Managing mental health in sport: A universal challenge

Guardian Nigeria

On World Mental Health Day, DW speaks to sportspeople around the world about how they manage their mental health.

Transcript

00:00Here's a definition of addiction. A pervasive and intense urge to engage in behaviours providing

00:11immediate sensory rewards, despite their harmful consequences.

00:17So why are we looking at someone working out?

00:23Even when I was sick, I couldn't leave it. I'd stick with it, running 20km right after

00:27getting up, regardless of how I felt.

00:32The number of people suffering from exercise addiction can only be guessed. Experts assume

00:38there are a significant number of undetected addicts among professional and amateur athletes.

00:45I was never able to just be myself and feel free and alive, or even laugh.

00:53There's little documentation about this condition, as it is not yet classified as a disorder.

00:58Some therapists and doctors are not even aware it exists.

01:04Sport was absolutely my drug. That's how it felt. It was like getting high.

01:10How do you deal with an addiction that is officially not even recognised?

01:23This is an ordinary morning in the life of Friederike Mohrawitz.

01:39It wasn't always like this.

01:44I'd get up already tense and tired and at the same time stressed by all the things I

01:49had planned. I was a full-time student, had a job on the side and was also doing several

01:55hours of sport every day.

02:02I also did two marathons, just for myself. I'd just get up and tell myself I was going

02:07to do it. Nobody knew. I just set off with no water.

02:16It was crazy. But it was never for any competitive goals or due to athletic ambition. It was

02:22a pathological need.

02:29Running more often, further and for longer in order to keep on getting the same kick.

02:38Neglecting social life and other interests, these are potential symptoms of exercise addiction.

02:44There was not so much enjoyment as compulsion that motivated Friederike to go running.

02:52I've had low points where I broke down in training and started to cry because I wanted

02:56to stop but couldn't.

02:59Depression, insomnia, anxiety, restlessness and panic are common withdrawal symptoms caused

03:06by something that normally ought to be healthy. Sport.

03:15The joy of just relaxing and doing nothing is something the now 27-year-old needed to

03:19learn. It was a long journey that started when she was still growing up.

03:25I was still living with my parents and I think I really did believe back then that I looked

03:29athletic, which is why I took photos of myself in sports gear. I did as much sport as I could

03:38every day and I was completely helpless. You can see it in my eyes, in my face. There's

03:46no life in them.

03:50Friederike suffered from an eating disorder from the age of 12. Having control over our

03:56own eating habits tells us one thing above all. I have control over my life.

04:02In her case, sport was an addiction displacement. Exercise addiction is often identified not

04:08as a primary disease but rather as a secondary illness.

04:18At the time, sport was an outlet for all the stress in my body from the emotional turmoil

04:23and trauma I had experienced. And sport helped me to feel better in the short term, which

04:31is why I became addicted. But in the long term, it left me drained and dependent and

04:38it took over my life.

04:45On four occasions she checked herself into hospital to get help in the shape of psychosomatic

04:49treatment.

04:51I went there voluntarily because for me being an inpatient at a clinic was a kind of refuge

04:57where I could just put everything aside, including responsibility. It was a place where I knew

05:03I had no obligations, whereas at home on my own I had zero control over my life.

05:12People use a wide variety of substances and habits to deal with stress or to feel more

05:17relaxed. Addiction doesn't necessarily have anything to do with what the individual is

05:22addicted to. Endless work, excessive cleaning, constant sex or social media, gambling addictions.

05:34These are all ways of preventing particular thoughts from entering our minds and blocking

05:39unwelcome emotions.

05:44Trauma is extremely individual. It doesn't need to be anything bad like some terrible

05:49natural disaster or having been abused. A trauma is a response by the body to an experience

05:59that overwhelms you and triggers stress that you're no longer able to control yourself.

06:12Without a doubt, for me the key to finding the road to recovery was the trauma diagnosis.

06:27After the diagnosis I finally felt understood as a whole person. It was out of necessity.

06:33I didn't run to get thin, I ran because I couldn't help it. My body was permanently

06:41charged up and I spent years suffering, just lost in the dark.

06:52In weekly therapy sessions she learns to get in touch with her feelings by improving her

06:57connection to her body.

06:59There's this huge despair, feeling helpless, completely pent up, basically anxiety.

07:17So anxiety, helplessness and despair. Well, there's a good reason for your nervous system

07:25to say, best to keep it in your head.

07:28Yeah, that's true. I've been in therapy for eating disorders and depression since I was

07:3615. I've seen a lot of therapists in that time and there are a lot of dubious approaches

07:43out there. But instead of scaring you off, it encourages you to seek someone who sees

07:49the real you.

07:52How does that feel, when things calm down a bit?

08:05My head's always telling me that looking inward is really bad. But now I tend to feel

08:12the opposite. And it's great, realizing that things aren't how my head is telling me all

08:22the time.

08:28How does that feel?

08:31It makes me feel happy.

08:36Current research reveals that everyone can be affected by exercise addiction. Amateur

08:41athletes, endurance athletes and gym-goers are considered to be particularly at risk.

08:49Friederike has found her way out.

08:56Sport has now become a hobby for me that I do for myself and to empower myself too. When

09:04I do sport now, instead of feeling helpless and powerless, it's me in control.

09:18I feel much more relaxed and at ease with myself. I have more power because I eat enough

09:24and I know I can leave it if I don't feel like it or if I'm sick.

09:31And there's another thing that's very important to her – raising awareness of mental health

09:36issues.

09:37Hi, I'm Rieke.

09:44And I'm Janina.

09:46And you are listening to Unverhüllt. It's lovely to see you, sweetie, and for you guys

09:51to be hearing us again. We finally have a new focus topic coming soon.

09:58In her podcast Unverhüllt, or Full Disclosure, she and her friend Janina talk boldly and

10:03candidly about mental health.

10:08What's their advice to friends or relatives of those affected by exercise addiction?

10:14First, open and honest communication. Instead of immediately resorting to third parties,

10:21start with a heart-to-heart with your daughter or son to see what the actual issue is. Is

10:28it due to psychological strain? And if you notice that there's something wrong, it's

10:35incredibly important to read up about the subject before you start experimenting or

10:40prohibiting things.

10:53Sport can also constitute self-harm if you train while sick, or train too much, or aren't

10:59eating enough.

11:05Sport is not always good for your body. Too much of it is pathological. I don't think

11:11most people are aware that there is such a thing. They think that too much lying around

11:18is bad. But running 10 hours a day is something you can't keep up for long.

11:30It's vital for people to realize that too much sport is an illness.

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