Being A College Athlete Essay

There are many pros to being an athlete in college and being able to play sports at a higher level. There are things that make it worth it like getting to meet new people, staying in good physical shape, and the highest of highs in winning. However, the lows can be just as low as the highest highs. Everything from performance failure to struggling in school. It is important not to forget that these college athletes have the same stressors as other students on top of the stress of playing a sport. All of this stress and factors inside of your sport can be detrimental to the mental health of college athletes. This dark side of sports is not addressed enough in society and there needs to be better and more opportunities for student-athletes to

Those who decide to play college sports are there to play, not to be sidelined by injury and watch their teammates play. It has been shown that “athletes who experienced an injury during the previous year reported significantly higher depression symptom scores than those reported by noninjured athletes, as measured by the validated Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression (CES-D) scale” (Wolanin et al.). It is a statistical fact that injury can cause depression in college athletes. When these athletes have very high goals and often overtrain their bodies to reach that point, the risk of injury is fairly high. When athletes are injured, the risk of depression is now even higher. Those who suffer from depression and other mental health issues are more likely to perform high-risk activities and can experience negative long-term effects on their quality of

The pressure on college athletes to perform on the field puts a lot of pressure on them and when they struggle it can lead down a negative slope for their mental health. On top of this, they also have to balance time between their sport and the responsibilities of the average college student. The load put on athletes can be incredibly strenuous on not only their minds but also their bodies. Injuries can be detrimental to the mental health of college athletes. Keeping them sidelined from doing what they love to do can lead to depression. College athletes are also more likely to participate in high-risk behaviors such as binge drinking which can also lead to mental health issues. The number of risks for mental health issues for college athletes is very high and there is not enough being done. There need to be better education programs to help athletes not only understand the issue but know when they need help. There needs to be better trainers and counselors with easy access for athletes to get the help they need. Mental health screenings can greatly benefit these athletes by showing them a reflection of how they are being affected. College athletes are at high risk for mental health struggles and depression because of the pressure and hardships of playing a sport and there needs to be more research done and more programs installed to get college