参加体育运动可以为儿童和青少年提供健康, 有趣的, 信心, 陪伴和美好的回忆. 但心理健康问题也可能是其中的一部分.

鸟叔瓦莱丽·瓦莱.D.他是美国体育和表演心理学家 约翰霍普金斯儿童医院脑保护科学研究所 offers insights on student athlete mental health and how 父母 and coaches can support kids’ well-being.

参加体育运动:对儿童和青少年的好处

如果你的孩子或青少年有兴趣参加体育课程或尝试一个团队, 这是个好消息, 瓦莱说. 她指出，青少年参加体育运动有很多好处, including increased physical activity and enhanced 信心 in the person’s ability to achieve specific goals.

根据… 美国青少年健康行为研究.S., student athletes are more likely than their nonathlete peers to engage in health-promoting behaviors such as daily physical activity, 每晚至少睡7个小时, 多吃水果和蔬菜，少喝汽水. High-school student athletes also appear to be more competent in school and have higher expectations to continue education beyond high school compared with nonathletes. A third key finding is that student athletes report higher perceived self-esteem and are more confident in their ability to achieve specific goals compared with their nonathlete peers.

青少年体育运动对心理健康的负面影响

As 有趣的 and beneficial as sports can be for children and teens, there are some potential pitfalls. 对于自我形象和自我调节能力仍在发展的年轻人来说, the strong emotions and internal and external pressures associated with playing sports can be difficult to cope with.

增加体力活动通常意味着增加受伤的风险. This is particularly true for youth who specialize in a single sport before reaching puberty and engage in year-round training with insufficient periods of rest.

Exceptionally talented or skilled children and teens who have the chance to participate at the elite level at a young age need special attention. “这可能是一个非常具有挑战性的时期, 当专注于正确的价值观对于学生运动员是至关重要的,Valle说。.

Young athletes can experience a variety of mental health problems tied to playing a sport, 包括:

将胜利与自我价值联系起来

强烈的竞争本能是伟大运动员的标志. 但当个人遭遇挫折时，年轻运动员可能会特别难受. They may have an unrealistic standard for themselves and start to equate their athletic performance with self-worth.

实现特定目标的压力可能来自学生运动员的内部, 来自父母和监护人, 教练和体育组织者也同样如此, 瓦莱说. 当学生运动员有时间处理目标背后的推理时, 他们从为实现目标所付出的努力中获得更多的满足感, 他们也会受到激励，为未来的目标付出同样的努力.

运动中的不健康完美主义

Some children have a strong sense of perfectionism, and it does not always benefit them in sports. 一个追求不健康的完美的运动员可能:

• 避免冒险，因为害怕失败而抵制改变
• 对批评过于敏感
• 为最小的错误感到沮丧
• 拖延或放弃困难的任务
• 轻视成就或将其归因于运气而不是技能

“避免严格的完美主义很重要. Focusing on very narrow, exacting standards or goals and treating them as nonnegotiable is risky. 一些无法预料的, 比如受伤, 是不是意味着从练习中抽出时间, 例如, 孩子或青少年可能会因为落后而感到压力,Valle说。.

学生运动员的压力和焦虑

压力 是一个人的身心对挑战的反应吗. It is the sense of not knowing if you have what it takes to master a situation that asks for a response or action. 压力 is part of life and can be a byproduct of the excitement of sports and competition. 但是当压力太大时，问题就出现了.

当年轻运动员不能入选球队时，他们会感到压力, 犯错误, 得不到他们想要的玩耍时间, 或者没有达到他们正在努力实现的指标. 平衡参加体育活动和学习, 爱好, 朋友, 家庭时间和其他社会活动也会造成压力.

即使是好的压力也会造成伤害. 对大型比赛非常兴奋的儿童或青少年, 选拔赛或锦标赛都会受到压力的影响, 即使是在积极的语境中.

Valle说压力过大的症状包括:

• 感到紧张或不堪重负或“被淘汰”和冷漠
• 恐慌症
• 搅动
• 逃避(例如跳过练习)
• 对训练或比赛表示不情愿或害怕
• 睡眠困难或比平时睡得多
• 胃部不适，便秘或腹泻
• 头痛
• 冒险行为，如不良药物使用

有时，压力会加剧焦虑——担心或恐惧的感觉. 但焦虑也可能自行发展，或在消除压力的原因后仍挥之不去. 例如，年轻运动员可能会经历 表现焦虑 比赛前——担心失败或错误. Making a small mistake can reinforce this feeling and turn it into a looming fear of repeating the mistake. 专注于具体结果的父母和教练会加剧对失败的恐惧, 增加了年轻运动员的焦虑.

