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Photo of Naomi Osaka at a tennis championship game in 2015.
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Naomi Osaka in 2015. May Groves / Shutterstock.com
Tennis superstar Naomi Osaka joined the growing list of athletes putting their mental health first when she decided to retire from the French Open in May, a few days after being fined for she refused to attend press conferences after the media game. She shared on social media that her decision was made to protect her mental well-being, noting that she has been depressed and afraid to speak to the media since 2018.
In a recent New York Times article, Alan Blinder says that Osaka's decision to withdraw from the French Open “was a powerful example of a movement among elite athletes to challenge the age-old idea that they are like that and must be "incomparable in spirit as in body, unaffected by the scourge of mental illness."
Osaka has also chosen not to attend Wimbledon and will instead focus on representing Japan at the Tokyo Olympics later this summer.
Athletes are often held to unattainable standards and viewed as superhuman because of their amazing physical talents, says Michele Kerulis, an Illinois licensed clinical consultant with a doctorate in counseling and supervision. People expect them to be “perfect, excellent, exquisite and all these unbreakable things,” she explains. “But athletes are people who have the same range of feelings as all of us. They feel fear, depression, feelings of guilt, shame, embarrassment, etc. and … they are scrutinized if they have the feeling that the media or the public do not fit into this sport. ”
Overcoming the stigma
The stigma associated with depression, anxiety and other psychological conditions often prevents athletes from talking about their mental health needs for fear that they will be viewed as weak. And for some college and professional athletes, there's an added concern that their mental health could cost them their scholarship or contract, emphasizes Kerulis, a professor of counseling at Northwestern University focusing on exercise, exercise, and the influence of the media who specializes in sports psychology.
This fear is not unfounded. Taunya M. Tinsley, a licensed professional counselor and owner of Transitions Counseling Services in Paoli, Pennsylvania, has heard coaches critically or disparagingly refer to players' mental health issues with comments such as, "What's wrong with you ? Aren't you taking your medication? "This attitude further discourages athletes from speaking openly about their mental health.
"Just because someone has strong athletic abilities doesn't mean they don't suffer from mental health problems, so [counselors] they have to help bring the humanistic aspect back," emphasizes Tinsley, a member of the American Counseling Association, which specializes in sports counseling, multicultural and social justice, and spiritual and Christian interventions. Clinicians must "help athletes and those who work with athletes to understand that … we cannot separate mental and emotional well-being from physical well-being."
Mental training
Athletes ask Kerulis, an ACA member and Association for Applied Sport Psychology scholar, often a few days before a major game or event, to help them "get into the zone," and she lets them know that mental training takes time.
Coaches help athletes with the physical and strategic techniques, notes Kerulis, and coaches ensure that athletes' muscles are strong and prepared for the movements required in their sport. “The next piece is practicing these physical techniques to develop muscle memory. Learning a new skill or technique involves understanding that you won't get it on the first try, and that's part of the practice – repetition and trying, ”she says. “And it is the same with all psychological skills that athletes learn. You integrate that into your practice setting. "
Like a strength trainer, Kerulis works slowly with clients and uses therapeutic approaches such as mindfulness, cognitive behavioral therapy, imagery, relaxation, and arousal control to help them improve their mental focus.
A basketball player, Kerulis explains, spends most of the game sprinting up and down the court, sweating and increasing his heart rate. But if the player is fouled, he must quickly transition from this accelerated state to a calm one in order to successfully hit the free throw. This process requires mindfulness and body awareness, notes Kerulis. She could work with the basketball player for a few weeks developing a progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) script (slowly tensing and relaxing muscles throughout the body) and helping them scan their body and experience body sensations. Then, when they are on the free-throw line, they can do a quick body scan, release tension, and shoot.
"What you could see in a split second can take weeks of preparation," she emphasizes.
Anxiety and interpersonal skills
It is common for athletes to suffer from fear of performance. Kerulis, representative of the Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development (AMCD) for the Midwest Region and outgoing Midwest Chairwoman of ACA, once worked with a teenage boy who was a runner. Before every meeting he felt nauseous and dizzy, and no matter how he felt, he was desperate after it was over. He was already medically admitted to participate and wanted help in overcoming these physiological reactions to his fear.
