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Mental health affects everyone — not just one particular group or person. What we often overlook, however, is how it affects athletes. Both professional and collegiate athletes carry a heavy load, often more than fans realize.

This issue doesn’t impact only one demographic. Many people don’t understand the relationship between sports and mental health, and there is real value in educating the public on how closely the two are connected.

Athletes can benefit from knowing what’s at stake when they compete at a high level — professionally or in college — and from understanding what resources and support systems are available to them. Simply being aware that help exists can make a meaningful difference.

The human factor: We root for college athletes and teams. We root for our favorite pros. But we need to be better as fans and remember that sports are just games. There is so much more to these athletes than their performance. In today’s culture, it’s easy to forget the “athlete as a person” factor and become irrational when someone plays poorly or our team loses.

Read the story on athletes and their mental health as a parent, a friend, or simply as someone who cares. We are all better off when we understand the realities surrounding such a serious issue — and it helps put everything into perspective.