Capstone Project

Julia Dowle
What are some negative effects
that sports have on mental
health, and what is my
experience with it?
Why did I Choose this Question?

■ I wanted to research about how sports affect people

mentally.
■ I thought it would be a good idea to learn more about the
mental side of sports, as I have only ever been focused on
the physical side.
■ Mental health is a very important topic that should be
talked about more.
What are Some Negative Effects that Sports
can have on Someone's Mental Health?
■ Exposure to high levels of stress and pressure.
■ Not knowing how to cope with issues.
■ Gaining the trait of perfectionism.
■ High risk of eating disorders and suicidal ideation.
Stress and Pressure in Athletes

■ Overwhelming amounts ■ Pressures from coaches,

of stress can lead to
being anxious to succeed.
■ It has commonly been
said that athletes “thrive”
under pressure, but that
is not true.
parents, teammates,
teachers, and
themselves.
■ High standards and
unrealistic goal setting.
My Experience With Stress
and Pressure in Sports

■ I am not good enough if I don’t always meet the

expectations I am held to.
■ Coaching staff telling me and my teammates we are
not good enough.
■ My dad is not allowed to come to my games
because I don’t want to disappoint him.
■ Setting unrealistic goals for myself that I cannot
achieve.
Coping Mechanisms in Athletes

■ It can be hard for anyone ■ Social media can

to find the right ways to influence how people
cope. cope.
■ Athletes are more likely to ■ Both unhealthy and
be prescribed and healthy coping
misuse opioid meds. mechanisms.
Unhealthy: Healthy:
Provide someone with May not provide instant
an instant sense of
relief but does more
gratification but is
helpful in the long-run.
UNHEALTHY VS
harm in the long-run. HEALTHY
COPING
Drug and alcohol use.

Self-harm.
Talking about problems.

Using relaxation techniques.

MECHANISMS
Procrastination. Seeking out help.

Poor eating habits. Practicing mindfulness.

My Experience with Coping
Mechanisms as an Athlete

■ I have used both healthy and unhealthy coping

mechanisms.
■ I can say that the unhealthy ones felt better in the
moment but made me feel even worse as time went
on.
■ The healthy coping strategies felt pointless while I
was doing them but had better long-term results.
■ Social media somewhat influenced how I tried to
cope.
The Trait of Perfectionism in Athletes

■ Caused by anxiety, stress, and ■ An athlete may become

performance pressures. anxious about their physical
■ Can be a good motivator to appearance within the
strive for flawlessness. athletic environment.

■ Can be very harmful as an ■ Internal or external trait of

athlete may become overly perfectionism.
critical of what they do.
Internal: External:

The want for exact

perfection because
The want for exact
perfection because they
INTERNAL AND
the process of their thrive on EXTERNAL
creative expression is accomplishment as a
an extension of how product. TRAITS OF
they feel about
themselves.
PERFECTIONISM
My Experience with
Perfectionism as an Athlete

■ Being hard on myself after making an error.

■ Thinking about what I did wrong, or what I
could’ve done better for hours after a game.
■ Overthinking easy plays creating more
unnecessary stress.
Eating disorders in Athletes
■ Warning signs are often
glorified in sports.
■ Higher risk for athletes that
participate in sports where
low body weight is seen as an
advantage.
■ Most common eating
disorders that athletes
struggle with are anorexia
nervosa and bulimia nervosa.
■ Both eating disorders are
based off calorie intake,
sometimes with a fear of
gaining weight.
Anorexia Nervosa: Bulimia Nervosa: ANOREXIA
NERVOSA AND
Anorexia is the
restricting of one’s
Bulimia is uncontrolled
episodes of overeating
BULIMIA
food intake along with followed by an action of NERVOSA
a fear of gaining compensation such as
weight. purging, laxative use,
excessive exercise, and
more.

Both can cause issues

within the body as it
wouldn’t be getting the
right amount of nutrients.
Suicidal Ideation in Athletes
■ Suicidal ideation is the
thinking about, considering,
or planning suicide.
■ Athletes have always been
seen as tough, physically and
mentally.
■ There has been a gradual
increase in suicides with
athletes.
■ Suicidal ideation in athletes
remain above population
levels, although suicide rates
in athletes are lower than the
general population.
My Experience with Suicidal
Ideation as an Athlete
■ I struggled in the past with suicidal ideation for about
three years.
■ I experienced lots of stress and burnout from sports,
school, parents, and myself.
■ Looking back on this time in my life I am grateful to
be where I am today, using better coping
mechanisms and pushing those negative thoughts
away.
Playing sports can have negative mental affects
on an athlete, and I have experienced many of
them.

■ Athletes are exposed to higher levels of stress and pressure than most
non-athletes.
■ Struggling to find healthy coping mechanisms that help long-term.
■ Having the internal or external trait of perfectionism.
■ High risk of eating disorders and suicidal ideation in athletes.
Bibliography
■ https://journals.lww.com/cjsportsmed/fulltext/2020/03000/mental_health_issues_and_ps ■ https://www.eatingdisorderhope.com/risk-groups/eating-disorder-
ychological_factors_in.8.aspx athletes
■
■
■ https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/eating-disorders-athletes
■ https://www.athletesforhope.org/2019/05/mental-health-and-athletes/
■
■
■ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7785905/
■ https://www.betterup.com/blog/mental-health-in-athletes ■
■ ■ https://keltyeatingdisorders.ca/generalinformation/why-are-eating-
disorders-dangerous/
■ https://www.csipacific.ca/services/mental-health/
■
■
■ https://www.therapistaid.com/worksheets/healthy-unhealthy-coping-
strategies
■ https://sportsmedicine-open.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40798-019-0220-1
■ https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/suicides-put-spotlight-hard-
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■ https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/letters-from-your-therapist/202212/college- ■
student-athletes-are-dying-in-mental-health-crisis
■ https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/5-student-athletes-deaths-by-suicide-
show-ncaa-must-better-address-mental-health-183236038.html
■
■
■ https://sportaide.ca/en/blog/2019/05/04/student-athletes-and-mental-health-an-
unknown-reality/ ■ https://journals.lww.com/acsm-
csmr/Fulltext/2021/12000/Athletic_Suicide_and_Suicidality___Changing
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■ https://www.therightsideofnormal.com/2012/04/07/my-readers-ask-
■ https://www.ncaa.org/news/2022/5/24/media-center-mental-health-issues-remain-on- external-perfectionism-vs-internal-
minds-of-student-athletes.aspx perfectionism/#:~:text=The%20downside%20to%20an%20external,of%2
0emotion%20into%20their%20creations.
THANK YOU
Capstone 2023