TRANSCRIPT
The mental health pressures facing elite athletes were seen on the world stage at this year's Paris Olympics and Paralympics.
36-year-old academic and competitive breakdancer Rachael Gunn - known as Raygunn - experienced firsthand the social media storm that can arise when a new sport is introduced on the Olympic schedule - and is not well-received by many who are unfamiliar with it.
More than three weeks after taking a step back from the public eye, she spoke to Channel Ten [[on 4 Sept]] about the experience.
"It was so fantastic that the next day the judging chair, M-G, came out and explained that in the breaking community, what I did actually wasn't very shocking. It's just a different approach in breaking. You have the athletic style breakers; and you also have the more artistic style breakers, and all of them are very valid. But of course there's been a portion of very angry and awful responses. Not only attacking me, but attacking my husband, attacking my crew, attacking the breaking and street dance community in Australia."
Now, researchers at Flinders University have provided an insight into the mental health pressures facing current and retired athletes in a new study of 946 current and retired athletes.
The participants - aged from 18 to 60-plus - anonymously self-reported on their experiences with a mental health issue and/or a diagnosed sleep problem.
They were residing in one of seven countries: Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Ireland, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Ashley Montero is the lead author of the paper, published in the journal, Australian Psychologist.
"It does appear slightly higher than the general population. We are not too sure exactly why, and we're trying to dig a little bit deeper to understand that and unpack that a bit more. But we think that a lot of this might be due to the stigma surrounding sleep and mental health within sport. And how athletes perceive the different support services around them; and their likeliness or willingness to seek help for them."
Mr Montero, a P-H-D candidate at Flinders University says it is the first international study that has looked at the intersection of mental health and diagnosed sleep disorders for a broad group of current and retired athletes.
"The male athletes were more likely to seek help from a sleep physician than a psychologist, for example, compared to women. Which does suggest that perhaps the perception that a sleep physician is more a medical issue rather than a mental health or a psychological issue might be a barrier that's preventing them. So also the self-reported rates as well. There are quite large differences between sleep and mental health problems. So we don't know whether it's necessarily mental health problems are more prevalent than sleep issues - or athletes are more likely to report mental health issues."
He says the findings also paint a clearer picture of the relationship between sleep problems and mental health issues.
"So I think this is a really great starting point to identify where these issues do lie and that can suggest areas and avenues in which we can look to improve support. So, whether that's trying to improve education strategies throughout an athlete's career; and trying to implement them after their retirement too. We often see quite a large disconnect in resource allocation between current athletes and retired athletes. So, once they leave the sport, they're often cut off from a lot of those resources that are available to them as athletes. So perhaps looking to minimise some of that disconnect in resources could help to facilitate healthier transitions out of sport."
Study co-author and P-H-D supervisor Professor Murray Drummond says the research really brings a level of rigour to understanding the problem - and the future direction for solutions.
He says he has also seen aspects of the problem from as a former athlete and now as an academic in the field.
He says being a triathlete and ironman was a major part of his life in the 1980s and 1990s.
"It does certainly become a part of your identity and who you are; because it just takes up so much of your life; and you're always surrounded by other high level athletes as well. Then once you've finished competing, they tend not to be your social circle anymore, and as a consequence of that, you tend to lose your social (and support) network."
He says then saw another dimension of the issue in his academic research.
"What we tend to find is that men still see mental health as a perceived weakness; or a flaw in their lives, and therefore they don't report. And a very good example is that I've done a lot of work in the area of men and body image, as well as eating disorders. And there are men who can have an eating disorder for 15 or 20 years and not realise they've actually had an eating disorder. That's where we need to provide significant amounts of education, both for men and women; and particularly for those athletes who are leading up to retirement as well. That's a really, really important area."
Mr Montero says the next stage of the research will be looking more closely at tailored programs to support athlete wellbeing, but he also says there is a takeaway for the general population too.
"One of the key things that we can take away from this research is the co-morbidity, especially for the general population. So, knowing that if your mental health or sleep is suffering, the other one is likely suffering too. So trying to see how we can intervene early - and better manage our mental health sleep, we can see improvements in other domain of our health too. So that can be a great step - or a great measure - to take away for people."
Mental health charity, The Top Blokes, was founded 18 years ago to promote wellbeing among at-risk young men aged 14-24.
It uses evidence-based peer-led social education programs to begin a conversation that is then supported through a mentoring process.
Daniel Allars [[Al-lars]] is the New South Wales state manager for The Top Blokes, who helps deliver the programs in primary schools and high schools.
He says in the early days, there was more resistance towards addressing mental health stigma, but there has been a shift.
"More people are open to having a conversation about men's mental health. But what I find actually is when you get a group of boys together; and create a space for them to be able to talk about it... If we go in and we showcase the vulnerability that we want to see from our young men - so by us sharing our stories, talking to our young people - then the young people actually really thrive and respond. And we see it a lot with the groups where young men will then start sharing their stories. And what's amazing for us is the support from the rest of the group; and to see them start to support each other. And that's what we're really looking for. It's not about us. It's about giving our young people the tools to be the best versions of themselves. And I think there really is a lot of hope, and we see it day to day in the work we do."
He says starting early - and with prevention in mind - is a really important component of building up the confidence in critical thinking - as well as establishing good daily habits for wellbeing.
"I just had a young man call me the other day to say that he got himself an apprenticeship. And he moved through some of the challenges that he was facing; and is now starting to see him living himself a bit more of a positive life, looking after his mental health. We call it the big six. So drinking water, so two litres a day; exercise, sleep; healthy eating; routine, and our hygiene. All of those six things in place to make sure we've got our foundations of mental health down."
As for social media, Mr Allars, says he has found the best approach is to empower young people to make more informed decisions.
"What we are seeing online - do we agree with that? Is that what we want to see, particularly with relationships and the way we talk about women, for example. Is that what I believe - is that what I want to see? And if it's not well, then is that something I want to buy into? So it's creating those spaces for men to be able to come together and talk the way that we need to; and the way we actually really enjoy once we're able to have that opportunity."
