2023-08-08 08:33:07
A few years ago it was Simon Biles, now it’s Ricky Rubio. In between, there have also been several elite athletes who have decided to stop and give up major sporting events to take care of their mental health. It is a complicated but necessary step forward.
The point guard of the Spanish team Ricky Rubio during a training session for the Spanish team. EFE/Marshal
“I have decided to stop my professional activity to take care of my mental health.” This is how Ricky Rubio spoke through a statement made public by the Spanish Basketball Federation (FEB).
Ricky Rubio returned to the courts earlier this year after being sidelined for more than a year due to a cruciate ligament injury in his left knee. These days he was concentrated in Madrid with the team to prepare for the Basketball World Cup, which will be held in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia, from August 25 to September 2.
The base of the Cleveland Cavaliers will not attend the appointment. In his statement, he also stated: “I want to thank all the support I have received from the FEB to understand my decision. Today #LaFamilia makes more sense than ever. Thank you. I would ask that my privacy be respected so that I can face these moments and be able to give more information when the time is right.”
know how to stop
The sports psychologist Cristian Fernández He stresses to EFEsalud the importance precisely of knowing and being able to stop in order to be better in the future, despite the fact that no athlete wants to miss important competitions. But, sometimes, the problem accumulates and the only solution to heal from an injury that cannot be seen, but hurts, is the one that Rubio has taken.
“Just like, sometimes, there is a physical injury and you have to treat it with the physio, with the traumatologist, etc., well, in other situations where you are emotionally unstable, you don’t know how to manage the situation, and you are not giving the performance you It should, nothing happens to stop ”, says the expert.
In these cases, continues Fernández, as happened with the American gymnast Simon Biles, who gave up the final at the Tokyo Olympics, athletes can say “so far, I’m hurting myself and the best thing right now is to stop, take care of myself and fix my health.” There will be more occasions to compete.
Two years later, on August 6, he returned with a stellar performance at the US Classic in Chicago.
thoughtful decisions
A competition such as a World Cup, an Olympic Games, or a European Championship can also entail a series of external factors that are not present in other circumstances, such as the media. And a pressure that an athlete imposes on himself before that big event, which, “obviously, influences.”
EFE/ David Maxwell
And these types of decisions, like Ricky Rubio, are usually very thoughtful.
“It usually means talking to his closest circle, his family, his closest friends in this case, well, surely the coach. It is not something that people can be caught by surprise, especially in that circle, ”says the sports psychologist.
The fact that an athlete has been injured for a long time can also affect, especially on an emotional level. And if it is of long duration, it goes through “very different stages”.
The first is a little duel, where the athlete tries to find an explanation, such as “why does this happen to me if I’m taking care of myself?” or “if I do all the work possible so that this does not happen.”
The second is a acceptance phasewhere the situation that has occurred is accepted and one begins to think about what must be done for the best possible recovery.
“It is true that later throughout the process, this long-term injury goes through different stages, where of course there are moments where the evolution is constant, regular, progressive, but there are others in which it stagnates,” explains the psychologist.
when you don’t say no
And what happens if an athlete does not decide to stop on time? According to the expert, he ends up having a negative impact.
As for attention, it is more difficult for him to be focused on what he is doing, which ends up leading to worse performance and entering a spiral, from which it is difficult to get out.
“The performance is worse, I feel more frustrated by that performance and that continues to lead to the fact that my attention continues to be at a point where it should not be and my performance continues to drop. So there we do get into that vicious circle where the performance is not good, there is a high level of frustration ”, he points out.
That, surely, ends up leading to greater anxiety and “very negative” emotional states.
An example
And for the expert, Ricky Rubio’s is an example, as Biles was for other athletes at the time, so that they realize “that nothing happens to stop and take care of yourself, in this case for your mental health.”
The American Simone Biles during the Tokyo 2020 Games. EFE/ José Méndez
Pablo del Río, also a sports psychologist, in an interview with EFEsalud, also spoke at the time about the adversaries that elite athletes have to face and, sometimes, the toughest rivals to beat are themselves.
For this reason, Del Río said in the interview, when psychological training is incorporated into the sports routine, not only sports performance is sought, but also personal growth, helping him to be a person, to make his decisions.
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