Athletes face immense pressure to perform at their peak athletic ability and maintain mental resilience. By increasing awareness and fostering a supportive sports culture, we can collectively de-stigmatize mental health concerns encourage help-seeking behaviors among athletes.

Sports culture asserts that athletes must showcase physical strength while maintaining mental toughness. The intense balance of giving 110% to sport demands often results in athletes experiencing mental health concerns like anxiety, depression, eating disorders, or even burnout. Unfortunately, many barriers stand in the way of athletes seeking help when they need it most.

All athletes experience injuries differently. Some may take injuries in stride whereas others find themselves working through the stages of grief and managing unfamiliar and disruptive psychological symptoms. Following are five tips for coping with injuries in addition to signs that an athlete may require mental health support while recovering from injury.

Athletes face many unique pressures in sport which puts them at risk for developing eating disorders. Many athletes struggle with anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder, and orthorexia. Each of these eating disorders has serious psychological and medical implications regardless of how an athlete looks.

A consistent practice of gratitude is a key to unlocking an athlete’s ability to master psychological suffering.

Meditation and the flow state share common ground in their emphasis on present moment awareness. The practice of meditation can enhance athletes’ abilities to enter flow state in competition.