Student Athletes Affected by Injury

http://pixshark.com/injured-college-athlete.htm

Have you ever thought about what those athletes for your team are feeling when they are being called out for not playing? According to an article on ncaa.org, “For some student-athletes, the psychological response to injury can trigger or unmask serious mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, disordered eating, and substance use or abuse. This article basically says how young athletes brains handle injury, and how they do not just affect the body part injured but how it can have an effect on your overall well-being. I agree that this can happen from being an athlete myself. There is not a worse feeling than having your teammates go out and play without you in whatever sport it is that you are playing. For NCAA student athletes, it is even worse because of what else is at stake. If an athlete gets injured it can put their scholarship at stake which can definitely cause distress.

According to the same article as mentioned above, the emotional responses include, “sadness, isolation, irritation, lack of motivation, anger, frustration, changes in appetite, sleep disturbance, and disengagement.” All of these can be signs of mental illnesses because of injuries that not just affected your performance in the sport you love, but also could have taken away your free education and a chance at the next level. The big thing with these athletes is that they think that it is the end from there and nothing can get better, which again goes back to the emotional responses above. My main thing to athletes to say is that life does go on after you are done with whatever sport you are in, and you should be prepared when it does.

Future Research: How are professional athletes affected by injury?