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=Athletes with Psychological Disorders=

Zack Greinke

Zack Greinke first began his career with the Kansas City Royals. It looked very promising as he was drafted out of high school and was expected to be very good. Then he hit a bump in the road that caused him to temporarily walk away from baseball. The bump was **depression** and **social anxiety disorder**. As we discussed in class there is usually comorbidity with both anxiety disorders and depression. 16 percent of people worldwide develop depression. They sometimes see the world in a negative light and have to struggle with things in life. Below is an article about current Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Zack Greinke and is an example of how depression can affect an athlete.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1155063/index.htm

The above article, written by Joe Posnanski, and printed in a 2009 issue of Sports Illustrated talked about the struggles Greinke faced and the impact it had on his life, on and off the baseball field. The beginning talked about the battle between his brain and his arm. His mind was always getting in the way of doing things he wanted to do on the field. Greinke always seemed to have to most interesting interviews. He would seem to be emotionally detached and often not care about things as much as people would expect. He began to hate pitching, dreaded going to the ballpark, and the simplest tasks had began to overwhelm him. He needed help. He often talked to his family about it being another gray day. After stepping away from baseball for a few months, he was diagnosed with social anxiety disorder and depression.

After Greinke came forward saying that he had struggled with this illness, many others came forward as well.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/1109/athletes-and-depression/content.4.html

As the small article states, Greinke was an advocate for others who struggled with these disorders. Athletes such as Dontrelle Willis, Joey Votto, and Justin Duscherer all came forward and realized they needed help.

With so many people in the world struggling with depression, there has become a greater awareness and millions of dollars are being spent on research. Treatments today for anxiety disorders and depression include Benzodiazaphines, psychological interventions which includes cognitive-behavioral therapy, and combined treatments, bringing drugs and therapy together. Combining treatments has been known as the most helpful

Depression is a major problem today. As we have heard, many football players have come forward saying that they are struggling with depression in the wake of constant head trauma. There have been multiple suicides linked to concussions and the effect that they have on one's personality. Many are said to have been down and negative about things and just not normal. Drugs and therapy are helpful but as we learned in class, it is a rough cycle and can sometimes be fatal.