Mental health is one of the topics that has become more and more talked about in my lifetime thanks in part to my generation. Social media has opened up a world where people can put their thoughts and share what they feel with people.

The Bell Let's Talk campaign emerges every year as people help raise money by simply Tweeting. Mental health is an important topic that impacts people across the world in numerous ways.

More specifically, mental health and high-level athletes is also a topic that has grown in popularity very recently.

For years, mental health has been connected to football, but that has mainly been due to the head trauma that the average football player endures in their lifetime. The main discourse that revolved around Junior Seau's tragic suicide was mainly about Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE). Which is perfectly fine, considering he played Linebacker in the NFL for nearly 20 years. Even more so, the rate of CTE found in NFL players brains was an alarming 99% according to a study done this past summer.

However, mental health in athletics is more than just the post-career problem, and it is relevant for more than just football players.

Recently, Kevin Love and the Cleveland Cavaliers were the subjects of a lot of team drama. The Cavalier's season was careening and Kevin Love had just left a game against the Thunder early after barely playing. The Cavs went on to lose, and nobody on the team seemed happy with Love's decision to leave the game due to "illness."

Love decided to open up about his mental struggles, following in the footsteps of Raptors' star Demar DeRozan.

This move shows strength and reminds us of something we tend to forget: athletes are human. More than just that, some athletes are still kids. I am older than two of the top three NBA picks from the 2017 draft, and I am only 20 years old.

We as a society have placed athletes on a pedestal, which has its upsides. Sports are an incredible source of bonding and friendship, as well as unity within in a community as a whole. Sports have led my family members and myself to countless memories and bonds that may not have been formed otherwise.

Still, we all forget that these athletes we revere and build statues of are not the gods we make them out to be. As much as we revere the immortality of our heroes, there is more to it than the bright lights and glory.

NCAA athletes essentially do the same thing professional athletes do, except they are not paid (officially) and are also students. Professional athletes make millions, but money does not solve all problems. Seeing athletes of this caliber struggling with mental illness really does not surprise me in the slightest.

Night in and night out, these athletes are scrutinized for every move they make. They are ridiculed in ways normal people are not and on a stage that nobody except someone that has been there can even begin to fathom.

The way we treat athletes is something that undoubtedly has to change.

After the 2013 Iron Bowl, Alabama kicker Cade Foster received death threats for his poor performance. Foster missed three field goals before being pulled, and Alabama lost on a field goal kick return (not kicked by Foster) now known as the kick six, propelling Auburn into the SEC Championship and ultimately ending Alabama's chance at consecutive national titles.

The latter part of that paragraph is not what is important, though. I want to repeat the first part. A college student received death threats because of his play. That should never happen. There are a total of zero scenarios where any athlete at any level should receive death threats for an athletic performance.

Yet, people take to social media to harass athletes time and again. Even high school basketball recruits that have yet to play in a Division I game.

Foster has moved on from his career as an Alabama kicker. However, his treatment from his own "fans" shows a bigger problem with American spectators. How do these actions impact people that are simply playing a game?

Cade Foster is not the first athlete to receive death threats for his performance. Sadly, he definitely will not be the last. Kevin Love was met with criticism for his decision to leave aforementioned Thunder game, even from his own teammates.

Athletes are constantly being criticized for things they cannot control or do not deserve to be criticized for. After being fed up with tweets regarding his injury status, Odell Beckham Jr. got fed up and shut people down on Twitter.

No, this article is not to say that athletes have the biggest struggle in the world. They get paid to play a sport and it is a desirable life for many. They are revered in a way many other people are not and impact society differently than other celebrities.

However, athletes are human. Athletes do not owe you or your fanbase anything except their very best effort. Being human comes with ups and downs. This means, despite what some of us might think, they are not going to be perfect night in and night out.

You do not know what is going on inside the mind of an athlete at all times. There is no real reason to get so mad as to threaten someone or wish ill will upon them because of their athletic performance.

These athletes have not necessarily cited the pressure on them as the major factor, but it is most likely effects anxiety in some way for most athletes. Yet, athletes too struggle with daily internal battles. Athletes, just like many other people, often struggle with mental health. The least we can do is treat them as human beings.

Mainly, we need to treat them the way we would want to be treated. Kevin Love and Demar DeRozan are leading an important discussion amongst players. Now let us as viewers lead a discussion to be better people to athletes and others in general.