According to a study conducted by Lynette Hughes and Gerard Leavey of the Northern Ireland Association of Mental Health, athletes may be more vulnerable to psychological discomfort due to factors such as injury, competitive failure, and overtraining. Over the course of a year, 30 percent of athletes reported feeling melancholy, while half said they had significant levels of anxiety, according to an NCAA poll.
Brent Walker, Columbia University’s associate athletic director for championship performance, says he didn’t want to deal with the mental health component of performance when he first started working in the field. “It’s difficult to distinguish the mental health aspect from the performance aspect of it now,” he says.
Jerry West, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, has battled depression and low self-esteem for decades. People sometimes tell him he’s brave for talking about it so openly. That, he claims, is not so much bold as it is honest.
1. Michael Phelps
“I thought suicide would have made things easier. But the more I thought of it, I wanted to find a different route. I wanted to see if I could find some help.” This is what Michael Phelps had to say about his mental health.
2. Sachin Tendulkar
“Mental health is neglected because we can’t see it physically. To do anything we need to be physically as well as mentally fit. If one is missing, the other can’t function alone,” said Sachin Tendulkar on mental health.
3. LeBron James
“Mental fitness is something I’ve always prioritized, and is just as important to my game, my career, and my life than anything I can do physically,” said LeBron James on mental health.
4. Lewis Hamilton
“It’s never a bad thing to ask for help if you need it or to tell somebody how you feel. Showing your vulnerable side doesn’t make you weak. It’s a chance to become stronger. ”
5. Neymar Jr
“I messed up several times and recovering all the confidence I had has a high price. But I think it’s normal for human beings to fail. It’s part of life. Neymar Jr’s take on mental health.
6. Virat Kohli
“I have gone through a phase in my career where it was the end of the world. I could’ve said that I do not feel great mentally… but you never know how that’s taken.”
7. Glenn Maxwell
“I was thinking about things I could do to snap it (his arm). I thought it would have been an easy escape. I said, ‘I’m done, I’m going to have a bit of time off’.”
8. Imani Boyette
“Sometimes, I walk in a room and regret being so naked and vulnerable, but this is bigger than me,” she says. “I believe my purpose is to talk about the things that people are uncomfortable or afraid to talk about. I need to talk about sexual abuse because we don’t talk about it enough … The thing about childhood sexual abuse is people look at you like you’re this delicate piece of china. Or, they look at you disgusted, but don’t want to be disgusted.”
