12/21/24
November 15, 2006
Bitter-sweet sympathy: With cricketing news full of articles about Marcus Trescothick and his problems with stress, this article wonders "Why do we show less empathy towards sportsmen suffering from mental problems?"
Pop-psychology is the best type of crap. I think it is all just an extension of the fact that people in general don't like/understand mental problems and don't really want to either.
posted by Fence at 03:35 AM on November 16, 2006
Fence is right. Depression and other mental illnesses are looked at as signs of weakness. People want their heroes to be strong and all-conquering. It's sad that athletes have to be mentally stronger than us mere mortals. I know that's one of the reasons many athletes make it to the top, but not being able to catch a break when they falter has to increase the mental strain.
posted by cabuki at 05:10 AM on November 16, 2006
A mind that makes you a good athlete generally isn't a mind well adapted to dealing with "reality". All sport is unreal - there are clearly defined objectives, and clearly expressed praise for achieving them. I'll confess to having spent some time in therapy myself. One of the most revealing things to come out of the process was just how much damage I'd done to my brain in trying to train it to be better at playing golf. Of course, the damage was as nothing compared to the damage caused by the booze and the drugs, but still... The thing that makes it hard for other people to understand is that the cause and effect are not clearly related or universal. If your buddy at work gets hit by a car and has to spend time off sick you understand - in the same situation, if you had been the one hit by the car you would need time off too. But if the same guy needs time off because he's stressed it's harder to understand, especially if you feel like you work under similar conditions - you think "I can cope with the stress, why can't he?" The reaction to Banger's problems is understandable (if moronic and lacking in imagination). For most, and viewed from the outside, the life he leads would be wonderful, but a large part of the appeal would be that it would provide an escape from our everyday drudgery. For him, that element doesn't exist. His reality is very different and comes with its own expectations (self-imposed and external). If you have a bad day at your tiresome job, no one tends to care - if he has a bad day, it's all over the papers.
posted by JJ at 08:54 AM on November 16, 2006
I think part of the reason there's so little empathy for athletes with depression is because unless it manifests itself in violent (Mike Tyson), antisocial (Ricky Williams) or self-destructive (Darryl Strawberry) behavior, it's never noticed. It's generally just called "whining". Which is terrible. Coming from a traditional East Coast upbringing I can tell you that in a lot of circles out here, therapy is still considered an oddity, and depression is an indication of a lack of self-discipline or just generally being self-indulgent. It should go without saying that there are many undiagnosed depressives out here whose untreated pain results in them inflicting emotional damage on other people in conjunction with the self-medication (booze, pills) which is causing themselves harm. That somehow that makes them "stronger" than the people they criticize, but I digress. Kind of sickening all around. But we like to tear down our heroes maybe even a bit more than we like to build them up.
posted by psmealey at 06:46 PM on November 16, 2006
According to Dr. Nora Volkow, as sports come down harder on the use of steroids, depression from withdrawal becomes a factor among athletes. Here is a list of celebrities, including athletes, who have suffered from severe depression. As a baseball guy, I find it odd to only see four names from that sport: Doc Gooden, Pete Harnisch, Darryl Strawberry and Jimmie Piersall. I am quite certain that is not a complete list. Mental illness, and particularly depression, have a polarizing effect (if I can use that term) when discussed in the general sense. People who cannot relate to it at all think it is a weakness or an excuse. People who have had it or been exposed to its effects in any way are understandably more inclined to give it recognition, in some cases to an extreme where it actually does become an excuse for any poor behavior. But I have to say that people on both sides seem to have an equally tough time dealing with it in athletes. I think on the one hand, professional athletes are supposed to represent the finest human specimens, both physically AND mentally (so many professional sports having a strong mental aspect to the game). On the other hand, I think people who use professional sports as a means of escape from the reality of their own worlds don't want to have to address exactly the kinds of problems they are trying to get away from. The fantasy world isn't nearly so interesting when it so closely proximates the real one. This is a great post. I wish more people had weighed in on it earlier, because I think it strikes at the heart of why we follow sports, and what we collectively expect from athletes.
posted by BullpenPro at 04:40 PM on November 21, 2006
The media down here has also published some reflective articles on the wider problem of depression (diagnosed and undiagnosed) amongst top sportspeople. There is a view that elite athletes are more likely to suffer from this condition (along with high performers in other fields such as business, politics and the arts), as they have a particular 'personality type' where seeking external recognition is caused by fundamental insecurities. However, this could just be pop-psychology crap.