Sports are often celebrated, not just as a form of entertainment. But as a tool for empowerment, discipline and resilience. But for many girls, the path from secondary school athletics to adult women’s sports is riddled with difficult mental health hurdles. While a lot of attention is paid to skill, injury and prevention, the mental health challenges that accompany those experiences are often overlooked.
In fact, studies show that female athletes are at a higher risk for depression, anxiety and other mental health issues compared to their male counterparts. But why? And more importantly, how do we prevent it.
The Early Pressures of Adolescence
Girls in secondary school are at a delicate, formative age. Identity, self-worth and body image are all in constant flux, and the experiences they go through can have a very real and lasting impact. Taking part in sports, either solo or as part of a team should be a positive outlet and enjoyable activity. Yet many girls experience:
Performance anxiety: A pressure to win, to please coaches, to impress other students or to secure future opportunities can lead to chronic stress. According to research, teen athletes often report higher levels of anxiety and depression directly linked to performance expectations.
Fear of judgement: When asked about their feelings about their sport, girls often bring up the fear of being judged. The main worry is being judged on their appearance or their ability, particularly in co-ed environments like schools. In schools this fear is heightened even further, since peer validation is critical.
Perfectionism and burnout: Driven by both internal and external expectations, many young athletes develop an unhealthy level of perfectionism. A huge number of girls actually drop out of sports by the time they’re teenagers, and a disproportionate number of them are girls. When asked, mental fatigue and pressure are big contributors.
In fact, a survey of women found that 43% of girls who considered themselves sporty in primary school no longer identified that way as teenagers. The main reasons they gave? Fear of being judged (68%), lack of confidence (61%), as well as nearly half stating that academic pressures meant they didn’t have time for sports. The dropout from sports among teenage girls’ ads up to around 1.3 million girls, which is a truly staggering number.
Body Image, Puberty and Disordered Eating
Puberty brings on a host of physical and mental changes, many of which can interfere with athletic performance. A lot of those changes also form the basis of a girl’s view of herself for the rest of her life, and if the environment and thoughts are negative, girls can internalise some harmful beliefs. The most common results of this are body dissatisfaction and disordered eating.
As girls’ bodies change, sports, uniforms, weigh-ins and public scrutiny can all lead to an increased awareness of their body and body shame. Research has shown time and time again that body image plays a significant role in their experiences with sports, particularly their participation and enjoyment. It also has a strong link to depression and anxiety, which is why managing body image through positive representation is so important.
The other, and arguably more harmful issue these changes can cause is disordered eating. Eating disorders can and do affect both genders, but girls are over twice as likely to suffer from disordered eating than boys. The pressure to maintain an ‘ideal’ body type for performance and for aesthetic reasons can lead to many girls engaging in these unhealthy eating behaviours. Sports can actually add to this pressure. A 2020 study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that female athletes (of any age) are at a higher risk of developing eating disorders, particularly in sports that emphasize leanness, like gymnastics, ballet, running or figure skating.
So you see, the physical changes and challenges women go through don’t just affect their health – they chip away at self-esteem and create obsessive behaviours. But they often go undetected because of the ‘toughness’ culture in sports.
Injury, Identity and Mental Health
One of the risks involved with taking part in any sport at all is injury. All sports are very physically intensive, and the injuries can range from simple sprains or strains to broken bones or worse. Of course it’s a risk in all sports, but for girls the mental toll of injury can be just as bad. Athletes often tie their self-worth to their performance, so an injury can lead to a deep sense of purposelessness. It’s like a small loss of identity, especially if their recovery sidelines them for a long time.
Injured athletes also often experience loneliness and depression due to decreased social support while they’re injured. In fact, women are more prone to depression and anxiety than men are. There could be a few reasons for that, but it’s likely because of higher expectations around appearance and physical functionality, coupled with that lack of social support.
The Lack of Mental Health Support
Now here’s the big problem. With all of those pitfalls around mental health in women’s sports, why is mental health support not offered? Or even sought out by the girls and women who are struggling?
There are 3 possible reasons for this:
Stigma: The ‘strong female athlete’ trope often discourages girls and women from speaking out about their difficulties. They worry about looking weak, and maybe even losing their place on teams if they admit they’re struggling. So, they stay silent instead.
Limited Access: Many secondary schools and even colleges don’t have access to dedicated sports psychologists, or any mental health professionals. But 9 out of 10 student athletes have said they want access to more mental health resources, and 26% say that it can be too difficult to manage at times. Providing the access these students need and want could make all the difference.
Cultural Silence: In some communities, particularly among young athletes of colour, discussing mental health is still something of a taboo. This kind of cultural silence can make the symptoms harder to recognise and treat.
So How Can We Support Girls In Sports?
In order to genuinely support female athletes of any age, it’s not just about physical fitness. Mental and emotional health play a big part in not only their overall mental wellbeing, but their performance too. That means doing things like:
Normalise seeking help: Athletes are very aware of their physical health, with regular check-ins and active work. It should be exactly the same for mental health. Mental health check-ins should be done just as frequently as physical evaluations
Educating coaches and parents: Awareness at all levels is absolutely key. It shouldn’t just be the women or teens who are actively looking for help. Especially when a lot of the time, they might not know what help they need, or that they need help at all! Training should be given on how to spot mental health red flags to coaches and parents, so that everyone
Promoting body positivity: The promotion and media of women’s sports needs more diversity if you want to break some of these issues. Everything from uniforms, media coverage and even coaching language should support diverse bodies and identities.
Amplifying female voices: Seeing themselves reflected and represented in leadership is important for women and girls of any age. Coaches, psychologists, administrators, physiotherapists should all be of all shapes, sizes, faiths and backgrounds. It all matters deeply for girls seeking role models.
Girls and women in sports represent a strong, resilient and talented group. But they’re also human. They struggles, particularly mental ones, deserve the same attention and support as their triumphs. By listening to their stories and providing real resources, schools, colleges and sporting teams can make sure that the playing field isn’t just level, but compassionate. If you, or someone you know, is struggling, mental health support is available. At Melp, our mission is to provide support and mental health education to schools, as well as working with sports teams and initiatives. We want to bolster the exceptional women involved in every facet of sports. If you’d like to help us do this, or want to know more, all you need to do is click here.