Mental Health Related to Celebrities and Athletes

Written on 10.07.2022

People expect Athletes and celebrities to be models of strength, but they tend to forget that Athletes are just people too. Athletes should speak up more about mental health and it should not be shamed. They have problems in life that may not be related to their sport. They may need to know how to cope with their daily struggles and may require a break to deal with such things if the sport gets overwhelming. Athletes should place their mental health above medal counts and this could also help celebrities who are facing mental health struggles.

Athletes may not be able to perform well if they don't have a needed break. An example is Simone Biles not able to perform her best. Usually, she would be able to do two and a half full twists but she was unable to. "In flight, she appeared to lose track of her motion, finishing just one and a half twists"(Orbey). Because of that, she scored the lowest in her competition. After that, she decided to withdraw from the team competition. The pressure had gotten to be too much to handle for Simone Biles and it affected her performance. Simone Biles states that "I know I brush it off and make it seem like pressure doesn't affect me but damn sometimes it's hard hahaha! The Olympics is no joke!"(Orbey). which shows just how doing professional sports can be a lot of pressure for someone to handle. Much more than the average sports player. There could be more sports psychologists or therapists to observe the players' mental health and teach them how to cope with their issues. Athletes' should get more of a break so their spirit won't dwindle.

Athletes are also people who have problems to deal with daily that aren't related to their sport. First, just like any average person having conflicts in life, so do Athletes. Next, there's the added hassle for Athletes having to perform their absolute best and practice a lot with their sport as well. Ricky Williams expressed that he had "Social Anxiety Disorder and depression that stunted his ability to speak, that kept the helmet on post-game" (Uszerowicz). Social Anxiety Disorder and depression can be hard to deal with even when someone's not an Athlete. Anxiety can be draining to constantly deal with and depression is a constant state of feeling of sadness and loss of interest and can interfere with your daily life. Raven Saunders voices that she "didn't realize that [she] was actually suffering from depression." She thought it was just how life was. She was also dealing with suicidal thoughts and the sport she was professionally playing did not have any meaning for her anymore. What about athletes who have some type of grief to deal with? They deserve to have some time off to process the grief of a loved one or any other type of loss before heading back into their profession. Society shouldn't shame them for having issues and not toughing it out when being in the public spotlight can have more pressure than the average person can typically deal with. Instead they should be admired for standing up for themselves and being able to know what their limits are. Along with knowing how to take care of themselves. It can be a difficult thing to deal with. Professional players are still individuals who have their internal battles just like any other average person.

On the other hand, celebrities and Athletes have been dealing with these types of struggles their whole lives so they should be able to push through and continue with their profession. They are the ones who are still choosing to continue in their career and excel at them. Choosing to take a break, it would mean that their chances of winning a medal would dwindle. "Without Biles, the team's chances at the gold quickly dwindled, and, in the end, they took the silver"(Orbey). shows that without a certain player on which the teammates depended their chances of winning to make their teammates would dwindle. "She came home from Barcelona with a team bronze medal and fought a slew of injuries before being named to the 1996 Olympic team."(Orenstein) shows that an athlete can push through injuries and still get a medal before getting the medical care that she needs. These public figures should know what is prepared for the career that they have chosen has in store for them.

Nevertheless, more Athletes and celebrities could end up doing worse behaviors that have bigger consequences if their mental health isn't prioritized. Public Figures are expected to self-medicate to cope with their mental health issues but that ends up leading to greater consequences. "The recent fall from public grace of Armie Hammer — the allegations of abuse (the actor has denied the claims), the loss of several high-profile projects, his checking into an inpatient facility for alcohol, drug and sex issues — are part of a pattern in Hollywood" (Abdul-Jabbar). There is also the fact that if these celebrities don't get their mental health issues treated then it could lead to them having their lives taken away. An example would be "Madison Holleran, a standout high school soccer player and track runner from New Jersey who died by suicide in January 2014 during her second semester at the University of Pennsylvania"(Kliegman). If their mental health problems are not solved or handled properly, it would lead to even worse consequences.

In conclusion, athletes should place their mental health above earning trophies or medals. They also should speak up more about mental health and it should not be shamed. People expect Athletes to be strong and perfect people who can handle anything when in reality, they are just like any other average person who has problems. Athletes also have their health to worry about. To avoid injuring their body and not feel overwhelmed, Athletes should deserve more of a break and more mental health professionals looking over them. Making sure they know how to take care of themselves and know what habits they should create to make sure they are physically and mentally healthy.