In the session, they used the cognitive behavior therapy technique of stopping thoughts to help the client break through the negative thoughts that he often had a few days before each meeting and replace them with positive mantras or statements.
Kerulis' customer was afraid to tell his trainer about his fear because he thought the trainer might not let him drive. Kerulis asked if the coach noticed his fear and the change in his behavior, and the client said, "Yes, absolutely." So they discussed that the coach was probably wondering why the teenage runner was behaving differently.
This conversation helped the client realize that asking for help is a sign of strength, not weakness, and would show their desire for improvement, says Kerulis. With their help, the client prepared topics for conversation in order to reduce his fear of this conversation with his coach.
The teenager also improved his communication with his parents by stating that he wanted more positive thoughts about his races. His parents supported him and asked him before every meeting: “How are you feeling today? What is your mantra? "
Identity development
It is important that counselors assess where athletes are in terms of identity development and adjust treatment plans to help them explore identities outside of their sport, says Tinsley, clinical director of the Mount Ararat Baptist Counseling Center Church in Pittsburgh.
Some people may have an isolated identity and just see themselves as athletes without exploring other aspects of their identity, she says. Then after an injury or retirement they will question their identity: Who am I without this sport?
Kerulis notes that if someone's only perspective of themselves is being an athlete, they tend to have a more adverse reaction when something exciting happens in sport. While an athlete with an isolated identity can feel extreme disappointment after a lost game, for example, another athlete with a more open identity would not be so devastated because he has different interests in life and feels more balanced.
In other instances, athletes may have discovered additional interests outside of their sport, but their primary identity as athletes prevents them from pursuing those interests, says Tinsley, a past president of AMCD. For example, an athlete may want to major in health sciences in college, but their exercise schedule prevents them from taking the required courses or doing the necessary work.
Tinsley begins her sessions by asking questions unrelated to the client's sport so that she can get to know the person and not the athlete. She may ask, “What are your interests when you are not doing the sport? Who do you have a good relationship with in your family? "
Kerulis also encourages athletes to pursue various non-sports interests. “That shouldn't diminish the importance of mental preparation for the sport,” she says. "It is intended to help create a more versatile person so that they have this balance during difficulties, difficult times or obstacles in their sport … and reset [can]."
Prevention
Counselors should focus on preventing mental health problems in the athletic population, Tinsley stresses. This includes creating life skills programs to help athletes plan their retirement before it occurs so that the transition is not a shocking, traumatic event.
Tinsley has partnered with the National Football League (NFL) and the Pittsburgh Steelers to provide mental health services to athletes and to train former NFL players to serve as transition coaches between current athletes and mental health professionals. That work introduced her to LaMarr Woodley, a former Steelers linebacker who had already considered moving from the NFL by starting a Sack Attack program in 2009. Through pledges, every sack Woodley made raised money for youth welfare organizations in Pittsburgh and its hometown of Saginaw, Michigan.
Woodley explains in a recent interview with Tinsley how, despite some people's insistence on focusing solely on football, he knew he needed to prepare for life after his NFL career. He notes how parents and coaches push children to become professional athletes at a younger age, and that pressures can lead to burnout, stress, anxiety, drug use, and other mental health problems.
Consultants can help athletes prepare for these transitions, says Tinsley. She worked with Woodley to consider his next career options and he eventually decided to do his Masters in Sports Management with a major in sports counseling and continue to help athletes cope with internal and external pressures that can affect their mental health.
In an essay in Time magazine, Osaka emphasizes the importance of athletes (like other professionals) being able to pass days of mental health without examination or explanation, and reminds us that "it's in Okay is not being okay ". In the future, perhaps even more athletes will follow Osaka's example to put their wellbeing above their sport.
Kerulis welcomes Osaka's decision to make her mental health a priority. "It's so hard for people to admit difficulties," says Kerulis. “Some people refer to [her decision] as failure, but… putting yourself first and saying, 'I understand the importance of this competition and at the same time I am, can be one of the greatest achievements in an athlete's career. .. knows that I have to take care of myself, otherwise I cannot be the outstanding athlete I am. "
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Lindsey Phillips is the Senior Editor of Counseling Today. Contact them at [email protected].
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Opinions and statements in articles appearing on CT Online should not be construed as the opinions of the editors or guidelines of the American Counseling Association.
