During the upcoming Olympic Games, athletes from all over the world gather after years of preparation to perform their lifetime results. However, burnout among athletes is a growing problem, not least at the elite level. A new article by three researchers clarifies the causes of this, consequences, and how to prevent burnout.
Several studies have shown that burnout appears when an athlete feels physically tired and emotionally drained by their training and competing. This leads to a decreased interest in their sport and a feeling of not being able to perform, no matter how hard they push themselves. To pinpoint how burnout arises, researchers have used several models based on stress research, sports identity, and motivation. It turns out that too intense training and training stress, strong identification with one’s sport, a feeling of being forced to practice one’s sport, combined with pressure from the environment leads to exhaustion and in the long run burnout.
Preventive strategy should keep the flame alive
But how can you then prevent burnout among athletes? Henrik Gustafsson, professor of sports science at Karlstad University, has written the article Keeping the Olympic Flame Burning: Protecting Athletes from Burnout in Sport together with Sandrine Isoard-Gautheur, Associate Professor of sports and health psychology at Université Grenoble Alpes, France, and Daniel Madigan, Professor of sports and health psychology at York St. John University, Great Britain. The article has recently been published in the journal The Inquisitive Mind, and they provide recommendations, both on an individual level and organizational level, for laying down a preventive strategy around burnout within the world of sports and for keeping the flame alive when times are tough for an elite athlete.
”Among the most ambitious athletes, those whose flame burns brightest, there is also vulnerability that it becomes too much, says Henrik Gustafsson. So we must take care of talents and help them optimize their commitment. Here it applies both working on an organizational level with follow-ups but also on an individual level to prioritize recovery strategies.”
