Addressing mental health in elite athletes as a vehicle for early detection and intervention in the general community

Abstract

Recent scientific literature in addition to increased media attention has highlighted the important role of mental health in elite athletes. Often defined by terms such as “mental toughness”, athletes are now becoming more open to discussing the role of anxiety, depression and other psychologically distressing processes that are intertwined with their time both during and after elite sport. In line with this, recent international position statements regarding the mental health of athletes have been released. The current New Hypothesis article follows on from these statements and proposes that further work must be performed to better understand this aspect of elite sport in addition to developing sport‐specific interventions for athletes, their families, and support staff. Furthermore, we propose that by better understanding and treating the mental health of elite athletes a follow‐on effect may occur, whereby help‐seeking in the general community will increase. In particular, young adults who were previously hesitant to seek help may take strength from this shift, maximizing the success of early intervention occurring.

Help-seeking behaviours related to mental health symptoms in professional football

“…20 Another study suggested that in addition to sport-specific interventions for athletes, a better understanding of specific needs of the athlete and availability of good treatment may create a follow-on effect of increased help-seeking behaviour. 21 Difference in pretest and post-test In our study, professional footballers showed an increased help-seeking attitude and intentions and an increased confidence level in helping someone experiencing mental health symptoms after viewing the mental health awareness video. While these differences between pretest and post-test were statistically significant, it is worth mentioning that the increase in post-test scores was limited: +1.3 for attitude towards help-seeking (scale from 0 to 30), +1.3 for help-seeking intentions (scale from 11 to 77) and +0.6 for confidence level (scale from 0 to 16).…”

“… 20 Another study suggested that in addition to sport-specific interventions for athletes, a better understanding of specific needs of the athlete and availability of good treatment may create a follow-on effect of increased help-seeking behaviour. 21 …”

Association of mental health help-seeking with mental health-related knowledge and stigma in Japan Rugby Top League players

“…These results are consistent with previous academic knowledge and clinical experience of a general population [ 43 ], which may be replicated in athletes, including rugby players [ 44 , 45 ]. Based on expert opinion [ 46 , 47 ], the fact that players in need of mental health support tend not to seek help or receive support with their problems should be shared among players, their coaches, health professionals, and others who work with players.…”

Reflections on the Field of Mental Health in Sport: Critical Issues and Ways of Moving Forward

“…Organized recreational sports have several unique advantages as vehicles for the delivery of mental health programs, most notably including high participation rates globally (Aubert et al, 2018;Hulteen et al, 2017). The significant influence of sports stars in speaking about mental health (Walton et al, 2019) can also be leveraged through organized recreational sports. Indeed, a number of programs exist around the world that currently leverage such advantages, including: New Zealand Rugby's Headfirst program (headfirst.co.nz); Tackling the Blues run by Everton in the Community (evertonfc.com/ community/health-and-wellbeing/the-projects/tackling-the-blues); and, the State of Mind Ireland program (stateofmindireland.com/) as just a few examples.…”