Author Topic: there is still an under-appreciation of emotional health  (Read 8066 times)

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there is still an under-appreciation of emotional health
« on: April 20, 2017, 02:08:39 AM »

Offline Ogaju

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Assume that a day before the first game of the playoffs a team suffers some kind of catastrophe that causes a devastating physical injury to its best players, and physical injury to all the other members of the team including the coach.

In this situation, there is no question they all will seek and get medical treatment, some will even be held out of the game because of their disability. Heck, the game could even be called off if enough of them were found physical unfit to play.

Why isnt the same standard applied to emotional injury? Why is that team expected to suck it up if the injury is mental? If the injury is emotional do they even get to seek medical intervention?

Of all body parts and systems, the human mind is probably still the most difficult to understand. Is it a mere coincidence that an emotionally traumatized team responds uncharacteristically after the trauma? If it had been physical injuries would their reduced productivity be more understandable, more accepted maybe?

Think about it?

Re: there is still an under-appreciation of emotional health
« Reply #1 on: April 20, 2017, 02:10:31 AM »

Offline SparzWizard

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Because basketball is a physical sport so ya gotta get physical with each other, and second, it's a professional league and no excuses can be made for losing games.

Sorry. Wish emotional health could be reevaluated but it won't happen.


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Re: there is still an under-appreciation of emotional health
« Reply #2 on: April 20, 2017, 02:29:26 AM »

Offline Ogaju

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Because basketball is a physical sport so ya gotta get physical with each other, and second, it's a professional league and no excuses can be made for losing games.

Sorry. Wish emotional health could be reevaluated but it won't happen.

Actually, the game is just as mental as it is physical, see what I mean about the lack of appreciation of emotional health issues? This is society as a whole, not limited to sports at all. No one has really bothered to ask how these players are emotionally? If it had been physical injuries we would have update on their health, MRI, X-Rays etc. But because this is mental, it somehow does not get the same attention. Society as a whole has to change attitudes towards mental health issues.

Re: there is still an under-appreciation of emotional health
« Reply #3 on: April 20, 2017, 02:41:20 AM »

Offline Ilikesports17

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Because basketball is a physical sport so ya gotta get physical with each other, and second, it's a professional league and no excuses can be made for losing games.

Sorry. Wish emotional health could be reevaluated but it won't happen.

Actually, the game is just as mental as it is physical, see what I mean about the lack of appreciation of emotional health issues? This is society as a whole, not limited to sports at all. No one has really bothered to ask how these players are emotionally? If it had been physical injuries we would have update on their health, MRI, X-Rays etc. But because this is mental, it somehow does not get the same attention. Society as a whole has to change attitudes towards mental health issues.
do you really want updates on the mental and emotional health of professional athletes?

I dont and I imagine Isaiah Thomas doesnt want that either.

Brad has already made it clear that Isaiah could have chosen to miss those games if he was not ready to go.
Quote from: George W. Bush
Too often, we judge other groups by their worst examples while judging ourselves by our best intentions.

Re: there is still an under-appreciation of emotional health
« Reply #4 on: April 20, 2017, 02:48:08 AM »

Offline Ogaju

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Because basketball is a physical sport so ya gotta get physical with each other, and second, it's a professional league and no excuses can be made for losing games.

Sorry. Wish emotional health could be reevaluated but it won't happen.

Actually, the game is just as mental as it is physical, see what I mean about the lack of appreciation of emotional health issues? This is society as a whole, not limited to sports at all. No one has really bothered to ask how these players are emotionally? If it had been physical injuries we would have update on their health, MRI, X-Rays etc. But because this is mental, it somehow does not get the same attention. Society as a whole has to change attitudes towards mental health issues.
do you really want updates on the mental and emotional health of professional athletes?

I dont and I imagine Isaiah Thomas doesnt want that either.

Brad has already made it clear that Isaiah could have chosen to miss those games if he was not ready to go.

