As an athlete you spend many hours training to excel at your sport. Those hours in the gym, football field, pool or training facility put your body through challenges that can improve your performance, increase your strength and risk injury over time. You likely have to give up or limit your time being involved in other parts of your life such as spending time with friends, enjoying other activities or even being able to focus on your academics to devote more time to your sport. Giving up some interests or social time can start to mentally wear on athletes.
Many times athletes have a strong drive toward their sport, but they also want to experience the fun things that their friends, family or other classmates are involved in doing. So, what happens when you start to lose your interest, passion and drive to continue putting in all that time and effort? When your sport starts to feel like something you dread, a job, no longer fun and exhausting - it’s very possible you are feeling the effects of burnout.
Burnout is a common experience seen within multiple settings such as with athletes, performers, high achievers and those in demanding professional fields. So, what exactly is burnout and what contributes to it happening among these individuals? Factors that impact the likelihood of burnout occurring are well documented (Battochio, Dubuc, Eys, Schinke and Zaichkowsky, 2010; Raedeke 1997; Raedeke, T. D., Lunney, K., & Venables, K., 2002; Raedeke & Smith, 2004) and can include the following: “A multidimensional, cognitive-affective syndrome characterized by emotional and physical exhaustion, reduced sense of accomplishment, and sport devaluation.”
An article written in the Journal of Applied Sport Psychology titled Athlete Burnout: An Individual and Organizational Phenomenon by DeFreese, J.D., Raedeke, T.D. and Smith, A.L. (2015) discussed the common dimensions, definitions and symptoms that contribute to burnout occurring. They are listed below:
| Dimension | Definition | Symptoms |
|---|---|---|
| Emotional & Physical Exhaustion | Emotional & physical fatigue stemming from the psychological and physical demands associated with training and competing. | Excessively tired or lethargic Emotionally “drained” Unable to perform non-sport activities due to fatigue |
| Reduced Sense of Accomplishment | Inefficacy and a tendency to evaluate oneself negatively in terms of sport performance and accomplishments | Decreased feelings of sport achievement Performing below personal standards Consistent negative self-evaluation |
| Sport Devaluation | Negative, detached attitude toward sport reflected by lack of concern for sport and performance quality | Reduced concern for sport and performance quality Question the value/meaning of sport Resentful attitude toward sport |
As you read the factors and conditions above that impact burning out in your sport you may have identified with many of them. Now that we know what contributes to this state that negatively impacts your life and training - You probably want to know what can you do about it to recover? How can I prevent burnout from continuing to happen in the future? How do I return to feeling excited, motivated and passionate about my sport?
How FPA Performance Can Help You Prevent or Reduce the Effects of Burnout
Making sure you are getting enough rest and modifying the length and intensity of your training schedule are two important ways toward helping you recover from burnout (Sitzler, 2016). Making changes to your training schedule doesn’t mean stopping your training completely. Being able to focus on other areas of your life and taking small breaks away from training can be instrumental in helping you regain your motivation, focus and commitment to your sport.
Through sport psychology consultation sessions with FPA Performance you will learn additional ways to prevent or recover from burnout including:
- Setting short-term goals to increase motivation
- Adding fun and playful activities to training sessions to make them more enjoyable again
- Learning cognitive strategies designed to challenge any thoughts that may be barriers to re-engaging and re-committing to your training
- Learning stress reduction techniques such as relaxation skills, progressive muscle relaxation and visualizations
- Mindfulness Training