Lecturer and Softball SA Team Doctor, Dr Koketjo Tsebe, has some timely advice for those in the sports industry as we wrap up 2022 and look forward to a winning 2023.
In this week’s Instagram Live, Dr Tsebe joined gsport writer, Lonwabo Nkohla, to share advice on how athletes can get professional assistance as we wrap up 2022 and look to start 2023 on the perfect note.
The conversation around mental health and wellness is slowly becoming less taboo. Day by day we see words and phrases like “meditation”, “prioritising your peace and “you are enough” as reminders to take care of the power tool that is the brain and it’s a step in the direction.
We’ve also learnt that athletes are not immune to depression and mental ill-health and thus they need to be protected and know how to protect their mental well-being.
“Our work in mental health is built on rapport, trust is very important when you deal with athletes.” – Dr Koketjo Tsebe
“Some people don’t understand the role of a psychologist and only think they need you when in trouble or when there’s a crisis but actually a psychologist can assist you to maintain optimum performance and maintain it, helping an athlete move higher and higher in the level of performance. The goal is to lay a foundation that we sustain in all levels of competitions.
Painting a picture of where we are in terms of mental well-being: “We are still getting there but there’s a certain race, us as Africans, we are taking time to be able to converse openly about mental health and maybe it speaks traditionally to how we were raised. Emotions are barely spoken about, you learn to keep it to yourself.”
I think most of us would agree that we think tend to think that athletes are immune to mental health issues and it couldn’t be far from the truth. Super stardom at face value seems like it’s all peaches but sadly that is not the case. “We can’t speak of an athletes performance and not speak about an athletes psychological well-being. We cannot be reactive and only come in when there’s a crisis. Sadly because the role of a psychologist is not properly understood, we are called to come in at a time of crisis.”
And the role of Social Media and how mean people can be on those platforms: “What informs people’s perceptions or utterances can be the fact that they too were bullied themselves or lack of information. People forget that athletes are also human beings that were or are affected by experiences. They could seem like they are doing well on the field but at some point they could be dealing with something that’s impacting their mental health.
Dr Tsebe also shared some coping mechanisms – though she adds that they vary from person to person, this could be the perfect place to start:
- Self-care is important, we overlook how important it is for someone to take care of themselves and rest.
- Don’t wait for a time of trouble to rest, make rest a norm.
- Get to know yourself better so that you are able to know if your body cannot take it anymore.
- Remember it’s okay to take leave, it’s okay to focus on yourself and take a break from a hectic life and demands.
- Take care of diet – there’s a great relationship between our emotional well being and medical condition.
- Do activities that excite you. If it’s spending time with friends or family, do that.
- Healthy relationships are important.
The festive season may seem like it’s a happy time for everyone but sadly it is a period where many sink deeper into depression. The IG Live could assist in how to deal with feeling uneasy, overwhelmed or in a dark cloud as an athlete, administrator, media practitioner or PRO. Check it out on our Instagram page: @gsport4girls
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