Athletes in Mind
Contact point for mental health in competitive sports
Intuitively and through the media, top athletes are usually associated with the image of a high-performance, resilient and mentally strong person.
This image is slowly beginning to change and become more multifaceted - not least due to athletes such as Michael Phelps, Naomi Osaka or Simone Biles, who courageously talk about their mental stresses, as well as the educational work of institutions such as the Robert Enke Foundation, the sports psychiatry department of the DGPPN or MentalGestärkt.
Current research results show that mental disorders are as common in competitive athletes as in the normal population - some disorders such as eating disorders and depression are even much more common in some sports.
Mental strength in athletic competition is therefore not synonymous with mental health. Many athletes are able to perform at the highest level, even in spite of mental disorders.
It goes without saying that society has a high level of understanding for the physical demands and stresses of competitive athletes. In contrast, however, awareness of the mental stresses associated with competitive sports is less widespread: For example, the increasing professionalization and medialization, as well as risk situations such as pressure to perform, injuries, career endings, or experiences of failure.
In addition, it has become clear time and again that many athletes tend to suppress or conceal their problems out of ignorance or fear of stigmatization and unpleasant consequences, or seek professional help too late - sometimes with fatal consequences such as drop-outs, chronicity, crisis escalations, and even suicides.
We want to destigmatize, connect and support resources - for
for mental performance and mental health in competitive sports.
We are continuously working on the further development of the website www.athletes-in-mind.de, which can be a contact point for athletes and their environment who are interested in mental health in competitive sports and/or have a need for sports psychiatric - and psychotherapeutic help.
PARTNERS
Heidelberg University Clinic, Olympic training centers in Berlin and Rhine-Neckar
Mentally strengthened
Robert Enke Foundation
DBS
THEME
ATHLETES IN MIND - Contact point "Mental health in competitive sport"
YEAR
2021
