The Real Cost of “Just Push Through It”: Male Athletes & Mental Health

But are these phrases encouraging positive mental well-being, or are they suggesting that it should be ignored to produce positive results?

There’s a pedestal that we put athletes, especially successful athletes, on. We expect them to always perform well on the biggest stages. We expect them always to show a positive, happy side of themselves. We expect new world record times and scores, and we expect them at every competition. These expectations don’t differ between sports either, we expect the same. We expect 100m runners to run faster than ever before, we expect snooker players to have more frequent 100+ breaks than ever before, we expect the next generation of football players to be better than their predecessors. We expect athletes to be similar to robots; to perform at the highest level at all times and not feel. But why are they different from us?

What are the differences?

Let’s break down the differences between a successful male athlete, and your average Joe. A male athlete is born and attends school, as does Joe. A male athlete finds something they are passionate about and wants to pursue it as a career, as does Joe. A male athlete starts to dedicate more of their time to their passion, before and after school and on weekends, as does Joe. A male athlete starts their career in their sport; they start training with a club and performing in competitions. Joe starts a job, where he constantly improves his skills, and goes for a promotion or a new job against other candidates. Joe comes home from work feeling down one day, and is struggling with his motivation to keep working. A male athlete comes back from a competition where they didn’t win, and struggles to be motivated to keep training. So where are the differences between us?

There aren’t too many differences between these two. The main exception is you don’t watch Joe on television at his desk in the office, filling out a spreadsheet, but you do watch a male athlete competing in the Olympics. So, if their job is the main difference, and we can acknowledge Joe's struggling with his mental well-being, why do we expect a male athlete to always be happy and well?

Joe isn’t in the public eye, his work and results are not there for all to see. An athlete is constantly judged by their coaches, fellow competitors and the general public. Athletes have recently started publicising their mental challenges within their sport and personal lives during interviews pre and post-competition.

Male Athletes' Experiences

Michael Phelps, 23-time Olympic gold medallist swimmer for the USA, explained that even after his record-breaking feat of winning 8 gold medals at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, he struggled with anxiety and depression. We expect that from Joe, after a tough few weeks in the office, but not from Michael. Michael explained that he “questioned whether or not [he] wanted to be alive anymore”. And it’s not just Michael who’s felt this way. Danny Rose, former England and Tottenham Hotspur football player, opened up about his mental well-being struggles during a traumatic time in his personal and professional life, saying “I was diagnosed with depression, which nobody knows about”.

London 2012 Olympic bronze medallist, rower James Foad opened up to the public and explained that he had felt that “What is the point in being around?” saying that “No one wants me around. I considered taking my life and took an overdose”. Similar experiences paved the way for the late Kobe Bryant to encourage fellow athletes to speak out and seek help when struggling, saying “I think it's important for athletes to own what it is that they're going through”. Bryant’s constant encouragement to others to face their problems and seek help is a positive message that needs to be sent out more. The British Journal of Sports Medicine have reported that a worryingly high 34% of current elite athletes have anxiety/depression disorders.

How can we support male athletes?

As members of the general public, we need to acknowledge that athletes are humans as well, and they are entitled to struggle as much as we are. They need support the same way we do and shouldn’t be shunned or viewed negatively for having mental health struggles. We need to encourage male athletes to change the view that having ill mental health is a weakness, and that speaking out and seeking help is a sign of true strength. It’s not just during a career, but when athletes finish their sporting career, the transition into the non-sporting world can be challenging, and they can struggle even more than they did during their career. Reports have suggested that 26% of retired athletes go on to struggle with their mental health, proving the continuation of ill mental health in male athletes. So what support is there? add-victor provides athletes with webinars and resources to help them build the foundation for future success.

Three crucial themes are highlighted throughout workshop delivery when supporting athlete transitions into a professional career:

1. “Planning an Exit Route Strategy” – exploring timelines, requirements and non-negotiables when it comes to next steps;
2. “Transferable Skills” – understanding the valuable skills developed through lifelong sporting competition and their value to organisations;
3. “CVs, Cover Letters & Interviews” – learning how to effectively communicate these transferable skills to prospective employers in a number of formats.

This proactive approach is becoming a standard part of athletic training, ensuring that athletes are not only prepared for competition but also for life beyond the field.

These phrases that encourage athletes to train through the dark times and encourage them to face their demons alone are not useful; they encourage isolation over collaboration. We must recognise that athletes are more similar to us than we think, and if we can struggle with mental health, so can they. SportsAid reports that 14% of athletes don’t feel comfortable asking for help, with over half of the male athletes reporting day-to-day anxiety. Let’s help them, the way we would want to be helped. Remember, if you were born with the weakness to fall, you were born with the strength to rise.

Jamie Smokler

Useful Resources & Links

• Our Knowledge Hub’s Blog Section, including individual success stories of athletes’ transition 
• Mind– UK national mental health charity offering some practical Toolkit Guides around sport activities as well as an anonymous online support platform called Side by Side (formerly Elefriends)
• Samaritans– UK & Ireland registered charity providing emotional support, through their helpline 116 123, plus through a self-help app, veterans app, and military & armed forces resources. Their international network, Befrienders Worldwide, includes 349 emotional support centres across 32 countries.
• Student Minds– UK student mental health charity, offering various support services for students, allied peers & parents, plus an array of ‘challenges of university life’ resources:
  • The University Mental Health Charter, a framework of principles for universities to uphold
  • 2 training courses in Mental Health in Sport& Look After Your Mate, should anyone like to develop their ability to support athletes & peers
• Movember– Leading charity changing the face of men’s health, with contact service lists and the Grow a Mo campaign raising awareness of their cause (I will be doing this in November)
• Neurodiverse Sport- not-for-profit organisation, founded by British former rower Caragh McMurtry & her husband Michael Mottram in 2022, as a platform for support, education, and advocacy about neurodiversity in sports 
• PMAC- UK-based organisation of mental health & wellbeing trainers providing psychologically-informed workplace training to businesses in the UK, helping to create a healthier and more productive working environment.
• To go further: if you’re a sports club/organisation, you can become a signatory of The Mental Health Charter for Sport and Recreation and access the members’ Case Studies, Training, and Resources.