Besides India bagging seven medals—including a much-coveted gold—a topic that has topped several discussions around the Olympics is the mental health of athletes. If US gymnast Simone Biles withdrew from the competition because of mental distress, Indian shuttler P.V. Sindhu stressed the importance of mental well-being after a match at the Olympics. A few months before that, superstar cricketer Sachin Tendulkar had spoken about battling anxiety the night before a game.
Once rarely discussed, the mental health of sportspeople is now in focus. A calm and relaxed mind is known to improve performance on the field. As a result of the several months of lockdowns over the past year and a half, and the reduced opportunities for practice and team games in sports, several athletes have complained of stress, anxiety, depression and other mental health problems. Founder-member of Disha Counselling Centre, Mugdha Bavare, a sports and counselling psychologist who has bagged more than 500 gold medals in swimming, shares tips on how sportspeople can overcome anxiety and work on their mental and emotional wellbeing:
“Pressure is synonymous with sport and every athlete has different reactions to it. It is important to understand the personality of the athlete and the reasons for their anxiety, and then design techniques to overcome that excessive pressure, which can be immensely damaging.
To deal with such pressure, it is important for athletes to change their thought process. Our focus is outcome-oriented, where athletes are expected to constantly be thinking of winning trophies, medals and matches. Instead, if they shift their focus to being excellence-oriented, it will help them concentrate on the game and perform to the best of their abilities. That is what is most important.
Pressure arises when you focus on the future and the outcome—with questions like ‘Will I get a medal?’, ‘Will I win the match?’, and so on. Instead, we tell sportspeople to focus on what is in their control, such as how they can improve their own performance. Yoga, meditation and breathing techniques work very well in calming the mind and helping people focus.
Three Ps are crucial. These are process, present and performance. Disconnect yourself from the future and the past and concentrate only on the present. Don’t judge yourself in terms of scores or ranking.
The past year has been a very difficult phase. Athletes have never had such a long break without skill training. All that they have been able to work on is fitness training. That has had an impact on their mental wellbeing because there have been no competitions and no feedback. The uncertainty about their future has put them under stress, leading to questions like ‘Will I be able to perform well in competitions?’ The problem has been more pronounced in team games.
We equate sports with success but what we need to ingrain in every competitor is that sports are not just about winning. There are several other components to it; a key aspect is the way it develops your personality. The moment the pressure stops you from enjoying a sport, it should ring alarm bells. Learn to enjoy every bit of it and it will ultimately give you success. This is an approach we must inculcate from the very beginning.”
Source: indiatoday.in
