Seneca athlete says concussions have affected her mental health

Photo of Seneca Sting

By: Caroline Petrucci, Diana Mussina, Steven Blahut

After numerous concussions, Seneca Sting soccer player Micheala Panzica says she’s experiencing a number of mental health issues.

The 19-year-old says she’s suffered from five concussions within the last three years. While she says most of them were mild, her most recent concussion has caused a significant change in her behavior. She took a year off to recover.

“Since joining the Seneca team, I have gotten one concussion in October 2018,” says Panzica.

In addition to not being able to play soccer, her mood quickly began to shift. “I noticed I was having trouble with remembering, and felt as if I was losing my emotions. In this I mean I would never get excited, never felt happy, not even sad. It was more of a state of, for lack of a better word, bleh. Due to this feeling and the inability to play soccer, I started to feel lonely and suicidal,” she says.

Panzica admits the team did not take her condition lightly. “I was taken away from playing and they put me under both concussion and suicide watch. They watched me and cared for me until I was symptom free, and slowly got me back into playing,” she says.

While she has since recovered from the concussion and rejoined the team, this mid-fielder is still feeling its repercussions.

Panzica says, “Even when I am concussion free, I am a lot more sensitive to light. I was diagnosed with depression and I am still on pills for it. The doctors and I both speculate that the concussions impacted this change immensely.”

This is not uncommon for people who have suffered concussions. According to Amen Clinics, a clinic that offers functional brain scans relating to behaviour, there is a significant risk of increasing mental health concerns following a concussion. This includes depression, anxiety and panic dissorders, ADHD, substance abuse, PTSD, and suicide.

Panzica now relies on the various counselling services provided by Seneca College, without them, she says she couldn’t cope, “I went to a councilor a few times at Seneca King, but I also seek out for help to my varsity physiotherapist, varsity mental coach, coaches and captains for extra support. They are also very encouraging of speaking to a therapist when I need to,” says Panzica.

Check our podcast to hear how ignoring a concussion can change your life. Listen to Emma’s story below.

 

 

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