You have to ask yourself why is it that the league mandates updates on physical injuries, and you question whether there should be updates on mental injuries. Dont get upset with me, think about the stigma attached to something beyond the control of people. Oh wait, do you even believe that emotional injuries exist? If you do, why is it treated so differently from physical injuries? I agree that the player should have some input into playing when injured, but should that decision be made without medical guidance? If it is a physical injury medical guidance is provided. I guess you first have even decide whether you accept the concept of emotional trauma.

Re: there is still an under-appreciation of emotional health
« Reply #5 on: April 20, 2017, 03:47:08 AM »

Offline Sixth Man

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Because basketball is a physical sport so ya gotta get physical with each other, and second, it's a professional league and no excuses can be made for losing games.

Sorry. Wish emotional health could be reevaluated but it won't happen.

Actually, the game is just as mental as it is physical, see what I mean about the lack of appreciation of emotional health issues? This is society as a whole, not limited to sports at all. No one has really bothered to ask how these players are emotionally? If it had been physical injuries we would have update on their health, MRI, X-Rays etc. But because this is mental, it somehow does not get the same attention. Society as a whole has to change attitudes towards mental health issues.
do you really want updates on the mental and emotional health of professional athletes?

I dont and I imagine Isaiah Thomas doesnt want that either.

Brad has already made it clear that Isaiah could have chosen to miss those games if he was not ready to go.

Isn't that part of what Twitter is for?   

Re: there is still an under-appreciation of emotional health
« Reply #6 on: April 20, 2017, 04:52:49 AM »

Offline celticsclay

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Just adding to this. About 10 years ago I had a really bad tragedy in my life that was on par with what IT has gone through. It not only really screwed me up but everyone around me that didn't know how to act respond. Having gone through that experience I honestly think there is a very reasonable chance that this is playing A major role in the Celtics not being ready to play Celtics basketball. I know a lot of people just want a pound of flesh here and to say certain players are awful but it, and life, are a lot more complicated than that. It kind of makes it hard to read the forum right now although I do understand other's viewpoints on it.

Re: there is still an under-appreciation of emotional health
« Reply #7 on: April 20, 2017, 05:02:11 AM »

Offline LGC88

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Just adding to this. About 10 years ago I had a really bad tragedy in my life that was on par with what IT has gone through. It not only really screwed me up but everyone around me that didn't know how to act respond. Having gone through that experience I honestly think there is a very reasonable chance that this is playing A major role in the Celtics not being ready to play Celtics basketball. I know a lot of people just want a pound of flesh here and to say certain players are awful but it, and life, are a lot more complicated than that. It kind of makes it hard to read the forum right now although I do understand other's viewpoints on it.

I also went through something similar to what IT is living right now. I can't find the words to explain how it felt that time.
What I see is that IT is amazing. I can't figure how he can perform as such level in that mental state. He must be on auto pilot...
What I don't understand is its teammates. Granted I thought game 1 would not be good for the entire team. But after witnessing IT's performance, I thought "that's it, game 2 will be a blow out by 20 points", "no way his teammates will give up on IT like that", "they'll put up a fight for him".
None of that happen. Game 2 was worse than game 1.
I believe that's the reason why most of us are mad.

Re: there is still an under-appreciation of emotional health
« Reply #8 on: April 20, 2017, 05:18:10 AM »

Offline Androslav

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I think there has been an under-appreciation of everything we have done in the past 4 years, just because the last 4 days didn't go the way we hoped. That shows the lack of character from the loudest CB fanbase and not the lack of professionalism by the club employees.

(Except Smart, who was rightfully fined.)
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Re: there is still an under-appreciation of emotional health
« Reply #9 on: April 20, 2017, 06:24:44 AM »

Online Roy H.

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The thing is, IT played through his injury, and in Game 1 played really well. He 100% gets a pass here, no matter what happens, but I think it's tough to hang the losses on his mental state.

If the rest of the team is showing worse emotional trauma than IT, is it fair to question their ability to focus and overcome adversity? You would think the team would play harder as a means of honoring IT and his sister, wouldn't you?





