Student Athletes Mental Health Issues

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1 in 4 people will be affected by mental health issues at some point in their lives. Depression affects 20-25% of Americans ages 18+ in a given year (CDC.) Student athletes are students who go to school but participate in athletics at the same time. Student athletes are at a higher risk due to having different stress factors that normal students don't have to go through during their college or high school athletic careers. Major events would be the death of Madison Holleran. A runner from University of Pennsylvania who committed suicide in 2014. Along with many other student athletes across the country in the year of 2014. Therefor if you are a student athlete then you have a higher risk of developing a mental illness.
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Players become masters at keeping their game faces on all the time, often until it’s too late.”(Fagan 88.) Athletes are often told all of their lives that they need to put on a brave face and get over whatever they are feeling (most of the time which is regarding to physical pain.) But no one ever thinks about the mental aspect because the athlete is known to be one of the most mentally strong in comparison to others around them. Thus leading to the point when people realize they are not mentally doing well. It’s too late and the athlete has done what they think is the most reasonable treatment to end the pain. “We do whatever is necessary to navigate this ‘manly’ environment, and that means masking our feelings. Players learn to ‘suck it up’, ‘rub some dirt on it’ and ‘gut it out’.” (Fagan 87.) When you think about it. Athletes are grown up in an environment that praises the tough and confidence. No one wants a teammate or player that is weak physically or mentally. They want someone who is big and strong. If hit, will get right back up and hit 10 times harder. Someone who will have the confidence who will kick someone out of the line up, just their name makes you scared. Take football for example. “In 2014, the NCAA deemed the issue of mental health

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