Mental Health and women's sport: Elinor Snowsill, Amber Stobbs and Rachael Vanderwal on not showing weakness, injuries, retirement and social media

In this special episode we speak about an important topic: Mental Health and sport. The stats from Mind charity say that 1 in 4 people will experience a mental health problem of some kind each year in England- so we know it’s an important topic to discuss.

We are lucky enough to have three women on this episode who are all female athletes as well as being amazing people! Elinor Snowsill, Amber Stobbs and Rachael Vanderwal are all ambassadors of the Women's Sports Alliance and we speak to them openly and honestly about a range of issues to do with mental health varying from the culture of women's sports where you're not encouraged to show weakness, how injuries can cause periods of grief and isolation and how retiring from your sport can have negative effects on the mental health of athletes.

Amber Stobbs opens up about her mental health journey, which saw her suffer alone for years with anxiety and panic attacks to now being able to share her story openly and with courage in order to help others going through similar experiences.

We also touch upon social media- the positive and negative sides of it- including the abuse sports women can get and how this can impact mentally, plus how the menstrual cycle may also cause certain negative emotions throughout different phases or as Elinor likes to call them: "end of the world days." 

Our guests finish with their own take home messages for listeners around keeping in check with your mental health and seeking help if you need it, especially during what has been such a testing year in 2020.

*We’d like to say a big thank you to the Women’s Sports Alliance for helping with today’s episode.  The WSA is an exclusive membership club, aiming to aims to protect, support and provide enhancement opportunities for their members within the women’s sport industry.
WSA: https://the-wsa.co.uk
WSA ambassadors: https://the-wsa.co.uk/thewsa/

Resources:
Amber Stobbs story: https://www.cpfc.co.uk/news/2020/may/palace-womens-amber-stobbs-mental-health-awareness-week-story/ 

We would like to thank our title sponsor for series 2 -Pretty Athletic. Pretty Athletic is a unique skincare brand for active women who sweat.  Visit wwww.prettyathletic.com to view the amazing range of products available and use discount code FEMALEATHLETEPOD for 20% off.

This episode was kindly sponsored by Limitless Bra. The Limitless Bra was designed for growing bodies, to give girls the support, comfort and confidence to enjoy being active. The only sports bra aimed at teenagers, it offers up to 4 inches of adjustment using a patented T-system and is comfortable and discreet.  Please see www.limitlessbra.com for more information.

If you like what we do and you'd like to support our cause please consider becoming a Patron. Head to www.patreon.com/femaleathletepodcast for more info- our thanks to Becs Sandwith for becoming a Patron this week.

Got a question about the female body? We'd love to hear from you! Please contact us directly on Instagram @femaleathletepod or via our email address femaleathletepodcast@gmail.com

*Disclaimer: Materials and content in the Female Athlete Podcast are intended as general information only and should not be substituted for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment