Yet, says Pope, it’s still considered “as a slight weakness if someone has to seek help from a psychological point of view”. Not an easy environment for players under ever-increasing pressure from managers to perform — and from social media ‘trolls’ who are always quick to highlight mistakes on the field. But attitudes towards mental health and its impact on a player’s performance are changing in sports organisations across the board, believes mental health advocate Pope who, along with Brennan, has written a new book. “There’s a growing recognition that mental health plays a huge part in sport. It’s about using reality-based experience to counteract your fears that you may not be able to perform effectively.

Source: Irish Examiner May 11, 2018 06:56 UTC