WOODBURY – Mental health is a topic that is not often discussed among student athletes. Mental health is a person’s emotional, physiological and social well being.

An article on AthletesForHope.org states, “Mental health issues in athletes often go unrecognized because the symptoms are subtle.”

At Nonnewaug, a typical day of a student athlete can include: going to school, games or practice, homework, and balancing a social life with friends.

I think managing the typical daily life as a student athlete can be stressful.

“There’s a lot more work,” said freshman and softball player, Ella Dielsi. “There’s so much work for school, then you have practice and you don’t get home till late. This can be draining.”

An article written by the mental health provider, Charlie Health, states, “The NCAA [National Collegiate Athletic Association] studies over 23,000 student-athletes found that about 2 in 5 female student-athletes (44%) and 1 in 5 male athletes (17%) reported feeling overwhelmed ‘constantly’ or ‘most every day.’”

Being a student athlete myself, I relate to the overwhelming effects of trying to balance being a good student while also performing well in sports. Managing social life while trying to keep my mental health stable can be a staggering feeling.

“I can agree with this,” said Dielsi. “It is hard to balance being in school, your sport, and having to hide the emotions and overwhelming effect from school. To not let it affect you on the court or game.”

Over the course of my sports career, my emotions have blocked me through several challenges. This can include trying to find my worth as a player and student on top of also trying to improve in my sport.

“My mental health was probably at an all time low my junior year,” Former collegiate University of Connecticut Women’s Basketball player, Rebecca Pope said. “It was really hard to find my worth, when I didn’t have sports to define me.”

Even though the balance between the two can be challenging, there are always ways to overcome the struggles of being a student athlete and managing the difference between the two.

Over time, as I matured as a player and student I found that the less I let other people’s negative comments and the crushing effects of school consume my mental health, my school work, social life, and sports improvement–the better my mental state was.

Mental health is such an important part of a student athlete. It can affect their game play, practices, schoolwork, or friends. Trying to go through this alone can make your life and problems harder.

“At least one third of the students have some kind of struggle with [mental health],” Nonnewaug’s school social worker, Sharon Gomes, said. “Make sure you talk to somebody. It doesn’t have to be a professional.”

Finding help is good advice. Going through things alone isn’t ideal especially if you are a student athlete. Finding this help can improve your stress and help you perform better. Let’s improve our game together.