyer and Jens Kleinert, from German sport
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university Cologne, July 2021) have also discovered that the cycle of poor mental health
especially related to students between the ages of 16-22 comes from factors such as low
income, unemployment and poor education. As well as post16, younger students in
secondary also experience high levels or poor mental health which affects their sport
performance in PE lessons as well as playing for their school team. (Sarah Louise bell,2019)
had collected data from 928 12-13-year olds (year 8) from 6 secondary schools in England
who participated in the (AHEAD) trial for 3 years into 15-16-year olds (year 11) stating that
at the end of the three years 73% of the eligible 928 had displayed complete symptoms of a
mental health disorder. She also discovered that higher levels of physical activity at the ages
of 12-13-year olds linked together with 15-16-year olds having decreased levels of
emotional problems. On the account of the decreased levels of emotional stress found on
the (SDQ, 2019) The data discovered suggests that physical activity has the potential to
decrease mental health struggles especially within ages between 15-16-year olds as they
already carry the stress of taking their GCSE examinations and doing extra revision sessions
at home. This also suggests the affect that the burden of education, high expectancies and
workload required to succeed can have on a student’s mental health as discovered from
(Carolyn Bastemeyer German sport university of Cologne, July 31 st 2021) where she
sampled 648 sports students for a general link in study related stress and risk for depression
and she discovered more than 50% of students frequently exhibited study related stress,
11% had an increased risk for depression and 21% showed impaired wellbeing levels.
Following on from the statement of sport students being burdened to education,
researchers have discovered correlations from the students “fear of their future”, “exams”
and “study load” which furthermore increases student’s levels of depression in the future.
(Baygram and Bigel, 2008) research have found out in terms of stress levels, university
students experience greater levels of stress and anxiety throughout their study programs
which not only negatively affects their sporting performance but also their academic
performance. Researchers (Bernett,2007) and (Janse Van Rensburg, 2011) suggest that the
decline in performance both in sporting and academic sectors is mainly associated with
mental disorders with depression being the main result. (Bailer,2007) indicated 20-30%
prevalence rates for depression in students. Abstract to the excellence sector in sport, most
sport students who are still in education are fixed within the performance sector or lower.
From all the different types of research concerning prevalence of mental health disorders in
university and secondary school students, the data could be linked together with sport
students being unable to develop their ability in their sport bridging their gap into the
excellence sector because of study related subjects which cause them to stress frequently as
well as the heavy workload putting an immense amount of pressure on the students. This
furthermore transitions into their decreased performance in their sport because of their
stressed state of academic work. From not reaching the expectations of professional
coaches, their decisions of not wanting to play you in the team or showcase your ability to
other professionals could turn to put the students in a depressed state if they are aspiring to
perform professionally in their sport. Elite athletes also tend to come up against unique
stressors associated with their sport performance including overtraining, pressure from high
expectation from peers and coaches, poor athletic performances, shaky and poorer coach-
athletic or teammate- athletic relationships, injuries and other stress related to making
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decisions of retiring in the sport you play according to the study of (Bruncer ct al., 2008;
Noblet ct al., 2003). It is also suggested these stressors are greatly linked towards impacting
an athletes mental health negatively which has been backed up by researchers (Nixdorf,
Frank and Beckmann, 2016); who has also found that at times when an athlete experiences
increased amounts of stress, depression or anxiety there is a decline overall muscle
hypertrophy which can also lead to atrophy which can link into negative feedback from
performance in muscle stressing contact sports such as boxing, MMA, weightlifting
furthermore the stress and poor performance can eventually lead to the athlete
experiencing a mental disorder. (Gulliver et al., 2015; Rice et al., 2016) Have also found out
that the stressors and mental health disorders diagnosed have an increased chance of either
retiring from the sport or committing suicide from factors that come from poor performance
and thoughts of athletes thinking they aren’t good enough to make it in their sport. The
stressors that contribute to the decline in an athlete’s mental health also play a significant
role in the athlete’s psychology and the way they behave and react to situations according
to (Baum, 2005) similar to the fight or flight situations, both himself also backed up with
(Gulliver et al., 2015; Rice et al., 2016) discovered the brains response to coping with these
stressors can physically affect how you move, slow down your decision making and make an
individual more prone to anger. Many athletes who experiences stress, anxiety and
depression are eventually diagnosed with a mental health disorder which can prevent them
to perform well in their sport because of their confidence drop. For example (McRac,
O’Donnell, Loukine Rankourt and Pelleticer 2016; Smetanin et al., 2011) found the most
common psychiatric disorders within athletes are based around mood and anxiety disorders
which eventually cause them to make the decision of retiring in the sport they are playing.
Supported by that both (Gorczynski Coyle and Gibson 2017; Rice et al., 2016) Elite athletes
who are experiencing injury, retirement or performance slumps have been found to be
more prone to developing a mental health disorder. The physical and psychological
expectations that are entrusted upon them by the sporting industry may result in athletes to
developing depression according to (Gary Souter, Robin Lewis and Laura serrant, 2018). As
an athlete’s symptoms of mental illness intensify, their performance can be negatively
affected leaving them vulnerable and exposed to further symptoms of common mental
disorders. They also discovered that the strain of performance can also expose male
athletes to start overtraining their bodies which can be difficult to tell apart from
depression. Male athletes are more vulnerable to developing eating disorders than men in
general, and they certainly have anxieties, particularly about their bodies, but find it more
challenging to express them. Furthermore, male athletes are more likely to use substances,
including opioids, to improve both athletic and nonathletic performance which has also
been supported by (Simon M Rice, Rosemary Purcell, Stefanie De Silva, Daveena Mawren,
Patrick D McGorry, Alexandra G Parker, 20th February 2016). Suggesting in studies also
published by (Erin Haugen, March 2022) who said Sport injury and mental health appear to
be linked in a bidirectional way, and the sport injury and rehabilitation process is linked to a
wide range of psychological and mental health issues which in the long term tend to have a
negative effect of causing atrophy in the muscles as after the rehabilitation process, the
ligaments, tendons or muscles damaged wont be as sturdy or strong as before. It was also
found that Mental fatigue affects skilled performance in three sports: soccer, basketball,
