Mental health in the Australian Football League

Mental health refers to a person's mental state, well-being, and ability to cope with the daily stresses of life. Good mental health also means that one has the ability to be mentally resilient, have a good life balance, having an absence of mental disorders and the ability to enjoy life. Elite athletes such as those competing in the Australian Football League(AFL), are at higher risk of developing a mental health disorders such as depression, anxiety, social anxiety, panic attacks and eating disorders. 16–34 years olds are also in the high risk category, which is the average age of a football player and extends to those who are being drafted, this puts AFL players in both high risk categories. A study conducted by Helen Christensen and Alison Parsons showed that 1 in 5 elite athletes suffered depressive symptoms. Playing elite sports is a great challenge emotionally, mentally as well as physically, some players can cope with all of these pressures while others cannot handle it and therefore suffer from a lack of mental health.

AFL players are often forced to conform to the norms but also have high expectations placed on them such as extraordinary behavior, appearance and performance. They are perceived to be tough, and mentally tough, if they conform to these norms and display qualities such as having self-belief, mental and emotional resilience and a tough attitude. They are also expected to be extremely masculine and not show signs of emotional stress and upset, if they show these signs they are then perceived as weak and tend to be dropped from the team or squad. Usually only 35% of elite athletes will seek help from a professional as they tend to believe they are alright and can get better by themselves. They tend to be worried about others finding out about these issues as there seems to be a social stigma that they are weak if they suffer from any of these problems. The masculine stereotypes associated with AFL players is a potential barrier for players to come out and talk about their mental health problems.

When a player exaggerates their negative performances or situations it often leads to mental health problems. Media has a big role in all of this. Players are constantly scrutinized about performance, the way they act, the way they look, etc., and the players then see this and tend to dwell on all of the negatives. This messes with the players psychologically and places an added pressure on them to perform and act better.

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