Managing mental health in sport: A universal challenge

World Mental Health Day is observed across the globe on October 10. Many sporting organizations and teams around the world use the day to raise awareness and to promote the work they are doing helping people with their mental and psychological health.

Raising awareness is clearly a huge positive, and speaks to the trend of increasingly vocal and empowered modern athletes, many of whom competed at the Paris Olympics. The IOC also launched an Olympic first at that Games, the "Athlete 365 Mind Zone", which provided a dedicated space for athletes to access mental health support during competition.

For the World Health Organisation, "embedding mental health promotion and support into sports at all levels is vital, as is encouraging more people to take up physical activity in order to support their mental health and wellbeing."

Julia Eyre, a sports psychologist working with the cycling and cheerleading German national teams, is clear on the importance of marking a day for mental health. "Mental health awareness day is essentially, just like transgender visibility day, or bi-visibility day or women's day or mother's day, father's day. All of these days are not only where we memorialize and continue to see and hear all of those no longer with us because of this, but also to appreciate and see and hear and lend an extra ear and spend extra resources on the people who do struggle. I absolutely think it makes a difference and it's important because our deepest need is to be seen and heard." 

New approaches and campaign days are a great step forward, but perhaps more than anything they are a reminder of just how much we all have in common when it comes to needing to look after ourselves.

"Being grateful for the small things, having a lot of gratitude. Things could always be worse. We're healthy and it's another day to do something great," Kenya's best golfer Mutahi Kibugu told DW when asked about how he manages his mental health. "That normally keeps me in a good space."

"Whenever I'm feeling worried or anxious, I go to the gym. Physical fitness really relates to the mind and the gym is my getaway. Look good, feel good."

Kibugu hasn't had it easy, both on and off the golf course. Just over a year since he last spoke to DW, Kibugu's ranking has dropped but he is positive about moving forward.

"Mental health is very important to me because there are a lot of people who are suffering in silence and they don't say anything and they live with it for a very, very long time. They don't know the damage that holds and the problems it can cause. It's very important that people can speak about it and don't hold back on what they're feeling."

Extra equality challenge for women

For Dr. Anuradha Doddaballapur, former captain of Germany's women's cricket team, the challenge is made harder by what her choice of sport means.

"I think recently we have started to look at this dimension," Doddaballapur told DW. "We play, we train and expect to be performing, and sometimes to meet that is not always easy. For many of us playing cricket in Germany, we are juggling two careers."

Doddaballapur is also a biomedical scientist and managing a full-time profession as well playing international cricket. Battling for equal treatment takes its toll.

"Some of us really champion gender equaltiy and standing up for what is required to drive women's sport forward. For me, those phases have been really hard when you're having to fight on a weekly basis for what you think you deserve."

Doddaballapur finds taking a step back helps keep her perspective. "Sometimes I need to take a break and find someone to talk to. For me, it's sharing it with my loved ones or my friends. And it's similar as a scientist to be honest. You spend weeks, months and years not getting great results and you are trying to figure out how to get through. There are times when you are anxious or even depressed, and you've got to find a way to acknowledge it and work through it."

It's hard for Shahad Farahani, an academy coach at Major League Soccer (MLS) team Columbus Crew in America, not to think about mental health on a daily basis. Both Farahani and Columbus believe in putting emphasis on the human before the player, which means Farahani is also raising awareness of his mental health through investing in the mental health of his players.

"Working in the reality of academy football, knowing that most players won't become professional players, it's an important responsibility as coaches to not just develop players for the first team but also positive people who can contribute to society. We try to do that on and off the field and hopefully it works," Farahani said modestly.

When it comes to proactively managing his own mental health, Farahani feels fortunate to be close to home.

"I use my time off to disconnect and spend some time with family. It puts things in perspective. I think we get so caught up with daily lives so time with my parents and my grandparents is a good reminder of what is important in life. It's also good to hear from people who have different life experiences."

The story is similar for Lily Agg, a professional footballer for Ireland and Birmingham City." It’s about finding what works for you and individually what means your brain is good to you. I’m quite harsh on myself so surrounding myself with good people to help is probably the best way I look after myself.”

While each of these voices represents a unique perspective from Kenya, Germany and America respectively, there is an overarching reminder here that regular, proactive management of mental health is paramount to success in and outside of sport. wherever you are.