My 
name is Brianna Seixas and I wrestle for the women’s team at Dubuque. As a student athlete I think that mental health is extremely important and should be focused on more. As an athlete who has DDD (Depersonalization-Derealization Disorder), I think it’s important to ask and focus on athletes that struggle. I have talked about DDD with athletes before and the number of students that had related to my experiences was pretty high. Not enough athletes are aware that they could be feeling something that can be related to and or helped. I feel that athletes should be able to get information about their mental health and get the attention they need to feel comfortable in their field of athletics.
Spreading awareness on mental health in sports may spread comfort for all athletes. Mental health also plays a role in physical health. I know as an athlete I was never taught how to be a “healthy athlete”. I was always just an athlete. I feel that if athletes were educated on how to keep a clean and healthy lifestyle and diet, then they may start to see improvement in their performance and mental health. Athletes would then be able to take care of themselves more efficiently and be able to recover properly.
