There’s been an explosion of research into elite athletes’ mental health in the last few years. It points to two promising psychological tools.
Meditative trainings are like a push-up for the mind. It takes practice, Minkler says. “You can’t meditate once for 10 minutes and say, ‘I’m mindful and in the present,’ just like you wouldn’t go in the weight room and do five push-ups and say, “That’s it, that’s all I need to do,’ ” he says. “You have to work at it. You have to be disciplined.”
Mertz’s story, while just one person’s experience, supports Minkler’s and Jha’s findings, which suggest mindfulness could be an essential tool that athletes should pack in their bags for game day. But the work comes with caveats. Analyses have shown that. And for some people, studies suggest, focused breathing and other mindfulness exercises can bring up past trauma, causing distress, Minkler says.
For a triathlete, who can spend up to 17 hours swimming, biking and running in a race, letting go of the detrimental self-talk can be extremely important when a competitor moves in front, or when the race is long and an athlete wants to give up, says Eugene Koh Boon Yau, a psychiatrist at the University of Putra Malaysia in Seri Kembangan. In the last few years, Yau worked with three triathletes competing to represent Malaysia at international competitions. All three struggled with self-doubt.