Mental health among high performance athletes has been a crux for many people for some time now.
Personally, I went through a period of severe depression post Sochi 2014, at one point feeling suicidal before I came across an email from Game Plan de Match. Dubbed “Canada’s Total Athlete Wellness Program”, Game Plan de Match was both timely and effective in my recovery, helping me get the help I needed in a very timely manner.
Game Plan helped connect me with doctors very quickly to begin treatment with a sport specific psychologist, and from their support I was able to turn my life around again within a relatively short period of time.
(Read more about my experience with Game Plan here.)
Fast forward three years now, and I have had the opportunity to sit on a board helping provide feedback for the creation of another Canadian resource, the Canadian Centre for Mental Health and Sport.
Located in Ottawa, Ontario, CCMHS is the second centre of its kind in the world, next to a facility in Sweden, led by Joran Kentta, head of sport psychology at the Swedish Sport Confederation.
CCMHS has a team of practitioners in house to assist athletes who are struggling with mental health issues – a need for so many who suffer in silence.
If you are an athlete in need of help, I encourage you to check out both Game Plan de Match, and the Canadian Centre for Mental Health and Sport.
These resources are here if you need them, and I can speak from experience that not only are they desperately needed, but they can seriously help you when you are feeling desperate and in need.
Please reach out if you need help.
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About Kevin Rempel:
Paralympian, keynote speaker, and founder of the corporate team building program, The Sledge Hockey Experience, I help people change their perspective about life and people with disabilities. Visit www.kevinrempel.com for more information.
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Download your FREE copy of my autobiography, Still Standing: When You Have Every Reason to Give Up, Keep Going here.