Mental health in the Australian Football League

[6] A study conducted by Amelia Gulliver and Helen Christensen showed that 1 in 5 elite athletes suffered depressive symptoms.

However, with living and playing in the spotlight of success hungry clubs and fans, comes expectation of consistent performances whilst juggling the life of being a regular human being and they are faced with the same mental health issues such as depression, as many other ordinary citizens.

[8] However other provocatives may be injury, lack of form, poor treatment from the general public on social media and the inability to adapt to the life of being a professional athlete.

AFL players are often forced to conform to the norms but also have high expectations placed on them such as extraordinary behavior, appearance and performance.

Also in 2015 Adam Goodes took a week off training and playing because of the 'emotional toll'[13] he was put under during the season, receiving boos and racist comments from the crowd.

Lance Picioane who played for Adelaide, Hawthorn and the Kangaroos said how he struggled to understand that he was actually suffering from depression and that it wasn't him just feeling a little bit down.

[11] Wayne Schwass, Nathan Thompson and Heath Black are other players who have come out and spoken about their struggle with anxiety and depression throughout their football careers.

Having such a heavy burden on their shoulders impacts their state of mind, and when they do under perform this can negatively affect a players mental health.

They have high expectations on them as players and are encouraged to be the ideal male who is masculine, athletic, strong etc.. and this pressure is coming from within the club as well.

[5] Starting in a new team with new people, a new training structure and lifestyle can be a big shock to some players and they may experience social anxiety and exclusion which could lead to negative thoughts.

Prevention, intervention and treatment for mental health has been neglected for quite some time and has never been a high priority to create groups to support this.

It is shown that organised programs are one of the most effective ways to help treat mental illnesses such as depression and having a full-time staff member to facilitate this would be a greater benefit.

[19] The AFLPA has worked hard to better educate footballers on the signs and symptoms of Depression and trying to eliminate any social stigmas which may be attached to seeking help.

AFL has put a framework in place to ensure the best mental health of the players and it encourages early identification and intervention.

Through a three session course players are exposed to realizing their own values, different mental health stories and how these both relate back to their lives and then being able to change anything they aren't happy with.

Mitch immediately felt the pressure of not only being one of the club's highest paid players, but also wearing a jumper number which had some much sentimental value to Melbourne fans.

His career was again riddled by injury and prior to the 2014 season, Mitch retired from the AFL after battling depression which had hampered him for the previous 12 months.

It remains unclear what may have triggered this event, Mitch posted the following message on his Facebook account after the event- "Depression makes very little sense and rears its head whenever it chooses and unfortunately last night was one of those times.

He abruptly called a time on his career after being diagnosed with a depressive disorder which he feared would impact his relationship with his team mates over the stereotype of living the 'Match Man' lifestyle.

[24] Heath Black's battle with depression and other mental health issues wasn't publicised until later in his football career.

Black linked his condition with the fact that all he knew how to do was play football, in year 11 he couldn't spell or do basic maths, so when that was taken from him, he had nothing to do with his life.

[citation needed] Chris Mainwaring was a legend of the West Coast Eagles Football Club, he was also a sports reporter for Channel 7 in Perth.