4 WAYS ATHLETES CAN PREVENT THEMSELVES FROM "BURNING OUT"

"Burnout" what does this word even mean, I mean I'm sure we've all heard of it so many times because honestly speaking, it's kind of become a trend these days...... but in all seriousness, for those who do not understand what this means Burn out is when an individual stops enjoying their profession, daily life due to physical and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress, which often happens to many athletes, especially those at the top, but forget athletes, it's reported that 46% of women and 38% of men suffer burn out at the end of their day at work, but people also suffer this when they do jobs they are forced to do due to family pressure, money, or any other personal reasons.....however, athletes follow their passion and are doing what they love but yet many athletes still suffer with burning out so, today I’ll talk to y’all in depth about “burnout” faced by athletes and a few ways how athletes can prevent of falling into that trap and mindset of burning out. Here are two examples of top athletes who have experienced burnout and what they went through during that time: Michael Phelps: Who hasn't heard of this living legend? He is the greatest swimmer alive and has the most Olympic medals with a total of 28 medals from three Olympic games. Everyone knows how fast he swims, but few know about his issues with depression and mental health. After the 2004 Olympics, he had won six golds and three bronze medals, but he said in an interview with Espn that he had felt post-Olympic depression for the first time, he often felt that he lacked self-love, self-confidence, and he never liked who he saw in the mirror all of these feelings were piled up within him for 20+ years the Olympics it was just like an outburst he said, “you work so hard for 4 years to get to that point and then it’s like you’re at the top of the mountain, you’re like what the hell am I supposed to do? Where am I supposed to go? Who am I ?” What should I do now? "What exactly am I?" In 2014, he felt it again, and this time his depression was far worse, he didn't leave his room for several days, didn't eat or sleep, and thought he was causing a lot of stress to the people around him, so he .thought the best thing to do was to end his life... He went to rehab for 45 days after feeling all of this because he only saw himself as a swimmer and not a human, he had realized who he was outside the pool there was a time in his life when he wanted to give up swimming and not do the sport at all in the process of winning all of these medals and breaking records he lost himself but now he is a mental health warrior and helps people speak when needed and has saved many lives.

Naomi Osaka: One of the most well-known tennis players and highest-paid female athletes in the world, who has been very vocal about mental health in recent times, has also suffered from burnout; she stated that after winning her first major title at the US Open in 2018, she experienced bouts of depression..... "When I win, I don't feel happy; I feel relieved, and when I lose, I feel very sad, and I don't think that's normal; I didn't really want to cry," she says. What triggered all of this again was her announcement in 2021 during the French Open that she would be skipping the media interview for the sake of her mental health, she said that "I've often felt that people have no regard for athlete's mental and this rings very true whenever I see or participate in one" because of all the criticism she received she decided to withdraw from the French Open 2021 later she says, "I'm going to take some time away from the sport." She stated that athletes are humans and that "I can't imagine another profession where a consistent attendance record would be so harshly scrutinized." Osaka's burnout and the reasons that many athletes are driven away from their sport are not uncommon, and that commonality extends beyond the playing field. People often forget that athletes have emotions just like the general population, and just as many professionals burnout their careers, athletes burnout as well. Here is a heartful message written by her on Instagram, "I know I give my heart to everything I can and if that's not enough for some then my apologies but I can't burden myself with those expectations anymore, seeing everything that's going on in the world I feel like if I wake up in the morning then that's a win for me," she wrote. She is now in a much better place, helping others with their mental health, particularly young athletes, and she has also founded her own talent agency, Evolve..... She is also back on the court and competed in the American Open 2022, but due to a back injury, she had to withdraw after the first round, but I hope to see her back fit and happy soon.

Well, these are two examples of what burnout looks like and what athletes or people in other professions go through, but specifically for athletes, it's okay if you're lazy and unmotivated to train once in a while because that's normal and definitely not called burning out but before you reach further stages of that process here are a few things that can prevent athletes from burning out -: 1) Don't lose yourself in the process of chasing success - This simply means that most athletes forget that they are human before they are athletes, they forget who they are outside of their sport, and when they're not training they feel lost and confused but to avoid this from happening I believe all athletes should take some time out of their sport just for them, whether it's going for a walk, reading a book, listening to music, journaling your thoughts, or watching a tv show or just talking to your family & friends I feel doing this helps athletes relax their mind and body after a day's hard work of training and definitely will improve their performance the next day... 2) Take rest days seriously - I used to make the mistake of not taking a day off. I would take them for granted and train even on my days off. I would do my normal routine 7 days a week and that was one of the worst mistakes I made because I overburdened my muscles and didn't get any recovery I could see my performance slacking and my muscles always feeling sore and tired but I am so thankful I did not sustain any serious injury as a result of that although it was definitely a big risk for my body. Rest days are mandatory for not only your muscles to recover but also for your mind to relax and have a day off from the week's load of training rest days are important for your mental health and also prevent athletes from burning out as they get a little time outside of their sport and little time to discover themselves. 3) Take some time away from the sport - As strange as it may sound, taking some time away from your sport prevents athletes from burning out or helps athletes who are already suffering from burnout. Those few months or weeks you take off from your sport help you discover the reason for your burnout and help your body rest and is also a chance for your mind. In most cases, people realize why they started their sport in the first place and start enjoying training and competing again. When your body needs that rest and time off it shows in your performance or your health so trust your body cause taking some time off from your sport will only improve your performance and your mental health. 4) Enjoy the process - This has to be the most important way an athlete can avoid burnout because, at the end of the day, we have chosen the sport and we have also chosen to become athletes and just because your parents put you in a sport doesn't have to mean we continue playing, athletes continue playing because they enjoy their sport and no one is forcing them to.....but you know, after a few years in the sport, when you start doing well, you feel the pressure from your family and coaches to do well and keep up your performance in your sport and this is what leads to stress and eventually you stop enjoying the sport cause you’re not playing for yourself and you start playing for others and the only way to stop this is when you realize your playing for yourself first and the people second if all athletes understand this and put it into practise only then will they start enjoying their process to success , we have to take it a day at a time so if we enjoy the moment and focus on that we automatically start enjoying the process, you know if athletes enjoy their sport , training will become 10x easier for them because all athletes should remember the reason they started and continued playing the sport was because they chose to so they should continue enjoying and playing the sport for themselves and not for others. CONCLUSION Based on everything I've written above, I believe the only way to cure burnout is to take time off and you should use the tips I've provided above if your feeling like this lately. Burnout is normal in athletes, and stressing about it will only make it worse. Here is a little message to all the athletes out there…….. Remember that you are a human first and then an athlete second. Don't strive for perfection because there is no such thing. Instead, take it one day at a time. We all have bad days, but you can either learn from them or sulk. Failure is part of the process cause if you don’t fail you’re not even trying. "To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did ”, is a quote I live by. If you are disciplined, put your mind to what you do and do not give up, your hard work will pay off and you will achieve your goal. For all athletes experiencing burnout, trust me with the right mental support and time off, you will begin to enjoy your sport, so don't give up and feel free to contact me if you require anything. What did you think of this week's blog? If you have any advice for athletes on this subject, please leave it in the comment section below.