In This Article
“Even in a room full of people who support and love me, I felt alone,” these are the words of former Indian Cricket Captain Virat Kohli, emphasizing the need to reconnect with your inner self. Recently, Lakshya Sen, an Indian Badminton player took a break from the sport to focus on his mental and physical health.
Just like them, several international athletes have discussed how anxiety and depression hindered their performance in the games and competitions they were a part of, like Ben Stokes, Michael Phelps, Naomi Osaka, Simone Biles, and Chris Gayle.
Aryaman Birla, Madhya Pradesh’s batsman, took an indefinite break from cricket citing “severe anxiety related to sport” as the primary reason. In a statement released on Instagram, he wrote, “I have been coping with severe anxiety related to the sport for a while now. I have felt trapped. I have pushed myself through all the distress so far, but now I feel the need to put my mental health and well-being above else. So, I have decided to take an undefined sabbatical from cricket.”
Within the tapestry of athletic competition, where physical prowess is celebrated, lies a lesser-known, yet equally significant aspect: the intricate interplay between the human mind and athletic performance. And when this balance wavers, it impacts the mental health of a sportsperson.
Recent instances of high-profile athletes prioritizing their mental health, along with organized efforts from the sports industry, have triggered an important shift in the narrative of mental health in sports. Large organizations have also started looking at employee mental health significantly.
Just last week Unhurry did a story on Molly Seidel, an Olympiad with ADHD, OCD, and eating disorders . So many young sports persons are suffering from mental health conditions. Embracing and seeking timely help and support helped Molly triumph despite her mental health struggles. Molly is an inspiration to young sportspersons aspiring to make a career in sports.
In this article, we take a dip into understanding sports psychology and how deeply it impacts an athlete’s performance, and how the tools that are available today cope with such a situation.
What is sports psychology?
Sport psychology involves understanding how the mind affects an athlete’s performance in the chosen sport. According to reports, various approaches are based on sport psychology principles to address the issues such as how athletes prefer to learn, what their personality is, how they can relax and focus, how athletes learn to visualize a successful play, whether they overcome their limiting beliefs, and how they develop strong self-awareness.
The role of sport psychology in modern sports increases every year around the world. The coach’s role in sports is difficult to overestimate because coaches help athletes to maximize their achievements.
How does mental health affect performance?
Coaches and athletes are aware that there is a mental component to sports success. And this value of mental preparation is supported by several psychological studies.
According to a study published in the American Psychological Association, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics were notable not only for taking place during the COVID-19 pandemic but also for being the first athletic competition to measure and broadcast competitors’ heart rates as world-class archers competed for Olympic gold.
Yunfeng Lu (Nanjing University) and Songfa Zhong (National University of Singapore, New York University Abu Dhabi) examined these biometric data and found evidence to support what sports fans have long suspected: When athletes feel the pressure, their performance suffers.
Best professional athletes are negatively influenced by psychological stress.
“We found that high contactless real-time heart rate is associated with poor performance,” said Lu and Zhong in an interview. “This suggests that even the best professional athletes are negatively influenced by psychological stress, even though they are generally well trained to cope with pressure.”
Increased heart rate reduced performance
Lu and Zhong found that athletes whose heart rates were higher before taking a shot consistently scored lower on those shots. While archers’ age and gender were not found to significantly influence the relationship between stress and performance, several factors related to the nature of the competition did.
Moreover, increased heart rate was more likely to reduce the performance of lower-ranking archers and of all archers who shot second in a match or who had a lower score than their opponent at that point in the match.
There was also a stronger relationship between stress and performance closer to the end of each match, possibly due to the increase in pressure as athletes progressed in the competition, the authors wrote.
“Elite athletes usually receive training to manage psychological stress, but our results suggest that they continue to be subject to the influence of psychological stress,” wrote Lu and Zhong.
Sports 50-90 percent mental
In another research, Keith Kaufman, Ph.D., a Washington, DC-area sport psychology practitioner and research associate at The Catholic University of America presenting at the 125th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association said, “It’s been suggested that many coaches regard sport as at least 50 percent mental when competing against opponents of similar ability. In some sports, that percentage can be as high as 80 to 90 percent mental.”
