When sport becomes a problem – DW – 02/28/2023

There are days I will never forget. November 10 is one of those days, the day that Robert Enke, goalkeeper of the German national team, took his own life at the age of 32.

It was my birthday and I was in the middle of a celebration when the news came. After that, the celebration came to an abrupt end. Robert Enke was dead.

He suffered from depression. Me too. He was a professional athlete, I was a recreational athlete. To this day, sport helps me get through difficult times. For Robert Enke, sport – coupled with the pressure of having to be the best between the posts – was possibly one of the decisive factors in his own life.

The dark side of a sick competitive system

Enke is just one example of many athletes who have suffered or are suffering from depression. For a long time, however, only a few publicly acknowledged their condition. Only recently have athletes begun to speak out, which has led to the breaking of the taboo surrounding mental health.

Another example is Simone Biles, the American gymnast. She collected 25 medals at world championships, making her the most successful athlete in the competition. At the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo, the then 24-year-old gave up several competitions and justified her withdrawal with psychological problems, combined with sexual abuse by the US team doctor Larry Nassar.

In the same year, tennis player Naomi Osaka withdrew from the French Open after her first-round win over Patricia Maria Țig of Romania. Osaka, then number two in the world rankings, justified her shock decision by saying that she suffered from depression and was crumbling under the immense ongoing pressure from the media.

“You don’t talk about it,” said French world champion Paul Pogb about depression Le figaro newspaper last year. Pogba himself first contracted the disease while playing at Manchester United under manager Jose Mourinho. Pressure and self-doubt have reached a point that is unbearable, Pogba said.

Anyone can be affected

Athletes in elite sports suffer from depression just as often as anyone else. “Around 5 percent are affected,” says Professor Jens Kleinert from the Psychological Institute of the German Sport University in Cologne.

He and his colleagues have compiled and evaluated countless studies on the subject.

“These studies show numbers in the 4-9% range, which is the same number as non-professional athletes. It’s in the normal range.”

However, after injuries, this figure can go up to 10-15%. Sport can protect against depressive disorders in leisure time, but it can also cause additional stress in the professional performance area.

Athletes are constantly expected to perform at their best. The German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB), for example, measures its associations according to how many athletes are allowed to take part in world championships and the Olympic Games.

When the pressure gets too much

Preparing for sporting events over many years can demand a lot from athletes. It’s a battle for seconds, minutes, distance, altitude, most hits or most precise jumps. If you can’t focus on the goal, many years of preparation will be wasted.

Often the whole world is watching at this very moment. When a dry spell sets in or athletes are absent for months due to injury, self-doubt creeps in and long-awaited goals burst like soap bubbles. “Disability wears down an athlete’s confidence.

The level of suffering then becomes extreme, which can lead to depressive episodes,” Kleinert told DW.

The sports and health psychologist says these sentiments may be fueled by some athletes’ belief that they need to maintain the public image of the strong athlete or hero.

signs of depression

The typical signs in those affected are numbness, sadness and little to no joy. Cristina Baldasarre is a Swiss sports psychologist who looks after national and international top athletes in a wide variety of sports.

“When they come to me, they cry a lot. They often don’t know how to deal with the pressure of training and competition,” Baldasarre told DW. “Your training performance deteriorates or fluctuates extremely.

“Some are canceling their competitions or no longer going to training. You no longer have any motivation, feel tired and no longer dare to do anything. Some also feel that their coaches do not treat them well. And quite a few develop anxiety and compulsions.”

Performance vs. Joy

Baldasarre advocates modified performance support for top athletes. The focus must be on self-confidence and joy, says the psychotherapist at Zurich’s Mind2win sports psychology department.

“When I ask athletes what they did well on a particular exercise, the first thing they do is tell me what was wrong and what was wrong,” she says. “They almost never come up with things that went well on their own.”

Of course, it’s a coach’s job to get the best out of the athletes, but constantly pointing out the mistakes does little to build self-confidence. Baldasarre says there needs to be a paradigm shift. Athletes shouldn’t be judged solely on their performance, they should be allowed to develop their skills and enjoy themselves.

In other words, the focus must be on the person, not the time, height or distance achieved. Baldasarre would like sports psychologists to become an integral part of training, similar to what is happening at colleges in the USA.

Objective and subjective success

Kleinert sees it similarly. He says you have to look at the personal development of each individual athlete.

Example: If a triathlete does not achieve the performance to be at the top at German championships or world championships, coaches, physiotherapists and parents should look at the personal sporting development of the individual. What went well? What has improved?

This approach makes it possible to set realistic goals. Even a 10th place could subjectively be a success.

“We cannot change the performance environment, at least not very quickly. But we sports psychologists can help athletes to deal with this environment,” says Kleinert.

That is why the use of sports psychologists in the youth academies of the federal leagues, which has been mandatory since the 2018/19 season, is so important, but is not implemented across the board.

This article was translated from German.