Baltimore, Md. – In conjunction with May being Mental Health Awareness Month; the NCAA Division III National Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (National SAAC) launched a social media campaign in effort to "break the stigma" surrounding mental health in athletics.
As mental health is a common challenge for many in athletics, the National SAAC opted to weigh in by NCAA membership and individuals therein to "break the stigma" showing that, it's okay to not be okay.
The challenge is to share a post, in the form of a video, picture, or any other media, supporting mental and emotional well-being in athletics. The challenge began May 4
th and continued to May 7
th, however, people were encouraged to continue their support continuing throughout the month of May. The challenge quickly took off with participation from nearly 70% of NCAA Division III institutions, including student-athletes, administrators, and coaches all breaking the stigma.
Notre Dame Athletics also took part to break the stigma. During our awards ceremony, junior psychology major,
Hannah Amodia shared a video encouraging fellow student-athletes to participate. In her video she broke a pencil, signifying "breaking" of the stigma. Amodia shares, "Talking and taking care of our mental health is so important and people need to realize that in order to have a strong community, we need to prioritize that."
Following Amodia, freshman,
Sara Morales, gave insight on how she breaks the stigma: "Breaking the stigma to me means being understanding to how others feel in any situation. Your mental health affects your physical health so it's important to take care of your mind first."
Junior,
Adrianna Fletcher, states, "As a student-athlete breaking the stigma means to me allowing yourself to make mistakes, but not bringing yourself down by them or taking it out on your teammates."
She continues, "I feel as an athletic community, we're one big family and there's always someone to have a conversation with, whethere it's to talk to, or just get advice."
Lastly, senior psychology major,
Isa Carunungan, who has spent the last four years at Notre Dame studying mental health expresses: "Maintaining mental health is more than doing face masks and lighting candles. It's an opportunity to learn about the innermost workings of who you are as an individual, regardless of what classes you take, what sport you play, or what career you pursue. In the end, maximizing that opportunity will allow us, not just as student-athletes but human beings to begin to understand each other and the world around us."
Carunungan also shared a few mental health self-care tips, that can help us make sure our mental health is a top priority, along with taking care of oneself, not only during this time, but for the rest of our lives.
Carunungan has been an avid mental-health advocate throughout her years. "Being a psychology major has allowed me to delve deeper into the science, history, and techniques behind maintaining mental health. Though all of this helps, I've learned that mental health is really about improving and understanding yourself so that you can make meaningful contributions to the world around you."
We encourage all of our Notre Dame community to participate in the mental health break the stigma challenge.
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Self Care Tips (Courtesy of Isabella Caranungan):
1. Appreciate the little victories and keep going: There are times when you might wake up in the morning and don't feel like getting out of bed. Maybe there's an assignment you need to get done but you're just not the most motivated. Take a step back and make more realistic goals. Can't get out of bed? Tell yourself to at least stand up and look out the window. Now that you've accomplished that, challenge yourself to walk down the hall, then go to the kitchen. It seems like such small acts, but when you're feeling overwhelmed or depressed, it's the little victories that will help you build up more motivation to accomplish bigger tasks when you're ready.
2. Cut yourself a break to give perspective: You're working hard! These times are absolutely crazy but you're here and you're doing what you can. If you keep comparing your productivity levels to everyone else's, you'll never feel productive. Everyone is experiencing this quarantine differently, so don't worry if you're not baking bread or redoing your room. Do what makes you get through this time.
3. Keep your to-do list short: Make sure your to-do list is long enough for you to feel like you'll get a good amount done, but short enough so it's not overwhelming. Keep it to 5-7 tasks a day so you increase your sense of accomplishment.
4. Stay in the present as much as possible: It's really hard to not think about everything that you've missed over the past couple of months. It's also really hard not to think about everything you're missing in the future. If you keep thinking about the past and future, you won't get to enjoy what's going on in the present. What's done is done and what's going to be will come. The present is yours so revel in it.
Adrianna Fletcher
As a student-athlete breaking the stigma means to me, allowing yourself to make mistakes, but not bringing yourself down by them or taking it out on your teammates. You don't know what others are going through, nor is it right. I feel as an athletic community, we're one big family and there's always someone to have a conversation with, whether it is to talk to, or just get advice."
Isa Carunungan
"Maintaining mental health is more than doing face masks and lighting candles. It's an opportunity to learn about the innermost workings of who you are as an individual, regardless of what classes you take, what sport you play, or what career you pursue. In the end, maximizing that opportunity will allow us as, not just student-athletes, but human beings to begin to understand eachother and the world around us."
Sara Morales
"Breaking the stigma to me means being understanding to how others feel in any situation. Your mental health affects your physical health so it is important to take care of your mind first. You don't know what is going on in anyone's mind at any given point so it is important we check in on eachother and create an open and safe environment."
Hannah Amodia
"Coming from an Asian household, mental illness is not something we discuss. Being a psychology major has helped me teach my family and friends how to be more open to the idea and give people a safe space where they can be vulnerable. Talking and taking care of our mental health is important and people need to realize that in order to have a strong community, we need to prioritize that."