“With popular belief and scientific evidence being in such harmony, one might expect that mental training would be a top priority within the athletic community. However, curiously, this is not the case,” said Kaufman. “We have met so many athletes and coaches who know that mental factors, such as concentrating, relaxing, and letting go of thoughts and feelings, can aid performance, but have no idea how to actually do those things under the pressures of training and competition.”
How do we diagnose a mental health issue in athletes?
Psychological stressors at different performance levels
Athletes in endurance sports face psychological ‘stressors’ that are specific to their sport. For instance, channel swimmers have talked about psychological pressures including loneliness and anxiety related to the length of the swim. Like this, runners talk of a debilitating psychological condition known as “hitting the wall,” in which they have intensely doubtful thoughts about their capacity to go on.
Psychological stressors are common to endurance athletes across different sports at different performance levels, says research published in the International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology.
Some of these stressors that came out during the research were, ‘remaining focused during an event’, ‘optimizing pacing’, and ‘commitment to training sessions’. These themes were perceived to affect motivation and concentration, which in turn impact overall performance.
Interventions that help endurance athletes to cope with these psychological demands could therefore encourage better outcomes in both performance and well-being for athletes.
Athletes’ language and belief systems have a major impact on mental health.
Athletes’ belief systems — specifically irrational beliefs — are related to poorer self-confidence, and in turn, greater competitive anxiety, and depressive symptoms.
Dr. Martin Turner, from Manchester Metropolitan University, said: “In our recent study, self-depreciation beliefs were found to be the main predictor of low self-confidence. In simple terms, when an athlete puts themselves down and uses language like “If I lose, it means I am a failure” it is most damaging and most likely to lead to losses of confidence. This is then likely to have a knock-on effect on performance and well-being.
Paul Mansell, Lecturer in Sport, and Exercise Psychology at Staffordshire University said, “Despite the psychological benefits of physical activity, studies frequently report poor mental health in athletes, which may be exacerbated by adversities, such as injury, de-selection, and performance pressure.”
“The good news is that irrational beliefs can be challenged and weakened. A coach, teammate, or sports psychologist can listen out for irrational belief phrases and help athletes to counter them. Promoting helpful ‘self-talk’ or imagery can really help to shift somebody’s mindset from being rigid and illogical to being more rational, flexible, and healthy,” Paul added.
Why is it now talked about in the mainstream?
An important shift in the narrative of mental health in sports was triggered in May 2021 when tennis superstar Naomi Osaka withdrew from the French Open, citing concerns for her mental health. In this act of bravery and vulnerability, Osaka faced both admiration and admonishment. Popular and social media quickly ignited and prominent athletes such as Serena Williams, Usain Bolt, and mental health advocate Michael Phelps supported the cause. A mental wellness app Calm went viral and offered to cover Osaka’s fines.
Even in Tokyo Olympics gymnast Simone Biles voluntarily sat out several events which further triggered a global discussion about mental health in sports and became a mainstream talk.
Mental Health risks for athletes:
The sports industry organized efforts to increase awareness of the numerous career dynamics that pose mental health risks to athletes:
- Unsustainable expectations for perfection and constant improvement
- Enormous public pressure to win.
- Pervasive demand to outwork or outlast an opponent.
- Relatively short career span (especially in case of injury, can end fast)
Discussion of mental health shifting at the organizational level
Discussions regarding mental health have also become more common in organizations due to the pandemic’s obvious detrimental effects on workplace mental health and well-being.
As a result, many businesses are modifying and refocusing their organizational health policies. For instance, executives from several well-known companies have started a global collaboration to spur reform.
What are the trends to improve mental health?
Applying Mental health narrative to Organisations
The Harvard Business Review in its article on the report on ‘Athletes are shifting the narrative around mental health work’ pointed out four strategies for leaders seeking to support their employees’ mental health. They are:
- Check in with your senior leaders.
- Embrace vulnerability.
- Monitor and prioritize mental recovery.
- Foster a support network.
Check-in with your senior leaders.
