When you think of professional athletes, you think of physical health – weights, exercise, protein shakes, and whatever else it takes to keep you in top shape at all times.
What people don’t consider nearly as often is the mental health of athletes.
In order to remain in your maximum physical condition, you must also remain in your maximum mental condition. Given the highly publicized nature of sport, athletes today do not have the opportunity to keep up with their mental health as well as they should.
Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka is one of the newest athletes to speak out on mental health this Olympic season. In one (n open letter to Time Magazine, she addressed two main issues affecting athletes’ mental health: privacy and lack of days off.
In the Osaka case, privacy had to do with media and press conferences.
On May 30, she was fined $ 15,000 for not attending a press conference at the French Open for reasons of her own mental health. Tournament officials threatened Suspension or even disqualification if Osaka continued to avoid press conferences, Osaka withdrew completely from the competition in an act of defiance and self-love.
Megan Christoferson, Senior Business Management and Hospitality Major, supports Osaka’s actions.
“I think Naomi Osaka had every right to stand up for herself as she did,” said Christoferson. “People who are known to the public keep an eye on them; everything they do is watched and criticized. Struggling with mental health is one thing, but being an athlete or a celebrity in trouble is another thing entirely. “
In her letter, Osaka talked about what it is like to experience mental health problems in public.
“In my case, I felt under a lot of pressure to reveal my symptoms – frankly, because the press and the tournament didn’t believe me,” she wrote.
A statement from tournament officials seemed to support this.
“… The Roland Garros teams asked her to reconsider her position and tried unsuccessfully to speak to her to check her wellbeing, understand the specifics of her problem and what could be done to address it on the ground, ”it said in the statement.
Personally, I find this statement ridiculous. Osaka should never have been required to disclose their specific symptoms or medical history in order for their decision to be respected.
Alayna Marsh, Senior Psychology and Human Development Major, agrees. Marsh believes that anything a person finds necessary for their own mental health is their best option. Nobody else can tell.
“I can definitely say, only as a psychiatrist / HD person … not only should [athletes] advocate for their own mental health, but they should also have their coaches and their people with them who should do the same, ”Marsh said.
In her open letter, Osaka thanked the people in her life who supported her mental health as well as her business partners. She thanked them for their support, encouragement, and understanding, and reminded readers of the importance of such support systems.
However, despite all the support in the world, it is impossible to take care of your mental health without personal time to focus on what you need.
Between the travel days during the season and the long off-season, it seems likely that athletes have plenty of time to take care of their mental health.
However, when you are in public there really are no days off.
Famous athletes are often subject to as much media scrutiny and paparazzi nonsense as celebrities. Maintaining a social media presence is also a typical requirement today.
In addition, an athletic career requires constant training and work to stay in shape, even out of season.
All of this in addition to obligations for brand partnerships and personal philanthropic projects that many athletes take on create a schedule with very little time to rest.
To address this, Osaka suggested allowing athletes, like other professions in which they are exempt from media obligations, a small number of sick days.
“I think Naomi said it best,” said Christoferson. “Athletes should be given personal days and should not be expected to provide an answer as to why they need a ‘break’ to protect their own privacy and their lives away from the media and public viewers.”
However, this problem is addressed there Got to to be addressed somehow.
Mental health has become a big talk thanks to athletes like Osaka and fellow Olympian Michael Phelps, who is a mental health advocate for athletes, as well as people in the public eye like Meghan Markle.
Thanks to this and many other people, public awareness and sympathy for mental health is at an all-time high. Still, little seems to have changed so far.
Drastic steps need to be taken in society to support mental health issues – for all people of course, but during these Olympics athletes need to be part of the conversation more than ever.
source https://livehealthynews.com/respect-athletes-mental-health-needs-the-daily-evergreen/
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