Mental Health & Sports: Reflections from Two Former Athletes Turned Holistic Mental Health Therapists
Since becoming holistic mental health therapists, we often find ourselves reflecting on our past life experiences and seeing things from new perspectives.
We often reflect specifically on our lives as former athletes and how we spent the majority of our lives playing sports. Nick was a former Division 1 athlete and Nicole played sports and did contemporary dance from ages 7 to 21 years old. We both enjoyed being athletes and being great at our sports, but it wasn’t always easy. Both of us had our own unique challenges when it came to our personal lives and athletic careers.
It’s amazing to think about how we somehow managed to make it through hours of practice, games, film, weight lifting, and travel all while handling other life responsibilities. Now looking back on our experience, we find ourselves wondering how our mental health was holding up back then.
When we were growing up playing sports, we didn’t recall other athletes, coaches, trainers, fans, or the media openly talking about mental health and sports. If there were conversations about mental health back then, we imagine we would have taken better care of ourselves - mentally, physically, and emotionally. Not only do we think that these discussions about mental health would have helped to improve our sports performance and helped us to become better athletes, but we also believe that these discussions would have made a significant impact on our personal lives as well.
Many professional athletes speak out about mental health today
But, mental health awareness in sports culture still has a long way to go. Although various sports leagues and programs are increasing access to mental health resources for athletes, the majority of sports programs are still lacking. Unfortunately, many athletes, coaches, trainers, universities, and programs are still uneducated on the importance of mental health and more specifically how sports can have a negative impact on athletes’ mental health.
Although we wish conversations about mental health had taken place when we were playing sports, we’re now able to use our past experiences as athletes to help current athletes navigate their own mental health journey and help them discover healthy coping skills. Due to our personal experiences as athletes, we can relate to many of our athlete clients’ experiences. We believe that our athlete clients find comfort in knowing that they can talk to someone who gets it. Through our therapy practice, we’ve helped athletes experience the following:
expand their emotional vocabulary
reduce anxiety and performance anxiety
enhance their sports performance
improve their communication skills
have healthier relationships and boundaries with others (i.e. teammates, coaches, family, friends)
experience increased self-confidence
feel more connected to their bodies (i.e. increased awareness of various body sensations and somatic experiencing)
We have seen many of our athlete clients not only excel in their sport after going to therapy, but also improve their overall well-being. We’re grateful to be holistic mental health therapists who use the lessons that we learned as athletes to help today’s athletes live more fulfilling lives.
Begin Working With A Sports Therapist in Honolulu, HI
As an athlete, you deserve support in navigating your mental health concerns. Our team of caring therapists would be happy to offer in-person and online services to help you in your mental health journey. To start your therapy journey with Milk and Honey Therapy, please follow these simple steps:
Meet with a caring therapist
Start taking addressing your emotions in a more healthy way and excel in your sport!
Other Services Offered with Milk and Honey Therapy
Our team understands you may face a number of mental health concerns as you navigate your mental health journey. This is why we are happy to offer a variety of services to support you. We offer services to support kids, teens, and young adults which include PTSD and trauma treatment, depression treatment, and play therapy. Other mental health services offered include anxiety therapy, EMDR therapy, faith-based therapy, ADHD treatment, and therapy for athletes. If you are looking for more support, contact us or visit our blog. We offer in-person therapy in Honolulu, HI, and online therapy in North Carolina. We look forward to working with you!
