Editor’s note: This column was submitted by a student athlete of the UT community who goes by their middle name and whose last name has been withheld to maintain anonymity.
As a student-athlete, I get asked a lot about what it’s like being a student athlete at a Division 1 school and get many comments about how hard it sounds; My reply usually is, yes it can be hard, but I love it and wouldn’t want it any other way.
Student athletes can experience a multitude of mental health challenges, ranging from eating disorders to performance anxiety. As a student athlete, I wouldn’t say that there are any particular challenges that are special to being an athlete especially — though some may be more prominent than others. I would say being a student-athlete makes it a little harder to talk about mental health, we are doing what we love and some may ask ‘what do we have to complain about’ when we are the ones that chose this life and so much is ‘given’ to us.
Administration is extremely helpful with mental health for student-athletes. We have the ability to schedule sessions with licensed therapists where it works in our schedule. Many athletes take advantage of this, and it is emphasized quite a bit that we should utilize it. I would say that mental health is a slightly taboo topic for society and the general public to hear about. It is getting more and more commonly seen, but the stigma around the topic is still there to some extent. I would say administration and society view the ideas of this topic pretty differently. UT Athletics and coaches really emphasize getting the help you need to help you perform to your best, even emphasizing therapy, while society views it oddly, not usually talking about when you go to therapy or why, when there are very often a multitude of reasons behind going to therapy.
I think student-athletes tend to be pretty good about addressing their mental health when it’s needed. Of course, there is still the issue of bottling emotions inside rather than talking about it, but I believe that is happening less and less thanks to the therapy available to us and fellow teammates. Student-athletes are very understanding towards each other in terms of mental health, we all go through the same workouts and same issues, so who else would relate and know how it feels more than another student athlete?
Mental health is extremely important for athletic performance. You need to be in it to get the results you want. Sometimes it can be hard to really focus on your sport if you’re having outside stressors or drama that can really drain your performance and focus. Often, a lot of student athletes find that their sports are an escape from the stress, something to focus on rather than outside stressors.