A person’s objective success in a particular field does not imply mental health success, affirms the article by Harvard Business Review. It further explains that being thrust into the leadership spotlight can increase pressure, scrutiny, feelings of isolation, and pressure to hold everything together for others during challenging times. For example, Sachin Tendulkar stepped away from being the captain of the Indian Cricket Team so that he could focus on his batting and can avoid the enormous pressure that an Indian captain has.
When applying this to the world of management, the report suggests giving access to senior leaders and providing them with a means of expression and routine mental health check-ins.
Another tactic is to have regular, brief check-ins at the start of conferences during which everyone, including senior leaders, expresses how they are feeling. This ritual creates a forum for everyone to have their say, promotes individual and group awareness, and helps bring up early indicators of mental health problems. To ensure that everyone feels comfortable sharing without worrying about criticism, team psychological safety is essential.
How Molly Seidel became a true winner despite OCD, ADHD, and eating disorders
Fritz Seidel, Molly’s father said when Molly won the second-place medal in the Olympic Marathon Trials, “She has learned a lot and she’s been doing this for a long time now, since grade school. And as you go through portions of your career, you get smarter about your training and running and what you want to do, and she has figured that out. I hope a lot of other women do and it’s a challenge.
Embrace vulnerability.
Sports psychologists have long recognized that intimidating instructors don’t train athletes to perform at their highest levels; instead, they instill a fear of taking chances and making mistakes, which hinders performance and encourages athletes to give up.
Similarly, in the workplace, abusive leadership can cause melancholy, alcoholism, emotional weariness, insomnia, and anxiety.
According to research, the stigma surrounding mental health continues to be a barrier to seeking help and can further drive individuals away from their colleagues and be perceived as less authentic by peers and supervisors.
By setting a positive example and sharing their own vulnerable stories, leaders may normalize dialogues about challenging emotions and mental health. During challenging times, leaders can expressly encourage their colleagues to be honest about their emotions.
The article emphasizes that setting a good example is no simple feat. It means leaders need to develop self-awareness (am I OK?), embrace their own vulnerability (maybe I’m not OK), and strengthen their sense of empathy and awareness of others (are they OK?). Finally, they need to have the courage and commitment to ask for, offer and receive help.
Monitor and prioritize mental recovery.
In sports, it’s well known that minds and bodies need to recover before athletes can perform at optimal levels. Mental health and physical health are two sides of the same coin. Research journals in the field of sports performance, sports psychology, and sports management address how to measure physical and psychological recovery after phases of extreme performance and why it matters.
However, management research and practitioner journals and press spend far less time addressing the need for post-performance and post-stress recovery in the workplace.
There are similarities between physical and mental rehabilitation. But mental illness can be more difficult to recover from. “If your body is broken, and if it’s capable of repairing itself it will. I think the mental side can feel harder because it won’t just happen with time. Although time is helpful, you’ll only recover if you’re doing the right things. You really need to have the right processes in place to be able to get back,” quotes the article.
Organizations are beginning to recognize the value of mental recuperation. Leaders can give advice on how and when to take breaks after times of heavy work and encourage their team members to celebrate the things they do to unwind and recharge.
In the hybrid or virtual world, leaders may also consider online mindfulness or yoga sessions, or give employees specific opportunities to completely disconnect.
To recover from work before they reach the point of exhaustion — and potentially burnout, or worse — all employees need to learn to recognize the stressors that may be consistently draining their own mental (and physical) resources. They should also develop a personal toolkit of boundaries and recovery techniques that work best for them, explains the write-up.
Foster a support network.
‘One of the accelerators of mental health symptoms and disorders is social isolation,’ highlights the report.
In the realm of sports, having a support group is conventional and frequently viewed as essential. This group has been assembled to offer athletes specialized performance coaching as well as ongoing emotional, physical, and psychological support.
In fact, the International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s #StrongerTogether for Tokyo Olympics held in 2021 focused on a people-centric message of Stronger Together, emphasizing the IOC’s message of solidarity and the belief that the world moves forward only when it moves together, and the irresistible power of the Olympic Games to unite people, communities, and societies across the globe.
