With time, keeping a check on one's mental health has become a primary element of life. Research shows that people often tend to get disorders before the age of eighteen - be it anxiety, depression, eating disorder, or insomnia; the majority of illnesses take place in teens. A significant reason behind these is childhood traumas that we think we have overcome. However, in actuality, they linger at the back of our minds, waiting for a trigger.
Usually, kids are treated well and cared for as soon as a symptom is seen. However, on the other hand, its is young elite athletes who mostly remain neglected in this aspect.
mali maeder /Pexels | The Pain Behind Every Swim mustn't be ignored before it's too late.
What Does Recent Research Say About This Group?
Young elite athletes are the teenagers who appear for their city at national and international levels. If a player turns out to be efficient, there is a high chance that they pursue this as their profession in the long run. Statistics of clinical reports have proved that around 7% of the youth athletes were suffering from anxiety, 9% had depression, and around 20% of the sportsmen had at least one mental illness that was not yet discovered. Talking about genders, females are very highly suspected to have psychopathology.
Why Are They Ignored?
Being a sportsperson having ideal physical health is not all - one should be in perfect mental health, too. Imagine your team player appearing internationally and ending up having a panic attack in the middle of the match. It will be disastrous for everyone, no? That is why kids often try their best to hide what they feel because of the fear of not being selected or being kicked out of the team.
Being disqualified from the team means losing their meaning in life. When trainers don't focus on the peculiar behavior of their teammates, how is the child supposed to be courageous enough to see a psychiatrist or even talk about how they feel?
Allan Mas /Pexels | A good trainer does not ignore, but notices what is up with his team players.
The Disastrous Impact Of Not Taking This Seriously
There are arguments over why there is an urgent need to research the mental illness of this specific group and why, out of the blue, these kids are being made vulnerable in their strong, emotionless careers. A man of understanding wouldn't even question this in the first place.
When hitting puberty, or basically teenage, adolescents go through different hormonal changes, affecting their performances and behavior. Be it an athlete or an ordinary kid, looking into this matter at that specific age is elementary because, as for the athletes, in the long run, it can affect them disastrously and may jeopardize their performance later.
Anastasia Shuraeva /Pexels | Not just the outer, but the internal injuries should be treated too.
So, would you rather take care of your team now or lose your significant players years later solely because of your negligence?