Mental Health Symptoms
In elite sport, most knowledge is directed towards the physical health of athletes, principally towards the occurrence of musculoskeletal injuries and concussion and more recently their prevention. By contrast, information about mental health symptoms among elite athletes remains scarce. This is surprising because elite athletes are (cumulatively) exposed during their career to generic and sport-specific stressors that might lead to mental health symptoms, while the post-retirement period remains challenging for many of them. Mental health symptoms are likely to negatively influence the performances of athletes and their quality of life in the short and long-term. This chapter in The Secret Balance of Champions focusses on the mental health symptoms that might occur during and after a career in elite sport.
Health Experts
Vincent Gouttebarge & Claudia L Reardon
