In the article “Raising Their Voices: Sports stars are speaking out about their mental health. Will their advocacy help younger athletes?” (Upfront, Grise, 2021) I learned that athletes are now speaking up about their mental health. Athletes have recently opened up about their mental struggles and the stresses of competing and living in front of the cameras. People assume that they are strong in every way because they are athletes. But they are human too and they have feelings and emotions. Most of them are under so much pressure and they are stressed out.
I think what is happening is very important to acknowledge. Mental health is very important. It is hard to express your feelings if people believe that athletes are not supposed to show signs of anything that would impact their physical or mental health, because we expect them to perform with such great strength and skill. The good thing is that athletes are increasingly speaking up.
What do you think? Should athletes keep speaking up?
Dear Lesly :
I am touched by your post, “Mental Health of Athletes,” because I am also an athlete. I understand the struggle of our mentalities and needing a break. There’s many times where I feel like I’ve failed and it’s very difficult to have that mindset.
One sentence you wrote that stands out for me is: “ Most of them are under so much pressure and they are stressed out.” I think this is relatable because with everything I have to do to keep up with school is stressful. It is even hard to have a life outside of school and sports.
Thanks for your writing. I look forward to seeing what you write next, because I am intrigued in your writing. I hope to read more of your posts in the future of your thoughts and opinions.
Natalie
Dear Lesly,
I am relieved by your post, “Mental Health of Athletes,” because it is relieving to know that people are speaking up about this topic. It is important to understand that just like any other person, athletes have struggles that impact negatively their mental health, with the difference that people expect them to only show their strong and positive side. Not only that, but living in front of cameras means that everyone’s eyes are on them, which adds pressure.
One sentence that stands out to me is: “Athletes have recently opened up about their mental struggles and the stresses of competing and living in front of cameras.” I think this is concerning because it means that opening up about mental struggles is something that athletes have not been doing in past years. However, I believe that opening up and addressing this issue will create changes in the perspective we have of athletes.
Thanks for your writing. I look forward to seeing what you write next because writing topics that matter is important for our understanding of who and what we watch. Your information is also clear and straightforward, which is a structure I would like to continue reading in future posts.
Rebecca
Dear, Lesly
I am impressed by your post “Mental health of athletes” because this is so true athletes do get a lot of stress because they have to compete all the time. We all know that athletes are strong when it comes to competition . Also we know that they are humans too but they also have feelings and emotions. Sometimes it is really hard for them because they put so much pressure on and that is what makes them feel so stressed.
One sentence that stood out to me was that “ Mental Health is very important”. This stood out to me because I think that even though athletes sometimes don’t show how they actually feel doesn’t mean their not feeling bad. It would be a good idea for all the athletes to take a break from competing. As humans we need breaks because not everything is work. Taking breaks can really help all athletes to feel better about themselves.
Thanks for your writing. I look forward to seeing what you write next, because your post was something really true and interesting.
Patricia
Dear Lesly,
I am astonished by your post, “Mental Health of Athletes,” because it contains vital information about athletes that no one who isn’t an athlete, ever really thinks about. There are many times when mainly everyone assumes that all athletes are okay and they got everything handed in the bag for college. They don’t see that side of being a student-athlete, or maybe even an athlete in general.
One sentence that stood out for me was, “It is hard to express your feelings if people believe that athletes are not supposed to show signs of anything that would impact their physical or mental health, because we expect them to perform with such great strength and skill.” I think this is extremely important because you pointed out the idea of non-athletes expecting us to perform with perfect skill. With that being said, that gives us a lot more pressure than the game already does. I do agree that it is hard to express feelings, for everybody, especially if we are taught to not show any signs of us struggling.
Thanks for your post. I look forward to seeing what you write next because you obviously understand that we all struggle with mental issues no matter if you are or aren’t an athlete, but I love how you said at the end that it is good athletes are more open about their issues. Seeing another one of these, but for another stereotype, is something I would love to see.
Alexia Lozano
Dear Lesly:
I am impressed by your post, “Mental Health of Athletes,” because it contains many good information about the things that we don’t really see in athletes. There might be times were mostly everyone assumes that all athletes are okay and that they don’t really struggle.
One sentence that stood out for me is: “But they are human too and they have feelings and emotions.” I think this is important because everyone has feelings but there are some people who don’t really show them.
Thanks for your writing. I look forward to seeing what you write next, because I like how you were able to understand these type of problems. It is important for those athletes to keep expressing their feelings in order for them to get more help.
Adrian Garcia