May’s Mental Health Awareness Month is a meaningful time to spotlight the importance of emotional well-being and challenge the stigma that still surrounds mental health. To amplify the message that seeking help is a sign of strength and not weakness, Counslr is proud to partner with Sack the Stigma, a mental health advocacy organization dedicated to ending the silence around mental health within athletics on and off the field. Together, we aim to normalize seeking help, remove barriers to mental health support, build resilience, and foster healthier communities through education, advocacy, and innovation.
When we think about athletes, we often admire their physical endurance, discipline, strength, and the way they perform under pressure. But what’s often left out of the conversation is the mental and emotional challenges that come in and outside the game.
In this blog, Sack the Stigma’s Director of Philanthropy and Communications, Carly Silverstein, MSW, shares insights from working closely with elite performers. As a clinician who works with athletes of all levels—including youth, collegiate, and professional—she understands firsthand the importance of athletes prioritizing their mental health, just like everybody else. You can be a top performer and still struggle. Sometimes, being strong means allowing yourself to be vulnerable.
Stigma & Silence: The Cultural Expectations of “Mental Toughness” and Its Consequences
Athletes are often expected to be superheroes: always tough, and unshaken by pressure, pain, or personal challenges. But according to Athletes for Hope, 33% of college students have experienced significant mental health symptoms from depression, anxiety, or other mental conditions. Only 30% of those students seek help. For college athletes, the number is even lower, with only 10% of those struggling reaching out for support. This can be due to many reasons, including fear of losing their starting spot or growing up in an unsupportive environment where they were told to simply “toughen up” from coaches, family members, or friends who may not understand the reality of mental health.
Everyone has mental health. We do not all have a diagnosed mental illness, but we all have mental health, just like we all have physical health. In my work, I’ve found this concept to be difficult to comprehend for many because mental health is not always visible. A broken bone shows up on an X-ray, and then you get placed in a cast until it has healed. The process is relatively straightforward: the problem is obvious, support is expected, the treatment is clear, and the resolution is visible. But with mental health, the signs can be harder to see, which makes it easier to overlook or dismiss what someone is going through. The symptoms often show up in ways that you can feel but others can’t always see. Sometimes symptoms are apparent, such as the inability to get out of bed or the inability to sit still. However, most of the time, unless you know someone really well or have been educated on the signs and symptoms, you cannot always realize that someone is struggling.
The Signs and the Toll
Some signs you may notice in others include always showing up late, losing motivation for things they used to love, shutting down and withdrawing socially, and constantly getting sick. These signs are also things you should look for in yourself, along with noticing how you talk to yourself, your sleep habits, your mood changes, your energy levels, and your tendency to worry.
(Check out Sack the Stigma’s “Mental Health Playbooks” campaign to learn more about signs or symptoms in you or someone else, and explore the “Emotional Roller Coasters” campaign to better understand and normalize emotional ups and downs.)
These struggles can take a toll not just emotionally, but physically, too. It is important to realize that mental health has a massive impact on our physical health. I’ve seen how bottling up our emotions and keeping them inside can have many long-term consequences. You are more likely to sustain an injury, develop long-term heart health issues, or get sick due to a weaker immune system. Sometimes, our mental health struggles can hide behind illness or other physical ailments. When you mask your emotions, your performance in school, work, and athletics may suffer, and your relationships are likely to be negatively affected.
Where to Start
Since mental health struggles can be difficult to see, it is tempting to hide them, stay silent, and try to navigate things alone. People think they need to have mental toughness. I like to rephrase it as “mental strength.” You have to train your mind, just like you train your body. People need to go to therapy when they are not doing well mentally, just like they go to a doctor when they break a bone. Every time you practice a mental skill you are doing a mental rep, just as every time you lift a weight you are doing a physical rep. We need all types of reps in order to be our best selves, in and out of our sports.
Sacking the Stigma is about normalizing seeking help for mental health by creating open conversations and sharing available resources. Usually, when you hear someone else’s story, you connect in some way. Vulnerability saves lives. You are never alone, and sharing stories with others allows you to find similarities with those around you.
