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It is estimated that 35% of athletes suffer, at some stage of their career, from issues around mental health.
High profile sports stars, including 28-time medalist Michael Phelps have been quite open about their struggles.
“I hadn’t left my room for 5 days. I questioned whether I wanted to be alive anymore. I realized I am the strongest person I know, but I felt like the weakest.”
Michael Phelps
What we do know about the issue publicly may only be the tip of the iceberg, with country-specific and sport-specific research uncovering some very unsettling statistics.
A study from Norway found that 4 in 10 of its football players had suffered anxiety and depression, while demand for assistance services have spiked significantly in the UK amongst players.
Not only this, from a young age aspiring athletes face huge pressure, as do their families. In fact, research has looked at the cost of raising the next Lionel Messi – read more about that here.
Studies into sports psychology have a long history. In fact, studies into this area have even had a wider impact on social psychology. For example, Norman Triplett was a psychologist at Indiana University who conducted, in 1898, what is seen as the first study in social psychology. This research focused on social facilitation around cyclists. The basic gist was that cyclists would ride faster when surrounded by competition in the form of other cyclists (read more here).
Given how important this issue has become to sports, Business Of Sport sat down and spoke with Nick Davies, a leading UK sports performance mind coach.
Nick points to a career highlight as helping Midlands Champion kickboxer Fraser Weightman overcome a psychological breathing problem to help him he was able to win the British, Commonwealth, and European Titles. Boxing has changed rapidly over the last number of years too – read why here, despite sideshows like Mayweather vs McGregor.
Many of his clients have come from the fight game and for good reason.
“I can help anyone really, but the reason I’ve worked more with boxing and kickboxing is because I used to train in boxing and judo in my younger days and am an amateur boxing coach. I love watching fight sports, so it’s a great night in the ‘office’ if I’m working with a fighter at an event, I get such a buzz from it.”
Nick began his career over 15 years ago and seen a marked change in how seriously athletes are taking the mental side of their game.
“It’s slowly getting better, but it’s nowhere near how it’s used in the US and Canada. I helped a kick boxer a few weeks ago ranked 9th in the World beat the number 2 convincingly, but he doesn’t want anyone to know I helped him. Some people think it shows weakness if you need mental help, some see it as a secret weapon.“
He credits this to more and more athletes speaking about their own struggles mentally.
“This is getting better as some bigger names are coming forward, so more people are talking but talking is only 50% of the journey as it will only help you understand why you got ill, not how to fix it, for that you need to work with your unconscious mind with Hypnosis and the BLAST Technique® to resolve internal traumatic experiences.”
Sports psychology isn’t just for traditional athletes
Interestingly, he also has helped some non “traditional” sports, such as Irish dancing athletes. Nick explained how he got into this space.
“I was approached by Free Radio DJ Roisin McCourt who was an amazing dancer in her youth and now a great teacher and I’ve worked with them for over 6 years and had a huge haul of medals over that time, including several World Champions.
“It shocked me how hard they train and the pressure they’re under, not to dissimilar to boxing so it was fairly straightforward. Remember though that everything we do starts with the mind, whether it’s to do with focused concentration, explosive power, or putting a sequence of moves together in perfect timing.”
In closing the interview Nick has one critical bit of advice for any athletes thinking of looking at support in this area.
“Recognise it’s ok to feel like that, most people will experience mental health issues in their life at some time. Then find a therapist who really understands you and has a track record for helping people recover.
