October 10th is World Mental Health Day – a topic that is also becoming increasingly important in elite sport. Awareness of psychological stress in top-class sport has increased. But in many places there is still a lack of education, openness and appropriate structures.
Constant pressure to perform, injuries or the fear of being kicked out of the squad – everyday life in competitive sports is characterized by hardship and high expectations. The system demands everything from its athletes – physically and mentally. If you want to survive, you have to function.
Behind medals, best times and podium places are people who are under enormous pressure. Well-known athletes are increasingly speaking openly about psychological stress – a taboo that long seemed untouchable. High-performance sport, which is geared towards success, discipline and perfection, brings with it not only physical but also mental scars.
The pressure of the system: When strength becomes a duty
“Competitive athletes are used to pushing themselves to their limits and beyond their limits and sometimes not even noticing, when have I crossed a limit, also in terms of psychological stress, for example?”says Marion Sulprizio, graduate psychologist at the German Sport University Cologne and project manager of “Mentally Strengthened”an independent network initiative for mental health in competitive sports.
The constant pressure to perform also means that many athletes do not dare to talk about their mental problems. There is too great a fear that their openness could be interpreted as weakness – with possible negative consequences for their career. Anyone who talks about stress or has to take a break risks, in the worst case scenario, losing their place in the squad and thus also their financial support.
According to studies, the incidence of mental problems in elite sports is hardly different from that in the general population. But this especially applies to depressive moods and anxiety disorders. Mental illnesses related to body image disorders such as eating disorders are strikingly more common among top athletes, explains Sulprizio.
The reasons for this lie in specific risk factors that are particularly pronounced in competitive sports. Permanent internal and external pressure to perform, dealing with extreme situations, constant replaceability, pressure from the public and social media as well as the end of a career can put a significant strain on the mental health of athletes.
Initiative pushes for change
Léa Krüger and Ben Ellermann have the platform together with athletes from Germany “More than muscles” brought into being. “An initiative by athletes for athletes”it says on her Instagram channel. You yourself are closely familiar with the competitive sports system. Krüger is a former saber fencer and Ellermann is a national rugby player.
The former saber fencer Léa Krüger
They know what it means to struggle with mental health and how important it is to raise awareness of the issue. Your idea: An independent one Safe spacewhere athletes can discuss mental problems and seek help. “We’re trying to get the system to think that mental health is something that not only needs to be focused on, but that real change is happening.”says Léa Krüger.
Sluggish structures in competitive sports
The trainers play a crucial role in this. Their leadership style and their attitude towards the topic of mental health also shape the environment around the athletes. If there is a lack of openness, knowledge or knowledge of support offers, young athletes in particular find it difficult to ask for help.
There is also a certain inertia in the association’s structures, says Ben Ellermann. A system that has worked for a long time and produced sporting success is difficult to change. But that is exactly what is necessary, emphasizes Ellermannn: “Does what’s being done really make sense? Or is it simply a system that has worked somehow for so long until it no longer works and needs changes?”
Rugby national player Ben Ellermann
While sports medical care has long been a given, there is still a lack of broad, structural support in the field of sports psychology. Financial resources usually flow into optimizing physical performance – psychological aspects are still given little consideration.
Public funding is usually based on measurable performance and medal expectations – if the budget is cut, psychological support is often the first to be affected. Mental health – as a prerequisite for sustainable success – hardly plays a role. Although more and more organizations are recognizing that sporting success is inextricably linked to mental health.
Different contact points
However, mental health in competitive sports is now increasingly destigmatized. Especially because more and more athletes are talking openly about their mental health problems. Like tennis professional Alexander Zverev, who said after his first round exit at Wimbledon in the summer that he felt “pretty alone in my life”.
There are now various contact points that athletes can turn to. Association psychologists already work in some associations. In addition, projects such as “MentalStärkt” offer a network of experts and provide those affected with sports psychological or therapeutic support.
On the one hand, the initiative’s work aims to educate and raise awareness about mental health in competitive sports “Offering athletes who suffer from mental illnesses help at an early stage or even arranging therapy places”explains project manager Marion Sulprizio. However, for more serious psychiatric illnesses, psychotherapeutic or psychiatric help must be sought.
Prevention as the key to mental strength
In North Rhine-Westphalia there is also “mental talent” already has a network that provides sports psychological support to young competitive athletes and is funded by the Sportstiftung NRW. The aim is initially to work preventatively – before stress becomes a crisis. Prevention is particularly important in youth sports and in promoting talent.
“With early preventative sports psychological measures such as dealing with pressure, dealing with defeats, communication with the coach, recovery stress management” Mental health should be strengthened, says Marion Sulprizio. It is important to start with the lower squads and to provide sports psychological support in the state squads in order to prevent young talents from leaving competitive sports too early due to mental stress.
Financial support and public visibility
All of these are already important steps – supported by a generational and cultural change in which open communication and people-friendly interactions are becoming more important, emphasizes Sulprizio. However, there is still a lot of room for improvement.
In order to support athletes mentally, more independent and neutral institutions are needed that work outside of associations, clubs and coaching structures. Low-threshold access for athletes is also crucial. All experts agree on this. However, such offers would have to become better known: they would need financial support and public visibility.