There is no health without mental health. And optimal performance demands both.
I’ve been saying a version of that tagline for the past decade in my work with athletes and coaches on issues pertaining to both mental health and high-performance psychology principles. We often default the mental health conversation with athletes to topics such as “mental toughness,” “resiliency,” and “grit” in the context of achieving high performance, but we often fall short in addressing the deeper human concerns that we all face – things like stress, anxiety, depression and burnout. There’s never been a better time to communicate on issues related to mental health given that this topic is undergoing a serious re-branding in the world of athletics with the likes of Simone Biles and Naomi Osaka giving attention to these concerns while performing on the world stage.
今天的心理健康挑战
现在，我们获得特权工作的大多数运动员都不会经历世界上观看的压力。他们是每天的人类，日常生活，日常职业和日常责任。联盟大流行对我们的集体和个人心理健康造成的重大损失为开始讨论这些问题提供了适当的背景，因为它们继续破坏了正常的生活节奏，并影响了运动员的训练和赛车时间表。许多人可能正在努力解决持续的心理健康问题或特定于Covid的问题，作为教练，您处于独特的帮助下。
例如，我们知道working mothers通过共同经历了高度的艰辛，部分原因是认知载荷增加 - 思想的数量，安全检查以及添加了与生活各个方面不断变化的人的思想，包括a tendency to take on more than working dads (I’m a working dad too, so apologies here fellas for the generalization) regarding household, childcare, and educational needs. (How many athletes do you train that are working mothers?)
这并不奇怪，全球研究97,000名卫生保健工作者整个21个国家 /地区的抑郁症发生率高（轻度至中度范围为57.8％），焦虑症（轻度至中度范围内60％）和创伤后应激障碍（中等范围21％）在过去的16个月中护理。（您培训多少运动员是医护人员？）
Even before COVID, data suggested that athletes are not immune to mental health concerns, with studies showingdepression in collegiate athletes mirroring the depression ratesfor their non-athletic counterparts (as one example). (How many student-athletes do you have?)
Finally, as we collectively emerge in varying waves given location and circumstance with COVID, research is showing that resiliency is scored equally among athletes and non-athletes alike, butathletes may be experiencing higher levels of anxietydue to “negative affectivity” (essentially negative emotional and psychological experiences that emerge in an athlete’s identity when unable to participate in sport). (How many races/events have been canceled for your athletes?)
As coaches, we are in a position to have an amazing opportunity to help. This begins by understanding our clients as people first and athletes second. In turn, this requires us to develop a framework for communication on mental health topics with those we have the privilege to coach and train. Here are a few important steps to consider in this process.
Ask
Now, this may seem like a no-brainer starting point, but you’d be surprised at how many people avoid this topic altogether, worrying that bringing up “mental health” will make things worse. But that’s far from the case – asking not just the cursory “how are you doing,” but authentically addressing the deeper level of impact that COVID (for example) may be having shows interest and validation for what your athlete may be going through.
您不必探究或提出不真实的问题，但是提出针对他们的福祉和一般心理健康（不仅仅是他们的培训）的问题是重要的第一步。一开始这可能会感到笨拙，但是如果您从“没有心理健康的人都没有健康的角度”，那么您和您的运动员将开始理解这个因素不仅对他们的表现，而且是他们的整体健康。而且，几乎每个人都经历了Covid的某些干扰或压力，这一流行病给了我们一个简单的机会开始对话。
Be Flexible
绝大多数运动员受到检查，需要检查其绿色训练盒，并渴望按计划完成日期/几周/几个月的培训量和强度，尽管他们生活的其他方面可能发生了什么。有时，日常训练的常规可以用作心理健康渠道或重要的干扰，但也可以增加压力和焦虑层的层次。重要的是要认识到训练负荷和体积如何不仅在压力的身体和生理层上积累，而且还在情绪和心理层面上积累。同意您的运动员如何灵活接触训练对他们的身体和他们的脑海一样重要。这包括持续的对话，以每天监测和报告的压力，焦虑和抑郁因素的每周积累。这可能需要保证，休息日或减少量/强度的完全幸福感不会导致健身，但充电对于最佳性能和寿命至关重要。
Follow Up
问曾经是一个很好的开始,但这是不够的。If we are ultimately going to de-stigmatize mental health we need to make it an ongoing discussion with all-important relationships in our lives. That includes connecting the dots that what we are experiencing is deeply human, and that as coaches we are prone to the same afflictions with stress, anxiety, depression and burnout as everyone else. Sharing those concerns and maintaining an appropriate level of openness with our athletes is key in this regard. Maintaining a willingness to continue this conversation throughout the training cycle by follow-up on a regular basis is important.
我是一个忠实的信徒，体育运动为自我发现提供了很大的机会，尤其是对于业余运动员而言。这一旅程的一部分使我们作为教练可以窥视他们的内心生活。我们处于一个值得信赖的位置，我们需要引起对影响运动员内外跑步鞋的这些问题的关注。希望您能继续利用自己的教练职位来支持他们的运动和人类旅程。
