National athletes prone to withdrawal syndrome due to ill-effects from pandemic

KUALA LUMPUR – Since Malaysia went into lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, many businesses have been affected.

Similar to other industries, the sports industry was also severely impacted as tournaments, competitions, training programmes were all put on hold as athletes were forced to train in silos.

This affected the physical performance and mental wellbeing of high-performing athletes.

Speaking to The Vibes, National Sports Institute (NSI) senior sports psychologist How Peck Ngor said due to a nearly two-year lockdown, athletes have experienced a minor withdrawal syndrome – not from excessive drugs or alcohol consumption − but from being disassociated with training regimes and tournaments.

She said that there has been an occurrence of withdrawal syndrome observed among several athletes where they had trouble maintaining a high quality of training.

She added that although withdrawal syndrome may not be an uncommon event among athletes who were returning from long leaves or absences, it has become far more frequent as a result of the pandemic.

“I noticed that when the pandemic hit, it became obvious. They have a problem committing to training and they kept giving the same excuse to avoid training, such as headaches or any form of pain and physical illness,” Peck Ngor said.

Throughout her 13-year experience as a sports psychologist with the NSI, Peck Ngor noticed that these occurrences take place when athletes go through stressful situations where they would try to avoid doing certain activities.

Peck Ngor described some athletes suffer from depressive symptoms while others have an anxiety disorder but they are oblivious to what they are going through.

“I believe the athletes themselves aren’t aware of what they are going through and the behaviour changes resulting from the pressure.

“We only see some anxiety symptoms − they suddenly feel like their heart is racing and they’re sweating profusely all of a sudden.

“When we notice these types of symptoms, we will try to help them through psychological intervention based on mindfulness-based training,” she explained.

Peck Ngor and her team will try to identify each athlete’s type of anxiety, what causes them, and what goes through their mind.

She added that it is normal for the athlete to perceive the symptoms as threats. This is where she will help them to learn to stay calm.

Dealing with mental wellbeing

To help manage their mental wellbeing, the NSI psychologist will arrange therapy sessions with the athletes weekly or daily depending on their mental condition.

“I would check in with the athletes periodically to make sure their recovery is on track – whether they are able to follow the treatment or if it is working for them – until they can manage their anxiety or any type of mental issue,” she said.

“The length of recovery time, however, depends on the issues encountered by an athlete. I had treated an athlete who only needed one therapy session and a second session to follow up on the athlete’s progress.

“However, other athletes require more time to recover. For instance, if their symptoms are recurring and more intense, it might take a few months of therapy.”

Peck Ngor is one of six sports psychologists at the NSI. Each of them is assigned to different sports teams in which one would mostly handle three to four sports.

As for Peck Ngor, she oversees badminton, sailing, table tennis and tenpin bowling.

“I will frequently observe the athletes’ training and then schedule a session with the athletes.

“If there are team issues to resolve, I will also schedule a session for the athlete together with the coach,” she said, adding that it is important for athletes to practise mindfulness – to protect themselves from negative influences and harmful surroundings – whilst maintaining their focus.

Peck Ngor stressed that these steps are crucial in helping them to deal with their mental wellbeing in order for them to stabilise their emotions and manage their performance.

She further explained that if athletes do not deal with their mental issues − although they may not experience significant changes over the short term − their depressive symptoms or anxiety disorder will get worse and may even affect their livelihood.

As such, an athlete needs to acknowledge how much they can deal with and accept the experience as this will define the nature of their recovery. – The Vibes, March 17, 2022