Safety in Sports Includes Mental Health

Medical professionals agree that about 20% of high school and 30% of college athletes have or will have a serious anxiety or diagnosable mental health disorder that causes some degree of impairment in their sports performance and, more importantly, in their daily life.

This is true at every level, high school, college and professional, and for whatever gender the athlete identifies with. We also know from the courageous testimony of athletes in every sport, such as Simone Biles, Naomi Osaka, Michael Phelps and Kenley Jansen, the problem only becomes more prevalent and acute for elite athletes.

The reasons for the universality of the mental health crisis are easy to understand. The stressors and triggers for athletes include time demands, overtraining, injuries, pressure leading up to the game and performance in the game, over-emphasis on winning, interpersonal relationships with coaches and teammates, issues with social relationships generally, self-image, self-esteem, intensive parenting and other issues at home.