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Re: there is still an under-appreciation of emotional health
« Reply #10 on: April 20, 2017, 06:47:10 AM »

Offline BE-Celtic

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You're right when you say mental injuries may be underestimed.

But in this particular case, why is IT the one who responded better ? I think it's just because that's who he is, he is a fighter. Everyone is different.

Where I'm angry at the Celtics is that they are pro, it doesn't mean they have no feeling, but the players who are not IT didn't lose a relative of their own. Yes they saw IT in pain, and yes it hurts, but they should have been able to respond better. I was expecting everyone to play well except Thomas and the opposite happened.

Must add that after two games, C's might actually have been playing at their full level and are just too weak/small too rebound, in which case well my argument is wrong but it's even worse for the next days...

Re: there is still an under-appreciation of emotional health
« Reply #11 on: April 20, 2017, 06:53:57 AM »

Offline celticsclay

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The thing is, IT played through his injury, and in Game 1 played really well. He 100% gets a pass here, no matter what happens, but I think it's tough to hang the losses on his mental state.

If the rest of the team is showing worse emotional trauma than IT, is it fair to question their ability to focus and overcome adversity? You would think the team would play harder as a means of honoring IT and his sister, wouldn't you?

I think it is a little more complicated than this. Let's throw out a hypothetical example. Bradley is very close to Thomas. Perhaps he even met the sister st one point. Perhaps  Bradley has had a a reaction where stress really throws off his ability to sleep. It is just his body's reaction to it (this is a problem I have had myself with trauma). I don't think we would say Bradley is less of a professional or weak for having this reaction even if it impacts his play. I just think it is really complicated and overall just sucks. I obviously hate to see if the season goes out with a whimper, but it is also hard for me to have the same frustration I have had other years.

Re: there is still an under-appreciation of emotional health
« Reply #12 on: April 20, 2017, 07:11:28 AM »

Offline Celtics4ever

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Bradley probably is reminded of losing his mother folks by this incident.  The rest of the team should be picking up the slack and helping their grieving team mates.

Re: there is still an under-appreciation of emotional health
« Reply #13 on: April 20, 2017, 07:21:00 AM »

Offline Androslav

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My personal experience, when I lost a buddy while working on his personal project, a feature film, was that I, along with others, grinded like crazy for 6 months after his leave and I wasn't effective. The film was never finished. It wasn't the question of time and work put into it, It was the question of doing the right things and having appropriate leadership. Isaiah is our leader, I think there is no question about it, and he is struggling IMO. Sure some will say he scored 30+ in the 1st game, OK, maybe he would go for 48. The biggest dropoffs in his game, understandably, are the concentration related things, free throws (22% less), and ball security (he doubled his TO%). And to use my personal analogy, it all comes down from the top.
Before every series, we ask ourselves; "Who is the best player in the series. Who their best player?" We don't say it for nothing, we say it cause it is meaningful.
Isaiah's tragedy affected the teams play negatively and guys are trying, but they aren't good at it right now. This is not some cheesy sports movie when guys buckle down and save the club, this is real life, and it doesn't work based just on your willpower. Humans are emotional beings. Bulls got lucky and hit some 3-pointers and long mid-rangers they normally don't. We are not the classic number 1 seed, we played below our expected level for the reasons mentioned above and that's why we are where we are right now.

Game 3, let's hope we get it.
« Last Edit: April 20, 2017, 07:52:18 AM by Androslav »
"The joy of the balling under the rims."

Re: there is still an under-appreciation of emotional health
« Reply #14 on: April 20, 2017, 07:23:57 AM »

Offline adam8

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Before game two, I forget who maybe Scal was talking about how the locker room had still been very quiet between game one and two. With IT in the locker room grieving the other players can't prepare their normal way because of your brother is grieving you are gonna feel like pretty bad if you are 10 feet away just messing around with your buddies. With how close you are with teammates when one guy is that emotionally low it is incredibly naive to think the other guys aren't affected, IT is able to use the game as his escape, hyper focus and avoid real life for a bit but for everyone else their pregame preparation is off which makes a huge difference in the playoffs.