DEPRESSION IN ATHLETES

Preva lence and risk factors specific to high performance.

Depression is a significant clinical reality in elite sport, often invisibilized by the stigma of "mental toughness."

Statistics suggest that up to 20% of athletes may experience depressive symptoms during their career.

The sports environment presents unique catalysts: extreme pressure for results, self-critical perfectionism, job instability, and social isolation due to demanding travel schedules.

Unlike transient sadness over a defeat, clinical depression involves a persistent mood disturbance that affects overall functionality.

A typical risk scenario might be that of a professional circuit tennis player who travels alone for months at a time.

After a streak of first round eliminations, the combination of hotel loneliness, loss of ranking and financial uncertainty creates a perfect breeding ground for hopelessness.

If this athlete has tied his or her human worth exclusively to performance on the court, sporting failure is interpreted as existential failure, triggering cognitive distortions such as "all or nothing" thinking, which precipitates the depressive episode.

Key symptoms and differences from common sadness

It is vital to differentiate between normative post-competition disappointment and pathological depression.

Warning symptoms include a loss of interest in activities that previously generated pleasure (anhedonia), significant disturbances in sleep or appetite, chronic fatigue not explained by training, constant irritability, and feelings of excessive guilt or worthlessness. In severe cases, suicidal ideation may occur.

Consider a gymnast who, despite being physically healthy, begins arriving late for practice, shows unusual apathy toward competition, and has lost weight dramatically.

While her coaches might interpret this as "lack of commitment" or "falling out of shape," a sports psychologist would identify these behavioral changes, coupled with isolation from the group, as potential markers of a mood disorder.

Early intervention is crucial, as untreated depression not only destroys performance, but puts