Theoretical Orientation: An Integrative Approach to the Mental Health of Female Athletes

My theoretical orientation is integrative because I believe mental health cannot be understood by looking at one part of a person. For athletes especially mental health is influenced by a combination of biological, psychological and sociocultural factors. Athletes are often praised for being disciplined, strong and resilient. Those same qualities can sometimes make it harder for them to recognize when something is wrong.

My interest in this topic comes from understanding that an athlete is more than their performance. Physical performance can change from day to day. Those changes do not determine someones intelligence, kindness, character or worth. Looking at athlete wellness through an integrative approach allows us to understand the whole person instead of focusing only on what happens on the court or field.

The Biological Reality

Understanding the body is an important part of understanding female athlete mental health. The body is constantly changing because of hormones, nutrition, sleep, stress, training and recovery. These factors can all affect how an athlete feels and performs.

When an athlete does not properly fuel their body the effects can go beyond physical performance. Chronic under-fueling can affect energy levels, concentration, mood, hormones, recovery and overall health. When the body does not receive energy to support both everyday functions and athletic demands it begins prioritizing survival.

This is important because athletes may interpret the effects of under-fueling as a personal failure. An athlete might think, “Why am I so tired?”. Why am I not performing like I normally do?” Of recognizing that their body may need more fuel and recovery they may believe they need to train harder or eat less.

For athletes the menstrual cycle can also create changes in energy, mood, fatigue and how the body feels. These changes are not necessarily signs that an athlete has become weaker or less capable. They are part of the processes happening within the body.

Learning to understand these changes can help athletes replace thoughts with a more accurate understanding of what their bodies are communicating.

Cognitive Distortions and Athletic Performance

The way an athlete interprets changes can have a major effect on their mental health.

Athletes are trained to evaluate themselves. We look at statistics, times, scores, weight, strength, playing time and other measurements to determine whether we are improving. While this can be useful for performance it can become harmful when athletes begin using those measurements to determine their self-worth.

A normal fluctuation in performance can quickly turn into thinking.

An athlete might think:

• “I’m getting slower.”
• “I don’t look like an athlete anymore.”
• “I need to lose weight.”
• “I didn’t train hard enough.”
• “My body isn’t good enough.”
• “I have to be smaller to be successful.”

These thoughts can create a cycle in which the athlete becomes increasingly focused on controlling their body. They may begin restricting food exercising constantly comparing themselves to other athletes.

The problem is that the athlete may believe these behaviors are helping their performance when they may actually be harming their psychological health.

Society & The mirror

One of the biggest challenges female athletes face is the conflict between what a body’s designed to do and what society expects it to look like.

Athletic bodies are built for function. Depending on the sport athletes may need strength, muscle, power, endurance, speed and stability. These characteristics can result in bodies that do not fit the image society has created for women.

Society often promotes a specific appearance for women frequently emphasizing thinness or a particular body shape. At the time athletes are expected to become stronger, faster and more powerful.

These expectations can contradict each other.

A female athlete may become stronger and more muscular because of years of training. Instead of seeing that as evidence of what her body can accomplish she may see it as something she needs to change.

This is where body image can become especially complicated for athletes.

A number on a scale does not tell the story of an athletes health. Muscle, bone structure, genetics, hormones, training and many other factors influence body composition. Being heavier does not automatically mean being unhealthy as being smaller does not automatically mean being healthier.

Training is not supposed to be about looking like an athlete. It is, about becoming capable.