From winners to worriers: isolated athletes face mental health risks
Fear, stress and money worries: coronavirus lockdown is hard for anyone, but athletes are facing extra mental health risks as they go from highly active lifestyles to isolation and boredom, experts warn.
While some housebound athletes have posted upbeat videos of themselves training or attempting internet challenges such as juggling toilet rolls, the stress caused by the extreme adjustment and uncertain future looks likely to take its toll.
Long-term effects on athletes after the SARS and swine flu outbreaks included anxiety, obsessive hand-washing and fear of getting too close to people, Carolyn Broderick, Tennis Australia’s chief medical officer, told AFP.
But the impact of the current pandemic is unprecedented, with athletes sidelined worldwide after Covid-19 forced most sports into hibernation and put billions of people in lockdown.
That affected range from well-paid superstars such as tennis’s Serena Williams, who has suffered from depression in the past to journeyman pros and Olympic hopefuls whose lives have been thrown into turmoil.
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