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Playing sports competitively requires increasing commitment and stress, especially in international competitions, affecting mental health.
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Sports psychiatrists help athletes develop resilience, concentration, stress management and support them in recovering from injuries.
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Good mental health is crucial for athletes to reach their full potential and grow.
Playingsports is good for all ages.
However, when you reach certain levels and begin to enter the world of competitive sports, things can take a slightly different turn.
The commitment in terms of effort and time grows exponentially.
So does the level of tension and responsibility on athletes’ shoulders, especially when they find themselves competing in internationally renowned competitions, as in the case of the Olympics.
In many interviews more and more professional athletes confessed of the silent struggles they fought to preserve their mental health.
It has emerged that more and more athletes have begun working with mental health professionals.
An important reference figure
The professionals to whom athletes turn are psychiatrists with specific training in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mental health in athletes.
This is a specialty of psychiatry that studies the psychological pressure and stressors faced by professional athletes.
In the duties of sports psychiatrists there is also prevention about substance abuse, stress control, sleep management, energy management, that of crises and recovery from injuries, and of course preparation for competitions from the mental point of view.
There are at least 5 reasons why it has emerged that working with a sports psychiatrist can be the secret weapon for excelling in one’s discipline.
1. Increased resilience and mental toughness
Sports psychiatrists help athletes build mental resilience to make them able to handle situations where they will be under pressure during competition.
They are also supportive in the recovery phase after a setback.
Resilience is a trait that can be partly developed and trained, which is essential in the mental component of an athlete.
2. Increased ability to concentrate
Sports psychiatrists are able to teach techniques that can improve and increase the ability to concentrate, enabling athletes to aspire to excel in their sport.
These techniques include mindfulness practice and meditation.
To be able to perform to their full potential, athletes must be able to stay focused on the present moment while remaining focused on the competition.
3. Stress management
The role of the professional athlete brings with it a whole range of pressures and expectations.
To be able to manage everything around the individual performance there should be mandatory mental training as well as physical training.
Sports psychiatrists for example can help athletes combat performance anxiety and even teach them how to use it to their advantage.
4. Support during recovery from injury
When an athlete is injured, he or she will have to manage a difficult period from a physical point of view and at the same time equally challenging from an emotional point of view.
The figure of the sports psychiatrist becomes essential in these circumstances to provide mental health support during injury recovery and assess progress from a psychological perspective during an athlete’s rehabilitation.
After an injury, it often happens that a feeling of anxiety remains due to the fear of re-injury, as well as the fear of not being able to recover to return to perform at the same level as before the injury.
Sports psychiatrists can monitor and evaluate the intake of any medications if the athlete should be diagnosed with a depressive or high anxiety state.
5. Monitoring good mental health
Enjoying good mental health is just as important as being able to rely on good physical health.
By working together with sports psychiatrists, athletes can succeed in resolving problems that had previously held them back, thus being able to accelerate their growth to reach their potential and aspire to make a quantum leap in their careers.
The athletes we see with wide eyes on TV, with statuesque physiques, engaged in performances at the limit of human possibility, are after all men and women like us, made of flesh, bones, thoughts, frailties and fears.
Just as we should all care about our mental health so should they.
And sometimes, we all may need the intervention of a professional in the field to steer us on the right path. (Via Psychology Today)