Mental health is important for all people, including those who compete in sports. While it’s true that athletes need to stay mentally fit to perform at their best, it’s also true that athletes are human beings who face the same mental, emotional, and spiritual struggles as everyone else.
By definition, mental health encompasses the way that we think, feel, and act. While some might equate the term “mental health” with illness or problems, it’s actually much more comprehensive than that. When we think of “physical health,” we know that sometimes our bodies are healthy and functioning well, and sometimes not. Some days, you physically feel better than others. Sometimes, you’re sick or injured and sometimes you’re in perfect health. All of that falls under the umbrella of physical health. Therefore, it’s important to think of mental health and wellness in a similar manner. Even if you don’t have an issue, there are steps you can take to maintain or improve your health.
Here are some tips to help you improve your mental wellness.
1. Be Honest with Yourself.
You know when something is off. While it might be possible to hide or mask mental and emotional troubles from other people, you know how you feel. For example, if you’re feeling down, you might need to take some time to yourself to lift your mood rather than just forcing your way through it. Being honest with yourself and respecting your needs will not only help with your athletic performance, but it will also help you in all areas of your life because you can resolve the issue and operate with a clearer mind. To that end, if you’ve been in a funk for quite some time, you should speak with a mental health professional. Don’t assume that it’s something that might pass on its own. It would be like assuming a tire that’s low on air will spontaneously inflate to the proper PSI. Won’t happen.
2. Stop Being an Enemy of Your Emotions.
Have you ever found yourself judging yourself for how you feel? You might think something like, I need to stop being weak, or I’m crazy, or I’m broken. Your emotions do not make you any of those things, but they do make you human. Try giving yourself some grace for being a human being. Even if you have exceptional talents, you’re still a person.
Try accepting the fact that feelings are a part of life. It’s not a switch you can turn on and off because you’re not a robot. You don’t have to ignore them or let them control you. You can, however, accept them, face them, and learn how to let process them and let them go. Emotional management is an important skill set in athlete mental health because it will help protect your energy, improve mental clarity, and help you make better decisions.
3. Don’t Let Pressure Build up.
You’ve likely heard the heartbreaking stories of players who felt so overburdened by the pressure that they quit their sport, took a break due to serious mental health issues, or tragically took their own life because they felt that it was too late to get help.
Even though you might feel like you have to do everything, do it well, and do it all on your own, the fact is that you have choices in life, and you are not alone. There are always answers and solutions, but if you bottle up everything inside that pressure is eventually going to explode. Instead, have a support team in place with people who you can trust to talk to. If you don’t have a network of people who you can speak with, contact a helpline like 988.
There’s no shame in needing help and getting help. Every successful person has a team to help them with their mind, body, soul, and emotions. I can guarantee you none of them have done it 100% on their own without help from anyone. It’s never too late to get help. Ever.
4. Take Time Off When You Need it.
If you need some time off, mentally or physically, make sure you take it. It’s easy to feel guilty when you need to take time off, especially if you’re an athlete with an exceptionally demanding schedule. However, it’s not healthy to push yourself too hard. There might be a fine line between pushing past your limits and overdoing it to the point of injury, but that’s why it’s even more important to take breaks. Taking time off for both physical and mental rest will allow you to recover and recharge so you can come back stronger than ever before. In fact, getting adequate rest is the only way you can perform at your best.
5. Live Balanced.
“At TB12, balance is as much about creating the right mixture of strength, conditioning, and pliability as it is about lifestyle choices—what we eat, how much rest and recovery we get, and what daily activities we engage in. The more balanced we are, the better. In my experience, most athletes like to work on things that they’re already good at. It reinforces their confidence in their own abilities. Strong athletes like to work on strength, and fast athletes like to work on speed. But that doesn’t create balance. To create balance, we need to work on our deficiencies as well.” ― Tom Brady, The TB12 Method: How to Achieve a Lifetime of Sustained Peak Performance
In what areas of your life do you feel you are deficient? For example, maybe you are doing awesome in your sport, but your social life has taken a hit. Imbalance can sneak up on you emotionally, spiritually, and even physically. As an athlete, it might be impossible to spend an equal amount of time doing all things, but keep in mind that balance is as much about a feeling as it is effort.
If you feel unbalanced but also like you can’t slow down, you could be setting yourself up for a mental health problem in the future. For example, if you’re constantly busy, check in with yourself on why you feel like you can’t be alone or take breaks. Are you trying to fill a void? How can you bring more balance into your life? In what ways can you be more purposeful with your schedule? How can bring more authenticity into your actions? Are you willing to risk burnout, injury, or another negative consequence because of a lack of balance?
6. Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for Help.
Asking for help doesn’t mean that you’re weak or that you’re not independent. Sometimes, you just get stuck in your own experience because there is only so much you can see objectively. There’s a reason that we have team sports and that there are a set number of players allowed on a field or court at a given time; it’s because everyone knows there is strength in numbers. Build a team around you that you can trust to have confidential conversations in a non-judgmental environment. You’ll likely discover answers and new information about yourself, just simply by talking to someone else.
7. Know Your Limits.
Everyone has limits. You know this to be true about the physical body, but we also have mental and emotional limits as well. Setting boundaries is super important to protecting your mental wellness, but it also can be difficult to enforce those boundaries. Perhaps you don’t want to let people down or you feel stretched too thin. That’s all the more reason you need to set boundaries because you only get one life and it’s yours so you should enjoy it as much as possible every day rather than just let it pass you by.
8. Take Care of Yourself First.
It’s easy to forget that you’re not alone when you’re dealing with mental health issues. You might think that everyone else has it worse than you do, but that’s not true. Everyone deals with stress differently, so it’s important to find ways to manage your own stress levels. In addition, it’s not your responsibility to manage other people’s stress or problems. The greatest teammates know that to be the best teammate possible, they have to be the best individual possible first and take care of their own needs.
9. Set Goals and Stick to Them.
One of the easiest ways to improve your mental health is to set goals and then stick to them. If you’ve been struggling with a particular issue, such as anxiety, setting small goals will help you feel more confident and motivated. Take small action steps, but just keep moving with a purpose. Even if you don’t feel motivated, keep taking small steps. If you sit idle for too long, you might get yourself into trouble by ruminating in your thoughts and feeling worse, or taking unhealthy action to feel better.
10. Visualize Wisely
Most people tend to spend a lot of time thinking about negative things or things they don’t want. The National Science Foundation published a research study in 2005 that found that the average person has about 12,000 to 60,000 thoughts per day and roughly 80% of them are negative. Not only will that make you feel terrible, but it will also affect how you experience life.
Set your intentions and visualize wisely. First, think about what you want for the day ahead, for your training, for your upcoming game, etc. Then, instead of letting your thoughts run wild, use meditation and mindful exercises to slow down your thoughts. Use this time to focus on what it is you do want and see yourself going through the motions of living it. You may even want to write it down. Give yourself direction and continuously remind yourself of that vision so that you take aligned action. Plus, you’ll put the law of attraction to work for you by putting out the energy of what you want to receive.