Mental Health - Student-Athletes & College Students

[cwdickens]

Since I have become aware of @grayed danes_nil Instagram account, my awareness of the broader issues facing our student-athletes and students in general has been dramticly increased.  Once again, @grayed danes_nil has touched on a subject that I have never seen spoken about: the mental health of our student-athletes.  Worth the read:

grayed_danes_nil

 

Ava Poupard (attack) - junior out of New City, NY.

But this post is not about lacrosse - this is about Ava Poupard the person and the work she does promoting mental health on campus.

Ava is president of a campus organization called “The Hidden Opponent” - a nonprofit advocacy group that raises awareness for student-athlete mental health and addresses stigmas within sports culture.

Here are some statistics for you to chew on:

>> 35% of elite athletes suffer from a mental health crisis which may manifest as stress, eating disorders, burnout, or depression and anxiety.

>> About 25% of college athletes in a study experienced “clinically relevant” levels of depressive symptoms.

>> 30% of student-athletes have reported feeling overwhelmed.

>> Approximately 33% of NCAA men experience depressive symptoms and anxiety.

>> Roughly 50% of participating NCAA student-athletes reported levels of anxiety and 40% reported symptoms of depression.

Local news (Spectrum) did a piece on Ava recently and I have edited down the video into two parts. It's worth taking a couple minutes to watch.

So yes, I'm an Ava Poupard fan...and to show my allegiance I just bought two Ava Poupard shirts from the NIL merch store for me and my niece to wear to the home opener. Of course it will probably be like 14 degrees out so you won't see them.

I put a link to the NIL merch store in our bio - go support our student-athletes and pick up some swag. I heard if you buy a Piseno shirt if comes with a free fake beard.