ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to provide information on mental health. It is therefore important that coaches have a basic understanding of some of the mental health disorders and symptoms among athletes so that they can make earlier referrals for treatment, which has been found to be more effective than letting mental health symptoms deteriorate. Athletes can experience symptoms of depression, such as a depressed mood, little interest in activities they would normally enjoy, and a range of cognitive symptoms, such as feeling tearful, irritable, anxious, or hopeless. As such, although some athletes may display only mild depressive symptoms, they may fulfil the criteria to be diagnosed as having a major depressive disorder. It should be noted that a generalised anxiety disorder is different from pre-competitive anxiety. Reardon et al. distinguished between eating disorders and disordered eating. Vargas et al. reported depressive symptoms among 20% of athletes who suffered a concussion playing sport or training.
