Many Canadians confuse the terms mental health and mental illness and use them interchangeably—this confusion contributes to the stigma of mental illness; it divides people into those who experience mental illness and those who don’t.
When people understand that mental health is something we ALL have, they realize that mental health is everyone’s issue—we all benefit from celebrating, promoting and acknowledging the role that good mental health plays in living a full and meaningful life. You may already be doing things to support your mental health in sports and don’t even know it. CMHA reviews the benefits of good mental health in sports and important ways to improve it like getting physical, eating right, and taking control of stress.
Mental health is like physical health, everyone has it and everyone needs it.
What can you do to protect the mental health of your athletes, their teammates and yourself?
Mental Fitness Resources
RESOURCES FOR PLAYERS
Kids Help Phone – offers safe, anonymous, private supportive counselling and referral service for children and youth. 24/7; bilingual
www.kidshelphone.ca; 1-800-668-6868
Live Chat on the web or from a smartphone – Wed-Sun, 6:00pm-2:00am anywhere in Ontario
Offers resources and tools for youth to champion their own emotional health and well-being. Movember-funded BroTalk, an online portal designed to support teen guys with the information they need. Topics include: relationships, bullying, substance use, sexual orientation and gender identity. https://kidshelpphone.ca/basic-page/brotalk
RESOURCES FOR PARENTS/COACHES
Kids Help Phone – offers tools and resources for adults on how to have frank conversations with youth about their emotional health and well-being. Topics include the warning signs of bullying, online safety. Tips are tailored to different age groups, i.e., under 12 years, and teens. Links to community services and organizations (health clinics, counselling services). https://kidshelpphone.ca/tools-and-resources
Visit the resources section for additional resources on how to talk about nutrition, body diversity and healthy eating