Many organizations are similarly moving in this direction. For instance, peer-support networks, focused employee resource groups, and employee assistance programs with trained specialists all contribute to the normalization of social support.
The virtuous circle that supportive cultures create can lift the pressure and burden team members may carry. The support Helen got from the whole squad was amazing.
How does good mental health improve sports performance?
Mindfulness and Social support to get an edge over the opponents.
According to a study by Keith Kaufman, the concept of mindfulness can be beneficial, via a program to help athletes and coaches at all levels develop that mental edge and improve their performance. Another research indicates that sportsmen and women could get the edge over their opponents by accepting more emotional support in their personal and professional lives.
What is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness entails being aware of the present moment and accepting things as they are without judgment. When people are able simply to watch experiences come and go, rather than latch onto and overthink them, they are better able to intentionally shift their focus to their performance rather than distracting negative experiences such as anxiety, Kaufman said.
“For example, an athlete could identify that ‘right now, I’m having the thought that I can’t finish this race,’ so rather than reflecting an objective truth, it’s seen as just a thought,” said Kaufman.
How can you implement mindfulness in training sessions?
The program cited by Kaufman, consists of six group-based sessions that contain educational, discussion, and experiential components, as well as recommendations for daily home practice. “The training begins with sedentary mindfulness practice, where participants are instructed to focus on experiences like eating and breathing, but gradually more and more movement is incorporated, culminating in a sport-specific meditation in which athletes or coaches apply a mindful style of attention to their actual sport performance. In addition to formal exercises, the program emphasizes informal mindfulness practice, which involves engaging in daily activities with mindful intention, helping participants to integrate mindfulness into their workouts, practices, and competitions, as well as everyday life,” says the study published in the Science Daily website.
The training can be adapted to accommodate the amateur level of sport to professional and can be used by a single performer or by those in other high-pressure domains such as the performing arts or business.
How can social support improve performance?
A sympathetic ear or regular words of encouragement can improve sports performance. The researchers have tested the importance of social support by providing individually tailored support to sportsmen and then measuring its impact on performance.
Dr. Paul Freeman of the University of Exeter, the lead author of the study published in the Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, “It is significant that the support I offered, as a relative stranger, had such a marked influence on golfer’s results. The findings suggest that amateur and professional athletes would benefit from seeking social support, whether this is from a friend or family member or even from a professional.”
It has been demonstrated that social support affects a variety of aspects of life, including job performance. The findings can be relevant in many other contexts.
As Virat Kohli puts it in his interview with ICC, “I’m a human at the end of the day and that should be a thing or a space for people to say, ‘If he can experience this, relax it’s normal to feel this way’. It’s not abnormal, talk about it and discuss it with people. No one will think you are weak. You will get help from people you never imagined, but we don’t speak because we are hesitant. We don’t want to be looked at as mentally weak. Trust me, faking to be strong is far worse than that. I’m not feeling any shame that I was feeling mentally weak.”
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Source: www.sciencedirect.com; www.sciencedaily.com; www.hbr.org; www.kheljournal.com; www.icc-cricket.com
Help is here:
Name of the Organisation: Disha Counselling Centre
Disha is a centre dedicated to the mental health and vocational guidance of children, adolescents, and adults for 24 years. As part of Sports Counselling, their vision is to work with professional athletes and coaches to improve performance, overcome problems and increase motivation to achieve their goals by preparing them through mental workouts to succeed in competitions. Their sports psychologist Mugdha Bavare is a Counselling Psychologist, a National Level Swimmer, and one of Mumbai’s leading Sports Psychologists.
Website: www.dishaforu.com
Contact: email: mugdha@dishaforu.com
Telephone: 022-24384575 / 9821224874
Name of the Organisation: Samiksha Sports Pvt. Ltd.
Founded by former world top 100 badminton player Gayatri Vartak-Madkekar (MSc Sports Psychology, UK) & the highest qualified sports psychologist in the country Dr. Janki Rajapurkar-Deole (Ph.D. Sport Psychology, UK). With their rich experience, they have pioneered Samiksha Sports to bring in a world-class approach to developing a winning mindset.
Website: www.samiksha.co
Contact: 8308867600