Elite athletes: Stress of striving for success

South African 400 metre hurdler Wenda Nel says it felt like a “mental health bomb” exploded at the recent Tokyo Olympics, bringing into sharp focus the psychological stresses which affect elite athletes.“

Mental health is very important. You think you are young and tough, but as you get older you realise what a big role it is,” Nel said.

One of those who could not cope in Tokyo was American gymnastics star Simone Biles, who pulled out of the team final and individual all-around competitions. The pressure got to be too much for the 24 year old, who is being referred to as the greatest female gymnast of all time.

Biles was reportedly in the grip of what’s known in the gymnastics world as the “twisties”, when the mind and body are out of sync and a gymnast cannot tell up from down. Now long after that came the tragic news from New Zealand that 24-year-old former Olympic cyclist Olivia Podmore had committed suicide.

Lloyd Bemelman, director at Champion Sport Psychology, said the textbook definition of anxiety was not having the means to cope with the situation.“Something can seem much bigger than you are or your capabilities, or your perceived capabilities. It’s all perceived because it’s not whether you can or cannot do it, it was whether you think you can do it,” Bemelman explained.

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Bemelman said even animals have testosterone or serotonin in their bloodstream during a stressful situation.

“Animals know how to turn it off and humans don’t,” he said. Bemelman said if you do no exercise, you may feel anxiety symptoms but as soon as you train too much and have too much pressure, the anxiety starts to mount.“Athletes are worse than normal people because they feel more pressure to perform and often it’s their livelihood that depends on it. If they don’t get a medal, they lose their salary,” he said.

Counselling psychologist from Sport at Exercise Medicine and Lifestyle Institute (Semli) Marteleze Van Graan said mental health at an elite sport level was something that was neglected. Van Graan referred to the examples of Biles and tennis star Naomi Osaka, who refused to address the media at the French Open earlier this year.

“Even though we see athletes as superhuman and some of their performances are superhuman, they are still human and they are not exempt from mental health challenges like dealing with anxiety, dealing with pressure or fear of failure. They also suffer from these mental health conditions,” Van Graan said.“The first thing to realise, un-like the everyday Joe when they go to a doctor for anxiety, they are likely to get prescription medication and be advised to exercise.

Elite athletes cannot use some of the substances because they need to comply with regulations and are limited in the medication they can take. That can affect their training,” Van Graan said. Van Graan said because everything was built around exercise for an athlete, going for a run wouldn’t cut the stress.“Exercise for them is a job and an income. It’s no longer exercise. This is what they do for four to six hours a day,” she said.

Van Graan said athletes need assistance with coping skills to help deal with their anxiety. She said because of the stigma around mental health, many athletes didn’t confide in their coaches.“If you are depressed, imagine you have a four-hour training session waiting for you,” Van Graan said.

She said one of the ways to help athletes cope was breaking down the exercise so they could still train but not to the point of exhaustion.“Mentally, they can’t manage the load at that moment.“It’s about finding a balance between what they need to do and what the energy levels allow and keeping them at an optimal level with limited interference,” Van Graan said. Nel said the right mental health support from the right people can add a lot of value to an athlete’s performance.“It’s a very personal thing. I don’t think all athletes feel the same,” she added.

She said certain athletes could handle the pressure from the public, coaches, and family better or differently than to other athletes.“Some thrive on this pressure where others don’t. It is tough,” she said.

Nel said she was fortunate to have the go-to people to talk to when she feels under pressure.“I enjoy what I do. There will always be pressure from everywhere, but you put a lot of that pressure on yourself,” Nel said.

Nel said we need to pay more attention to mental health in high-profile athletes.“There is so much pressure in the world,” Nel said.“My message to the younger generation is they should not be too proud to ask for help. Everyone at times feels insecure about themselves. It is okay not be okay,” she said. – marizkac@citizen.co.za