On athlete mental health and what's unique about the sporting environment that gives rise to mental health concerns with Kelly Hee, licensed clinical social worker
This is such a great interview. I’ve been thinking along similar lines as an athlete (former athlete?) later in life. In my late 40s, letting go of my identity as a runner has been really hard. So has letting go of running itself. There’s something at the nexus of mental health, physical health, identity, and menopause that is gnawing at me. I was wholly unprepared for what this phase of life would bring, and how it and chronic illness have impacted my experience of my body has been so fucking hard. If younger people are developing these skills much earlier in life, I hope that will enable them to better navigate what’s down the road as they age. Not to mention how it will positively impact their experience of their sport in the short term.
"There’s something at the nexus of mental health, physical health, identity, and menopause that is gnawing at me." << KIM!!! This is me and I cannot wrap my head around it. It's a total mindfuck sometimes. And honestly, all I want is for young people to have this information and these skills earlier on in life for these exact reasons.
I loved this conversation! It resonated so strongly with my personal experiences of coping with injury when my entire world was built around sport. We are not the sum total of what we do, but dang - it's so hard to remember that sometimes. Thank you so much for sharing this and making mental health more visible. Sincerely, a human / runner / clinical social worker / big fan.
So much of this resonates with me personally and, as a now Licensed Professional Counselor, it's hard to take what I know and apply it to what I'm battling. However, I now also teach graduate student athletic counselors and I will definitely share this article with them! I feel like I need to zoom you in for a class and just have a big, amazing, daring discussion about all of this! P.S. - I MISS YOU!
Thanks for this Q&A. I recommend listening to the Rich Roll podcast with Tim Tollefson (second half of the interview is better than first half so stick with it).
This is such a great interview. I’ve been thinking along similar lines as an athlete (former athlete?) later in life. In my late 40s, letting go of my identity as a runner has been really hard. So has letting go of running itself. There’s something at the nexus of mental health, physical health, identity, and menopause that is gnawing at me. I was wholly unprepared for what this phase of life would bring, and how it and chronic illness have impacted my experience of my body has been so fucking hard. If younger people are developing these skills much earlier in life, I hope that will enable them to better navigate what’s down the road as they age. Not to mention how it will positively impact their experience of their sport in the short term.
"There’s something at the nexus of mental health, physical health, identity, and menopause that is gnawing at me." << KIM!!! This is me and I cannot wrap my head around it. It's a total mindfuck sometimes. And honestly, all I want is for young people to have this information and these skills earlier on in life for these exact reasons.
I loved this conversation! It resonated so strongly with my personal experiences of coping with injury when my entire world was built around sport. We are not the sum total of what we do, but dang - it's so hard to remember that sometimes. Thank you so much for sharing this and making mental health more visible. Sincerely, a human / runner / clinical social worker / big fan.
It's so hard! I just want more of the conversations out in the world, mostly because I also need the reminder!!
So much of this resonates with me personally and, as a now Licensed Professional Counselor, it's hard to take what I know and apply it to what I'm battling. However, I now also teach graduate student athletic counselors and I will definitely share this article with them! I feel like I need to zoom you in for a class and just have a big, amazing, daring discussion about all of this! P.S. - I MISS YOU!
There's so much to unpack and discuss with all of this and I love that you are doing this work. And I miss you too!! It's been too long.
Thanks for this Q&A. I recommend listening to the Rich Roll podcast with Tim Tollefson (second half of the interview is better than first half so stick with it).
I have this episode queued up and have been meaning to listen to it! Moving it up to the top of my list to listen to.