Female Mental Wellbeing - Scottish Hockey

Female Mental Wellbeing

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This female athlete psychology resource page has been developed to support female athletes, and those who work with female athletes, by providing helpful information, guidance, and resources. The topics covered in this resource include mental health, body image, and leadership. This page was developed by Mhairi McGregor, a trainee Sport and Exercise Psychologist studying a Doctorate at Glasgow Caledonian University. Mhairi was brought in as a consultant and completing this project has contributed to her degree.

Please note, this webpage is designed as guidance and if you need of urgent help or medical advice for yourself or someone else, please contact 999 or the Samaritans on 116 123. If you are looking for medical advice, contact your GP or 111.

Mental Health and Social Support

What is mental health?

A positive mental state is when an individual can cope with life’s challenges, reach their full potential, and positively contribute towards their communities. Mental health is complex as it has emotional, psychological and social well-being factors [1]. Female athletes have been found to have a higher level of psychological distress [2] and mental health concerns, such as anxiety and depression [3,4], in comparison to male athletes. The higher rates of poor mental health in female athletes may be due to sport inequities, body image concerns, disordered eating, and family planning challenges [5].

What is social support?

Social support refers to family, friends, coaches, and teammates who provide care for an individual. Research has suggested that being in a team is a protective factor against poor mental health. In a team, there is a constant support system throughout training and competition, sport hardships, and injury [6]. Social support has been identified as a heavily relied upon support technique for female athletes returning to play after pregnancy [7]. Return to play after pregnancy or injury can be challenging. Athlete Interactions is a not-for-profit organisation run a confidential support service for female athletes. The organisation is run by athletes who aim to decrease mental health stigma and provide a safe space for athletes to talk.

Click here to find out more about Athlete Interactions.

To keep female athletes engaged in sport, there are a few things that coaches, parents, and volunteers can do to create a positive social support system [8]:

  1. Build a positive culture – enhance decision-making and a sense of belonging
  2. Create an inclusive and safe environment – use inclusive language and encourage everyone’s participation
  3. Celebrate role models – sharing the highs and lows of sport can have a positive impact on other female athletes and help promote resilience
  4. Normalise failure – female athletes struggle with the fear of failure. Try encouraging female athletes to try new things out in a safe environment and have teammates to support each other
  5. Recognise disengagement – notice if a female athlete is disengaging due to injury, family planning issues, or sport hardships. Frequent check-ins with your female athletes can make a lot of difference

What is perfectionism?

Another mental challenge female athletes face is perfectionist traits. Perfectionist traits are defined as the pursuit of flawlessness and high standards for performance. Perfectionist traits can lead to athletes striving for excellence, but it can also cause intense self-criticism and burnout (a state of emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion due to an extended experience of stress). Have you ever experienced a fear of not being good enough, of being criticised, of being rejected, of failing, or of letting others down [9]? Developing a growth mindset is a tool that can help to overcome perfectionism in athletes. A growth mindset is a belief that abilities and intelligence can be developed through hard work and determination. This is in contrast to a fixed mindset which is the belief that abilities are unchangeable. A growth mindset promotes resilience and enables athletes to strive for excellence but not slip into negative perfectionist traits..

  1. Praising effort over abilities – help the athlete to focus on taking on challenges and loving their sport
  2. Focus on the process – help the athlete to learn from mistakes and see failure as an opportunity to learn

Self-help tips

Gaining self-compassion can be an impactful mental skill that positively influences mental health. Self-compassion offers an alternative for beating yourself up after mistakes and act with the same kindness you would offer a teammate. Self-compassion has been shown to have a positive impact on athletic performance, including having improved focus and motivation, a reduction in anxiety, and an ability to bounce back quicker from setbacks [11]. The following are a few of the ways that you can build self-compassion and promote positive well-being[12]:

  1. Treat yourself as you would a teammate – care for yourself as you would a teammate if they made a mistake or was feeling down
  2. Be more self-aware – understand why you react in a certain way to situations and accept your strengths and shortcomings
  3. Gain perspective – let go of the need for validation from others and find joy in what you are doing

 

Click here for downloadable resources for adult mental well-being
Click here for downloadable resources for child mental well-being

 

  1. World Health Organization: WHO. (2022, June 17). Mental health. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-health-strengthening-our-response.
  2. Foskett, R. L., & Longstaff, F. (2018). The mental health of elite athletes in the United Kingdom. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 21(8), 765–770. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2017.11.016.
  3. Gorczynski, P. F., Coyle, M., & Gibson, K. (2017). Depressive symptoms in high-performance athletes and non-athletes: a comparative meta-analysis. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 51(18), 1348-1354. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2016-096455.
  4. Rice, S. M., Purcell, R., De Silva, S., Mawren, D., McGorry, P. D., & Parker, A. G. (2016). The mental health of elite athletes: A narrative systematic review. Sports Medicine, 46, 1333-1353. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-016-0492-2.
  5. van Niekerk, M., Matzkin, E., & Christino, M. A. (2023). Psychological aspects of return to sport for the female athlete. Arthroscopy, Sports Medicine, and Rehabilitation, 5(4). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asmr.2023.04.021.
  6. Herrero, C. P., Jejurikar, N., & Carter, C. W. (2021). The psychology of the female athlete: How mental health and wellness mediate sports performance, injury and recovery. Annals of Joint, 6.
  7. Tighe, B. J., Williams, S. L., Porter, C., & Hayman, M. (2023). Barriers and enablers influencing female athlete return-to-sport postpartum: a scoping review. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 57(22), 1450–1456. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2023-107189.
  8. Kopelow, B., Fenton , J., & Alexander, S. (2020). She belongs – Canadian Women & Sport. Canadian Women in Sport. https://womenandsport.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/She-Belongs_Canadian-Women-Sport.pdf.
  9. Vilhauer, M. (2024, December 12). From perfectionism to burnout in sports. How athletes struggle with impossible expectations. https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/philosophy-for-curious-souls/202411/from-perfectionism-to-burnout-in-sports.
  10. McCarthy, P. (2025a, June 30). How to overcome perfection among athletes. https://www.drpaulmccarthy.com/post/how-to-overcome-perfection-among-athletes.
  11. McCarthy, P. (2025b, May 19). How to build self-compassion in sports: A guide for athletes. https://www.drpaulmccarthy.com/post/how-to-build-self-compassion-in-sports-a-guide-for-athletes.

Moore, C. (2019, June 2). How to practice self-compassion: 8 techniques and tips. https://positivepsychology.com/how-to-practice-self-compassion/

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