We as humans all have our own issues and struggles, and treating them is what we all require. In the same way, athletes face many issues under pressure to achieve on the fields or tracks or reach their goals.
Portraying their struggle Deeanna Kastor a long-distance runner and an Olympian, very well quoted, “As athletes, we have ups and downs. Unfortunately, you can’t pick the days they come on” Thus, the struggle is part of every story.
In order to get past these hurdles, athletes need support for handling stress, pressure, and Anxiety, wherein mental therapy and psychological treatments come in handy. But before knowing why the athletes need psychological treatment, let`s jot back in this race and see what it actually means.
Imagine sharing all your downhearted thoughts with your friends or family, most of the time leads to a one-way conversation, and you can’t get anything cleared out or get some advice that you can inculcate. Similarly, psychological treatment is bursting out all your thoughts to a medical professional who would listen, understand, and try to get an outcome of the problem.
In technical terms, one is also called psychotherapy, wherein one incorporates healthy outcomes muddle with the help of several theories. Sports psychology is the most common psychological therapy that the athlete uses. Thus, do you think athletes need this? Of course, they need it, in order to know more let's know in detail
Sports psychology refers to using psychological knowledge to optimize an athlete's performance. It studies how psychological factors affect an athlete's performance and how it can be improved so that the athlete can perform at his best level.
Psychological influence on the mindset of an athlete person toward the game. Psychology investigates how participation can improve the mind and health of the sportsperson.
Sports psychology does not work only on a professional athlete. It may be helpful for the person who is not an athlete but exercise daily. Sports psychology influence and motivate them toward exercise.
Being a professional player or athlete is not easy. The competition is so high these days. With fame, there also comes the responsibility to prove yourself. But sometimes, that athlete is hated or controversial for a little reason.
The athlete has to bear with it, as he cannot create a scene of frustration. This can even affect their performance. They must face criticism caused by fans, media, team members, and many others.
This makes them overthink and affects the brain, eventually affecting their performance. The therapist makes them react, and according to the athlete's reaction, the therapist works out and channels their depression and all into performing their sports.
Here are a few things that athletes learn from psychology;
Firstly, Competition is one such aspect that builds pressure in the lives of athletes and, thus, leads to anxiety. After all the years of blood, sweat, and tears, athletes come very far to achieve “the end,” which is the finishing line. Thus, in order to get over such stress and anxiety, they need something to burst their bubble; this is where psychological treatment comes in the relay.
Being an athlete is difficult. “Expectation” is the starting point of this relay. Expectations from your own self to make yourself and everyone else proud, expectations from your family to flourish and glorify in what you are doing, the expectation of your friends to be in touch and not lose contact, the expectation of your coach from an athlete gain achievement. All these expectations thus take a toll on the athlete and thus require mental therapy to keep them insane.
Athletes go through hardcore training sessions, from running laps of 800m in the field to maintaining a proper diet, and keeping up with it often leads to exhaustion and burnout, which in turn leaves the athletes with stress and anxiety or even depression and thus, if not given proper guidance can lead to further issues and hence, physical treatment can be beneficial.
Failure is another big fight they have to cope with, athletes often fail, and constant failure leaves them down to losing self-esteem and confidence in themselves and, thus, without any hope. In order to face such situations, they would or might need some professional help before they seep down to mental disorders, and thus, psychological help is needed.
Thus, several such reasons need legitimate support; thus, athletes do need mental or psychological help.
Many profound athletes have suffered through depression, ‘The rock,’ is Dwayne Johnson, who suffered from depression and once said, “With depression, one of the most important things you could realize is that you are not alone; you’re the first to go through it. Wish I had someone at that time who could pull me aside and say, hey! It will be okay,” and this someone can be your therapist, listener, and advisor.
Here are a few reasons why psychological performance treatment can be beneficial for athletes.
It’s safe to say that psychology is a vital part of sports after looking at all its benefits to an athlete.
There might be chances that the therapy you indulge in might not work for you. So you can follow some other steps which can have an impact on your mindset and keep your calm, lowering your depression-like situation.
If everything on your own personal level is going out of hand and, as an athlete, you can’t think straight, take a break. When one gets too frustrated, things tend not to go how they perceive them to, and hence, leave it for some time and get back to it with a fresh mind.
Try different breathing techniques for fun. These breathing techniques can, thus, help you calm down and keep you focused. You can try out padmasana, equal breathing, tiger breathing, etc.
Talk to your fellow Athlete. All athletes might go through those same struggles and will know about the hardships. Instead of talking to your friend, talk to your coach or a fellow athlete who might share their experience or motivate you.
As previously said, athletes go through many ups and downs and hardships, and to get past them, they need mental support. According to the stats, it is said that athletes tend to have mental health issues to a greater extent as compared to people from other fields.
You can follow any of the above mentioned steps to get rid of such conditions. It will help you with psychological treatment. You’ll be more focused on the game and achieve whatever you have been going to get.
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