College Athletes Have High Levels of Anxiety

By Mekonnen Eon 

Stonehill News Staff Writer 

 

Student athletes set a precedent for over 19.7 million students in universities across the United States every single day- and the pressure of being a “precedent setter,” leads to student athletes having a much higher rate of anxiety than their non-athlete counterparts, a recent study by the NCAA suggests. 

 

The NCAA states that student athletes are, “Pillars of their community, and must set an example for those around them. Student at
hletes are leaders on their campus who identify key values and build character not just for themselves, but for their teammates and the institution.” 

 

However, these student-leaders have shown an exponentially higher rate of anxiety than their peers who do not participate in collegiate athletics- according to a study conducted by the NCAA in 2021, 25% of male and 45% of female collegiate athletes feel overwhelmed by their responsibilities, and 12% of male and 29% of female athletes feel overwhelming anxiety. 

 

While already prevalent, anxiety only grows more prevalent when applied to athletes in marginalized groups, with 38% of men and 54% of women on the queer-spectrum feeling mentally exhausted, and 29% of men and 51% of women on the queer-spectrum feeling overwhelming anxiety.  

 

Athletes of color also show anxiety and mental exhaustion at a much higher rate, with 65% of these athletes, men and women, feeling overwhelmed by their responsibilities, and 46% of these athletes feeling overwhelming anxiety.  

 

William Halsey LMHC, a mental health specialist in the state of Massachusetts who frequently deals with athletes, has multiple hypotheses for why athletes may feel that they are extremely pressured, or face more anxiety than one may think. 

 

Halsey talked in length about the feelings of pressure many athletes face, as well as the expectation many athletes have developed from a young age to be “great,” always. 

 

“This notion of preconceived greatness places a lot of pressure on the shoulders of someone, sometimes before they are even a preteen, and this notion placed in their head that they must be special or be great can be a weight on their shoulders,” Halsey said. 

 

Halsey also spoke about what the common pressures the athletes in his care face, and what outside factors athletes must worry about aside from just performing on the field, court, ice or track. 

 

Many athletes, according to Halsey, also face large pressure in academia as well. Athletes are frequently expected to maintain higher GPA’s than their peers who do not participate in sports, and to add to this, some coaches can be overbearing. 

 

“Some coaches can be very demanding of their athletes and ask a lot of them, putting them under more extra pressure. Athletes can sometimes be completely overwhelmed by the fact that, in simple terms, they carry two separate full-time jobs that are, to a degree, not intended to complement one another,” Halsey said.  

 

Halsey also spoke on the inflated figures of mental exhaustion and anxiety in marginalized groups, speaking about the experiences relayed to him by his patients. 

 

“Unfortunately, due to the world we live in, people of color and those who don’t identify as straight already have a lot more on their plate to deal with than others in similar situations. Add in the stress of college athletics, and the worries that these athletes may have with fitting in in a locker room where they may not feel represented, or may feel out of place, it’s no surprise that these individuals are more prone to anxiety and burnout,” Halsey said.  

 

Louis Warner, a sophomore at Stonehill College and a member of both the cross country and track teams, has similar thoughts to Halsey about the pressures he faces as an athlete. 

 

Warner is a three-season competitor at Stonehill College, and only has five to six weeks off from running throughout the entirety of a calendar year. The Cross-Country team meets for practice six days a week, and this schedule continues into the winter months and the indoor track season. 

 

 “I can’t speak on other sports, but Cross Country and Track is like having a part time job. We are at practice minimum of 18 hours a week, and while that might not sound like much, adding that onto my course load makes for many long, tiring weeks strung together in a row,” Warner said.  

 

Warner also echoed similar sentiments on Halsey on the topic of internal pressure, and what effects that has on him in his day-to-day life. Warner spoke of his own internal expectations to be great, and the new challenge he is greeted with by his new competitors at other schools. 

 

 “Of course, I expect myself to perform at a high level. I was the smartest, most athletic guy in my high school, and when you end up a college athlete, and are now running against a ton of other people who were the smartest, most athletic people in their high school, the pressure to be special does get bigger,” Warner said.  

 

However, considering all of this, there is one last thing that Halsey wants people to consider when it comes to student athletes, and the relatively large figures concerning anxiety. 

 

“One thing I think a lot of people overlook when considering this situation is the idea that the pressures placed on student athletes are all related to the school or the coach or the sport itself. At times, the pressures placed on student athletes are other, unrelated mental health problems being magnified by the increased stress these individuals are put under. While we have certainly seen a mental-health crisis among collegiate athletes as of late, we also must realize the bigger picture of there being a mental health crisis across the country as a whole,” Halsey said.  

 

With the NCAA currently conducting their fall 2022 rendition of the student-athlete mental health survey, one can ponder the results with some words of wisdom from Warner. 

 

“While every day can feel like a battle, it’s a battle worth fighting. My teammates are like a band of brothers to me, and while I’m sure plenty of the athletes in that survey feel tired, stressed out and just plain done, I can also assure you that plenty of them wouldn’t give up their sport for anything,” Warner said.