Training the Body and the Mind

Understandably, athletes are commonly recognized for the hundreds of hours they dedicate to their physical training. However, a crucial aspect of an athlete’s training that is oftentimes overlooked is mental health. Taking care of one’s mental well-being is just as important as training one’s physical athleticism in any sport. Disregarding how you are feeling mentally does not remove the struggle; rather, failing to address your mental health risks your overall performance in your sport. It may seem like you are struggling alone, but in reality, mental stress, fatigue, and loss of interest are difficulties that many athletes are dealing with. This post will help you or any athletes you know struggling with their mental health recognize the signs of poor mental health and find ways to help overcome them.

Common Mental Health Struggles

Mental Fatigue:

Just as you can feel physically fatigued from a difficult practice, your mind can become very tired and feel a lack of energy from heavy mental strain. This stress can stem from numerous long practices, extensive school days, and feeling overwhelmed by a work overload and busyness. 

An extended period of mental fatigue can impair cognitive performance, resulting in decreased reaction accuracy and reduced focus.

Loss of Interest:

Over time, as you continue training and competing in your sport, you may lose the fun. A great deal of pressure to perform at your best all the time can lead to a poor attitude and, thus, a poor performance. This, in turn, can lead to taking time off and eventually quitting your sport.

Anxiety:

Anxiety is often associated with being a negative feeling. Becoming overly anxious can cause your performance to suffer from a lack of focus and overstimulation. However, anxiety can also improve performance. Just as a moderate level of anxiety can help push you to prepare for a school test, this same anxiety is what causes you to use your best effort and lock in your focus. The difference between these good and bad outcomes in performance is the athlete’s mindset.

Depression:

Depressive symptoms are significant to look out for and can be presented as: increased anger or frustration, intense feelings of worthlessness, a lack of energy, loss of interest, weight changes, and more. It is essential to recognize when you or anyone you know is struggling and to reach out for help to support them or yourself through it.

Strategies for Improved Mental Health

Focus on What needs to get Done:

A large contributor to stress in sports is competition. However, constant worrying about these high-stakes events will frequently cause more stress and be less helpful in boosting your performance. Just as mentioned above, this type of anxiety is detrimental. Therefore, focusing on the small things and removing the competition from the equation can help you achieve your larger goals, such as winning the competition and reducing the mental weight. These “small things” can ensure you eat nutritious foods, get enough quality sleep, and stretch to prevent injury.

Set Realistic Goals:

Similar to the previous strategy of focusing on the small beneficial tasks, setting realistically achievable goals can help increase motivation and enjoyment in your sport while still making progress. We athletes usually have large goals like winning competitions, representing a collegiate team, or even competing in the Olympics, but it becomes very easy to become discouraged when this is the only goal we are striving for. To combat this, make a list of goals like steps of a staircase. This can be decreasing your mile time in cross country or improving your technique on a skill in gymnastics.Make goals that push you to work harder while encouraging you to improve yourself in your sport.

Remember Why you Started your Sport:

We fall in love with our sport usually at a young age. When we first start, we make memories with teammates and connect with the aspects of our sport that keep us training and working hard every day. If you ever start to feel overwhelmed or lose interest in your sport from the stress and pressure, try to refocus your mindset on why you chose your sport and how far you have come since you began. It can be easy to feel stagnant in your progress, but taking a step back and looking at your progress from the beginning or even a few months or weeks before can help.

Conclusion

Mental health plays a significant role in an athlete’s performance as well as their enjoyment and continuation of the sport they love. How much you pay attention to and care for your mental well-being can either boost your performance or hold you back. Listen to your body to avoid physical injury, and listen to your mind and feelings to allow yourself the ability to train physically at your best level and continue loving the sport that you are passionate about.