CLEVELAND — It's been thrilling to watch as top athletes from around the world compete for the gold medal. But for young people, making the podium shouldn't be the only takeaway.
Dr. Vincent Caringi, psychiatrist for University Hospitals says there are a lot of good examples from the games.
"You see the groups that pick each other up and that console each other. And to see that sort of visual representation of support, even in times when things haven't gone perfectly well. I think those are really tremendous examples that, that young people are exposed to," he said.
Caringi treats kids as young as middle school age for things like anxiety and depression related to competitive sports. And, it's more common than you think.
"As many as 35% of even elite athletes have expressed mental health concerns," he said.
A few ways parents can help is to promote good health, sleep and diet. Plus, setting limits on social media, where kids can sometimes focus on unrealistic expectations instead of what they can control. Caringi suggests the Effort, Success, and Progress method:
"Where is someone in your day thinking about something that you did that made you feel like you put in good effort? Where's a place that you feel like you had some success and had an accomplishment, and where is a place where you made some progress, where you identified even just a small degree of, 'I got a little bit better there.'"
Most importantly, Caringi says, is that parents stress their kids' success on the field or pitch, doesn't define who they are.
"If they're not playing as much as they would like to, or if they have to recover from an injury or they're not on the team right now. It's just a subset of probably a really wonderful human being that has so many other great qualities about them," he said.
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