Mental health in top sport: Psychologist calls on associations to take action

class=”sc-29f61514-0 jbwksb”>

Common illness number one: depression and anxiety disorders. Nearly every fifth person in this country will be affected in their lifetime. Some only for a short time, others fall into a dark hole for months. Even top athletes are not immune to it. This is the conclusion of a study by the Swiss Federal Institute of Sport in Magglingen BE. However, the number of athletes who speak openly about these problems can be counted on one hand.

BMX star Nikita Ducarroz (26) is one of them. With her openness she makes an extremely important contribution, says sports psychologist Cristina Baldasarre. She has been studying the psyche of top athletes for 30 years. “Often affected athletes have no role models. They don’t know what will happen if they get their story out.” Because society has a very specific image of professional athletes. They are always there, always efficient, always successful. “Almost like Superman,” the psychologist compares. wants to see depressed top athletes.

The fear of a career break

But it is not only the fear of the reactions from society that holds back many athletes. The fear of the sporting consequences also plays a major role. Especially in team sports. “If the trainer knows that athlete X is mentally unstable, there is a risk that she will not be called up. Logically, the athletes keep it to themselves if they are mentally unwell.”

It is precisely such cases that could be prevented by involving sports psychologists more in the daily lives of top athletes. “Just as someone goes to the physiotherapist when a muscle doesn’t feel so smooth, a sports psychologist should be available in every team if something gets in the way,” says Cristina Baldasarre.

Almost all major sports associations have now drawn up guidelines in the field of mental health. “But it’s not enough to upload it as a PDF somewhere on the homepage.” The sports psychologist explains that it is often a problem to put it into practice. Often the initiative still has to come from the athlete if he needs psychological support. Not everyone dares to take this step. In an ideal world, federations would relieve athletes of these concerns.

Source : Blick