It’s useful to note if the stress symptoms are happening in other situations such as school or social activities, 哪些可能是孩子或青少年正在处理焦虑症的迹象.

阅读更多关于 青少年的焦虑和压力.

青少年运动员的抑郁症

抑郁症可以影响任何人，甚至是表现出色的年轻运动员. 有许多因素在起作用, 包括基因和性格, 以及青少年运动的压力, 特别是对于优秀运动员.

儿童抑郁症 看起来无聊、心烦意乱或无精打采. 几天的忧郁或悲伤没什么好担心的. But if your child loses interest in their sport or other things they normally enjoy, stay alert. 这些迹象, 陪着别人等一个星期的悲伤心情, change in appetite or sleep patterns and other symptoms warrant a trip to the doctor to rule out depression.

青少年体育运动中的倦怠

父母 can be very enthusiastic when their child shows an interest or aptitude in sports ― especially if they demonstrate unusual talent. 但有时鼓励会变成压力. 在专注于一项运动一段时间后, 年轻的运动员可能会对此感到厌倦, 无论是情感上还是身体上. 情绪和身体的疲惫, reduced sense of accomplishment and a feeling of declining value in the sport are all characteristics of 倦怠, 据研究人员称.

职业倦怠会在很多方面影响儿童和青少年. 年轻运动员的倦怠症状包括:

• 没有往常的热情去训练
• 选择花更多的时间远离运动
• 受挫的:在失败或挫折后感到极度挫败和气馁的
• 显得疲惫的或无兴趣的
• 表示想退出体育运动的

父母和教练能做什么

青少年参与体育运动的负面影响，如受伤, 表现焦虑和倦怠并不因运动类型而有所区别. 参加个人和团体运动的运动员可能会受到影响. 但是有些事情，运动员, 父母, 教练和导师可以帮助建立韧性，保持运动的乐趣.

开始对话并听

如果你怀疑某些事情正在影响你的孩子或青少年的心理健康, 确认任何焦虑或倦怠的迹象. Ask open-ended questions about your observations and listen with the desire to understand, 瓦莱说.

她说:“‘我注意到……’对父母来说是一个很好的开始。. 例如, 说, “I have noticed that you don’t seem to be having as much 有趣的 at soccer practice in the last couple of weeks” gives the child or teen an opening to gradually explore any stressors or events that have affected them.

评估问题的严重程度

One of the goals is to determine whether the athlete does not want to face a specific one-time situation or if it is a case of an ongoing stress, 倦怠, 焦虑或抑郁.

“For a child or teen with a persistent pattern of mental health symptoms lasting two to four weeks, 也许是时候咨询心理健康专家了. 对于青少年来说，问问他们是否想找人谈谈是有帮助的。.

设定有意义和可实现的目标

父母, guardians and coaches can help young athletes build resilience by establishing an emotional foundation — a “why.” It is an internalized framework of strong values that prepares the athlete to face challenges, 保持他们的中心，并帮助维持运动员通过起起落落.

The “why” should be more about learning and growing and finding meaning ― and less about winning or avoiding failure ― so the sport continues to be rewarding for the long term.

父母, coaches and mentors can also help young athletes understand that events related to competition in most cases do not have permanent life-altering consequences. 无论是激动人心的胜利还是痛苦的失败, 大多数运动员学习, “这, 太, 应当通过.”

腾出时间休息

Valle notes that 父母 and guardians can work with coaches to give kids appropriate breaks from training. 休息对于建立对压力的生理和心理适应能力同样必要. 精英运动员, building in rest and recovery breaks throughout the competitive season helps create a framework for the rest of their athletic career.

保持运动的乐趣

Valle说，保持运动的乐趣是很重要的. 在童年和青少年时期, 天资涌现, 而那些真正令人愉快的事情可以成为一生的激情.

她强调:“乐趣绝对应该是故事的一部分. 培养激情的态度, 在参加体育运动时，好奇心和勇气与发展速度同样重要, 特长及技术能力.

在一起, adults can help ground children and teens in a better “why”: the joy and values and learning. These are all good reasons for being involved in activities that can be hard on the body and the emotions.