Still, opening up can be scary. Where do you begin?
- Watch videos of people opening up about their mental health. This can help you feel less alone. Many athletes have begun to share their stories, which has created an incredible ripple effect.
- Find someone in your life who you trust and feel comfortable sharing your feelings with. This can be a friend, family member, coach, or anyone else you can comfortably rely on.
- Seek professional help. To start, look for mental health resources at your school or place of employment. Finding the right counselor may take some time and can be a lot like dating. You might not find your perfect match immediately, but when you do, the impact on your mental health can be very powerful.
- Do mental reps. Learn mental skills that will build up your mental strength. There are many you can practice, including but not limited to meditation, journaling, gratitude, and improving your self talk.
Remember, being “tough” is not about hiding. True toughness, or what I call strength, comes from taking care of yourself emotionally and physically. Trying to solve things yourself and bottling things up is incredibly exhausting. It is hard to open up and seek help, but nothing of value comes easily. You can help Sack the Stigma by seeking support, sharing your story, and being a mental health advocate. You may transform many lives, including your own.
The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and should not be attributed to Counslr, Inc., its partners, its employees, or any other mental health professionals Counslr employs. You should review this information and any questions regarding your specific circumstances with a medical professional. The content provided here is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as counseling, therapy, or professional medical advice.
May’s Mental Health Awareness Month is a meaningful time to spotlight the importance of emotional well-being and challenge the stigma that still surrounds mental health. To amplify the message that seeking help is a sign of strength and not weakness, Counslr is proud to partner with Sack the Stigma, a mental health advocacy organization dedicated to ending the silence around mental health within athletics on and off the field. Together, we aim to normalize seeking help, remove barriers to mental health support, build resilience, and foster healthier communities through education, advocacy, and innovation.
When we think about athletes, we often admire their physical endurance, discipline, strength, and the way they perform under pressure. But what’s often left out of the conversation is the mental and emotional challenges that come in and outside the game.
In this blog, Sack the Stigma’s Director of Philanthropy and Communications, Carly Silverstein, MSW, shares insights from working closely with elite performers. As a clinician who works with athletes of all levels—including youth, collegiate, and professional—she understands firsthand the importance of athletes prioritizing their mental health, just like everybody else. You can be a top performer and still struggle. Sometimes, being strong means allowing yourself to be vulnerable.
Stigma & Silence: The Cultural Expectations of “Mental Toughness” and Its Consequences
Athletes are often expected to be superheroes: always tough, and unshaken by pressure, pain, or personal challenges. But according to Athletes for Hope, 33% of college students have experienced significant mental health symptoms from depression, anxiety, or other mental conditions. Only 30% of those students seek help. For college athletes, the number is even lower, with only 10% of those struggling reaching out for support. This can be due to many reasons, including fear of losing their starting spot or growing up in an unsupportive environment where they were told to simply “toughen up” from coaches, family members, or friends who may not understand the reality of mental health.
Everyone has mental health. We do not all have a diagnosed mental illness, but we all have mental health, just like we all have physical health. In my work, I’ve found this concept to be difficult to comprehend for many because mental health is not always visible. A broken bone shows up on an X-ray, and then you get placed in a cast until it has healed. The process is relatively straightforward: the problem is obvious, support is expected, the treatment is clear, and the resolution is visible. But with mental health, the signs can be harder to see, which makes it easier to overlook or dismiss what someone is going through. The symptoms often show up in ways that you can feel but others can’t always see. Sometimes symptoms are apparent, such as the inability to get out of bed or the inability to sit still. However, most of the time, unless you know someone really well or have been educated on the signs and symptoms, you cannot always realize that someone is struggling.
The Signs and the Toll
Some signs you may notice in others include always showing up late, losing motivation for things they used to love, shutting down and withdrawing socially, and constantly getting sick. These signs are also things you should look for in yourself, along with noticing how you talk to yourself, your sleep habits, your mood changes, your energy levels, and your tendency to worry.
