Olympic champion gymnast Simone Biles has won again on her return to high competition after a few years of hiatus to overcome her psychological problems. The Basketball World Cup is already taking place in Indonesia, Japan and the Philippines without the presence of Spanish point guard Ricky Rubio, who has decided to interrupt his sports career to take care of his mental health. The tennis player Naomi Osaka, the swimmer Michael Phelps, the soccer player Andrés Iniesta... the list of famous athletes who have confessed problems with depression or drowning under the weight of the pressure of success is long. Elite sport can end up punishing psychologically in certain circumstances. But what happens to grassroots athletes, children or adolescents who dream of being champions, winning medals and achieving notoriety?
"The general message must be very clear and it is none other than that sport is tremendously healthy for health and mental health, it is actually a blessing," says Víctor Pérez Solà, director of the Institute of Neuropsychiatry and Addictions at the Hospital del Mar in Barcelona. “But there are two aspects that are worth highlighting - Pérez Solà clarifies -. One is when sport becomes an obsession, and the other when it is the way of life, since professional sports or those of people who aspire to be professional are very stressful, and you have to know how to handle it, since it is a risk to the mental health".
For the psychiatrist, it must be taken into account that those who make a living from sport suffer enormous demands and that behind each champion "there are a lot of applicants who fall by the wayside and have to redo their goals and values to have a life satisfactory”. “And most make it, but some get into trouble,” he adds.
More worrisome is when sport becomes an obsession, especially among people for whom image is of exceptional value. "In adolescents the physical image and the ability to be influenced by others is higher than in adults and for this reason they run many more risks of falling into these situations that are actually addictions," says Víctor Pérez.
“When people practice sports too much, it has almost the same consequences as an addiction, it generates anxiety or feelings of guilt”, sums up Pérez Solà, who has led multiple research projects in neuroimaging, genetics and therapeutics.
For parents who see that their sons or daughters spend many hours in the gym or playing sports, there are various alarm signals. One would be when they begin to resort to hormones or anabolics. Another when their life routines change. And finally, when they are isolated or very abrupt changes in their behavior or academic performance are detected. Behind these pictures of dependence on physical activity, the doctor indicates, there are other mental disorders, such as obsessive-compulsive disorders, anxiety, depression...
"Although it must be emphasized that cases of addiction to sports are exceptional cases, at least in a public medicine consultation, it is much more frequent to see cases of dependence on screens, mobile phones or video games," says Víctor Pérez, former president of the Society Spanish of Psychiatry and Mental Health. "There is not much data on the subject because there are few cases, few epidemiological data and because there is that social component that sports is something healthy that is not evaluated as a problem," Pérez Solà emphasizes.
María Cabrera Bolufer, a sports psychologist and team coach, is used to dealing with blockages, anxiety and low motivation problems, among others. "Despite the fact that sport is essential for their development and that they sign up for fun or to be with their friends, as they play they may feel external pressure to want to meet their parents' expectations and that conditions the way they behave ”, indicates.
In the opinion of the psychologist, who has collaborated for professional soccer teams such as Málaga or Levante, the detection of this type of problem in children or adolescents involves raising awareness by schools, clubs and sports federations and by the joint work of coaches with psychology professionals who are integrated into sports organization charts.
Once the problem is detected, explains María Cabrera, "the important thing is to work with the families, who must be aware of the child's situation and who must have the necessary advice to be able to help them." “And then we work with the children in a practical and fun way, with sessions to train psychological skills and techniques that allow them to better manage pressure, tolerance for frustration, and anxiety,” adds Cabrera.
The individual characteristics of each athlete (personality, pressure management, previous experiences...), whether professional or not, the environment or the external resources available to them will be fundamental, in the opinion of psychologist María Cabrera.
Athletes, clarifies the psychiatrist Víctor Pérez, are also subject "to the three 'p's of mental health, that of having people around, that of the apartment (which means having economic well-being to have an apartment) and that of having a purpose in life." “If one fails -he explains- mental health can be maintained, if two fail things get complicated. If all three fail, problems are assured”.
"The important thing is the social network that the adolescent may have," says Víctor Pérez. "If the child has a good social network around him, the parents can rest assured, if this does not exist and the child changes his behavior abruptly or isolates himself, and spends many hours playing sports, then I would advise asking him if he has any problems, but without dramatize, sport is good”, insists the psychiatrist at Hospital del Mar.
