Mental Health Awareness

Yaaay!!! šŸ™ŒšŸ½ā€¦. Itā€™s Mental Health Awareness Week from May 13 to 19 May so I thoughtā€¦.

Letā€™s talkā€¦. Footballers and Mental Health ! šŸ§ ā›‘ļøšŸ©ŗ

Admittedly, we all need to take care of our mental health, especially if we work in high pressure environments. However, can you imagine having to handle that pressure living under a microscope in front of millions of people watching you in 4K Ultra HD every week, and having both your personal and professional lives scrutinised constantly? This is ā€œLIFEā€ for majority of professional footballers.

The theme this year isā€¦

āœ³ļø ā€œMovement: Moving more for our mental healthā€āœ³ļø

The Mental Health Foundationā€™s website states that: ā€œEven a short burst of 10 minutes’ brisk walking can boost our mood and increase our mental alertness and energy. Movement helps us feel better about our bodies and improve self-esteem. It can also help reduce stress and anxiety and help us to sleep better.ā€

Wellā€¦. ā€œMoving Moreā€ is certainly something I need to do šŸ˜…, but I donā€™t think itā€™s something I need to preach to any footballers about āš½ļøšŸƒšŸ½. The footballers I know are extremely hardworking and donā€™t stop moving. They are under constant pressure to be at their best. Thereā€™s pressure from fans, who have paid for season tickets and want to see their teams at the top of the table; thereā€™s pressure from the coaches whose jobs are on the line, thereā€™s pressure from sponsors, investors and teammates, and in addition there is the internal pressure from the footballers themselves to be the best they can be! What a lot of people forget is that footballers are human, the same as the rest of us. YESā€¦ some of them appear ā€œsuper humanā€ and get paid good dosh, but they still feel the same emotions we all do!

In my time working with footballers Iā€™ve had to manage the frustrations after a bad game/red card; the hurt after being racially abused; the concerns about the future; personal relationship breakdowns; the feelings of loneliness in a new team/country; the financial pressures from family back home; the tears after a bad injury; the disappointment of no playing time; the feeling of rejection after being released by a club; the depression that comes from being owed salaries; the feeling of grief, having lost a loved one and being far away from home, and the list goes on! Some of these are actually experienced by footballers who are barely adults. Despite all this, they get up, go onto the pitch with smiles and entertain us.

As much as itā€™s certainly not all doom and gloom, the ā€œhiddenā€, not so great moments can have a huge negative impact on the mental health šŸ’”.

Yes, I believe that some stress is good because it stretches you, motivates you and pushes you to the next level, but when it becomes excessive you need to reevaluate šŸ˜°

Letā€™s keep mooooving, and experiencing the natural high of endorphinsā€¦ itā€™s free and healthy šŸ™ŒšŸ½

Have a great week! ā¤ļø


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