(Check out Sack the Stigma’s “Mental Health Playbooks” campaign to learn more about signs or symptoms in you or someone else, and explore the “Emotional Roller Coasters” campaign to better understand and normalize emotional ups and downs.)
These struggles can take a toll not just emotionally, but physically, too. It is important to realize that mental health has a massive impact on our physical health. I’ve seen how bottling up our emotions and keeping them inside can have many long-term consequences. You are more likely to sustain an injury, develop long-term heart health issues, or get sick due to a weaker immune system. Sometimes, our mental health struggles can hide behind illness or other physical ailments. When you mask your emotions, your performance in school, work, and athletics may suffer, and your relationships are likely to be negatively affected.
Where to Start
Since mental health struggles can be difficult to see, it is tempting to hide them, stay silent, and try to navigate things alone. People think they need to have mental toughness. I like to rephrase it as “mental strength.” You have to train your mind, just like you train your body. People need to go to therapy when they are not doing well mentally, just like they go to a doctor when they break a bone. Every time you practice a mental skill you are doing a mental rep, just as every time you lift a weight you are doing a physical rep. We need all types of reps in order to be our best selves, in and out of our sports.
Sacking the Stigma is about normalizing seeking help for mental health by creating open conversations and sharing available resources. Usually, when you hear someone else’s story, you connect in some way. Vulnerability saves lives. You are never alone, and sharing stories with others allows you to find similarities with those around you.
Still, opening up can be scary. Where do you begin?
- Watch videos of people opening up about their mental health. This can help you feel less alone. Many athletes have begun to share their stories, which has created an incredible ripple effect.
- Find someone in your life who you trust and feel comfortable sharing your feelings with. This can be a friend, family member, coach, or anyone else you can comfortably rely on.
- Seek professional help. To start, look for mental health resources at your school or place of employment. Finding the right counselor may take some time and can be a lot like dating. You might not find your perfect match immediately, but when you do, the impact on your mental health can be very powerful.
- Do mental reps. Learn mental skills that will build up your mental strength. There are many you can practice, including but not limited to meditation, journaling, gratitude, and improving your self talk.
Remember, being “tough” is not about hiding. True toughness, or what I call strength, comes from taking care of yourself emotionally and physically. Trying to solve things yourself and bottling things up is incredibly exhausting. It is hard to open up and seek help, but nothing of value comes easily. You can help Sack the Stigma by seeking support, sharing your story, and being a mental health advocate. You may transform many lives, including your own.
The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and should not be attributed to Counslr, Inc., its partners, its employees, or any other mental health professionals Counslr employs. You should review this information and any questions regarding your specific circumstances with a medical professional. The content provided here is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as counseling, therapy, or professional medical advice.
Making Mental Health Part of the Game Every Day
May’s Mental Health Awareness Month is a meaningful time to spotlight the importance of emotional well-being and challenge the stigma that still surrounds mental health. To amplify the message that seeking help is a sign of strength and not weakness, Counslr is proud to partner with Sack the Stigma, a mental health advocacy organization dedicated to ending the silence around mental health within athletics on and off the field. Together, we aim to normalize seeking help, remove barriers to mental health support, build resilience, and foster healthier communities through education, advocacy, and innovation.
When we think about athletes, we often admire their physical endurance, discipline, strength, and the way they perform under pressure. But what’s often left out of the conversation is the mental and emotional challenges that come in and outside the game.
In this blog, Sack the Stigma’s Director of Philanthropy and Communications, Carly Silverstein, MSW, shares insights from working closely with elite performers. As a clinician who works with athletes of all levels—including youth, collegiate, and professional—she understands firsthand the importance of athletes prioritizing their mental health, just like everybody else. You can be a top performer and still struggle. Sometimes, being strong means allowing yourself to be vulnerable.
