Heininger's Mental Health Issues

Over the past two centuries sports have emerged into a hobby that a majority of the population takes part in. As the love for sports continues to grow the competition seems to be increasing as well. The expectation for athletes to perform at their very best, by either themselves, their parents or coaches, is extremely high. Along with high expectations comes much controversy over the fact that adolescent sports can cause mental health issues. There is evidence proven that over time the mental heath issues in adolescent athletes have increased since the beginning of sports. Several political ideas have been put into place, such as laws on concussions, that could help resolve the current issue of increasing mental health in athletes. As we see …show more content…
Including a Michigan football player who suffered from depression but, did not realize the symptoms until the effects on him were so great that he could no longer handle himself. The new divorce of his parents, a brand new home at college, and the expectation to play college football at a Division 1 school was all too much for Heininger. Over the period of his freshman year Heininger experienced signs of mental health issues, such as eating disorders, anxiety, mood swings, but most apparent depression. Heininger did not feel the need to seek help with his condition, and therefore suffered from these mental health issues for much longer than he should have. In the article “Mind, Body and Sport: How Being Injured Affects Mental Health” Putukian explains how mental health is an issue with athletes in every level. Injuries are part of any sport you play, they are unavoidable (Putukian), and because they are unavoidable many athletes have a hard time dealing with the fact they are taken away from their sport for a period of time. The athletes may have an involuntary emotional reaction to the the injury they suffered leaving them with anxiety, eating disorders or even depressed. Putukian explains that “How student-athletes respond to injury may differ, and there is no predictable sequence or reaction” (Putukian). She gives examples, such as the one of Heininger from Michigan, of how each mental health issue may further impact the athlete, and that there are ways to minimize greater issue than the initial