Stigma & Silence: The Cultural Expectations of “Mental Toughness” and Its Consequences
Athletes are often expected to be superheroes: always tough, and unshaken by pressure, pain, or personal challenges. But according to Athletes for Hope, 33% of college students have experienced significant mental health symptoms from depression, anxiety, or other mental conditions. Only 30% of those students seek help. For college athletes, the number is even lower, with only 10% of those struggling reaching out for support. This can be due to many reasons, including fear of losing their starting spot or growing up in an unsupportive environment where they were told to simply “toughen up” from coaches, family members, or friends who may not understand the reality of mental health.
Everyone has mental health. We do not all have a diagnosed mental illness, but we all have mental health, just like we all have physical health. In my work, I’ve found this concept to be difficult to comprehend for many because mental health is not always visible. A broken bone shows up on an X-ray, and then you get placed in a cast until it has healed. The process is relatively straightforward: the problem is obvious, support is expected, the treatment is clear, and the resolution is visible. But with mental health, the signs can be harder to see, which makes it easier to overlook or dismiss what someone is going through. The symptoms often show up in ways that you can feel but others can’t always see. Sometimes symptoms are apparent, such as the inability to get out of bed or the inability to sit still. However, most of the time, unless you know someone really well or have been educated on the signs and symptoms, you cannot always realize that someone is struggling.
The Signs and the Toll
Some signs you may notice in others include always showing up late, losing motivation for things they used to love, shutting down and withdrawing socially, and constantly getting sick. These signs are also things you should look for in yourself, along with noticing how you talk to yourself, your sleep habits, your mood changes, your energy levels, and your tendency to worry.
(Check out Sack the Stigma’s “Mental Health Playbooks” campaign to learn more about signs or symptoms in you or someone else, and explore the “Emotional Roller Coasters” campaign to better understand and normalize emotional ups and downs.)
These struggles can take a toll not just emotionally, but physically, too. It is important to realize that mental health has a massive impact on our physical health. I’ve seen how bottling up our emotions and keeping them inside can have many long-term consequences. You are more likely to sustain an injury, develop long-term heart health issues, or get sick due to a weaker immune system. Sometimes, our mental health struggles can hide behind illness or other physical ailments. When you mask your emotions, your performance in school, work, and athletics may suffer, and your relationships are likely to be negatively affected.
Where to Start
Since mental health struggles can be difficult to see, it is tempting to hide them, stay silent, and try to navigate things alone. People think they need to have mental toughness. I like to rephrase it as “mental strength.” You have to train your mind, just like you train your body. People need to go to therapy when they are not doing well mentally, just like they go to a doctor when they break a bone. Every time you practice a mental skill you are doing a mental rep, just as every time you lift a weight you are doing a physical rep. We need all types of reps in order to be our best selves, in and out of our sports.
Sacking the Stigma is about normalizing seeking help for mental health by creating open conversations and sharing available resources. Usually, when you hear someone else’s story, you connect in some way. Vulnerability saves lives. You are never alone, and sharing stories with others allows you to find similarities with those around you.
Still, opening up can be scary. Where do you begin?
- Watch videos of people opening up about their mental health. This can help you feel less alone. Many athletes have begun to share their stories, which has created an incredible ripple effect.
- Find someone in your life who you trust and feel comfortable sharing your feelings with. This can be a friend, family member, coach, or anyone else you can comfortably rely on.
- Seek professional help. To start, look for mental health resources at your school or place of employment. Finding the right counselor may take some time and can be a lot like dating. You might not find your perfect match immediately, but when you do, the impact on your mental health can be very powerful.
- Do mental reps. Learn mental skills that will build up your mental strength. There are many you can practice, including but not limited to meditation, journaling, gratitude, and improving your self talk.
Remember, being “tough” is not about hiding. True toughness, or what I call strength, comes from taking care of yourself emotionally and physically. Trying to solve things yourself and bottling things up is incredibly exhausting. It is hard to open up and seek help, but nothing of value comes easily. You can help Sack the Stigma by seeking support, sharing your story, and being a mental health advocate. You may transform many lives, including your own.
The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and should not be attributed to Counslr, Inc., its partners, its employees, or any other mental health professionals Counslr employs. You should review this information and any questions regarding your specific circumstances with a medical professional. The content provided here is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as counseling, therapy, or professional medical advice.
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