Depression in sport: Dr Victor Thompson on BBC Radio 5 Live

Posted by Nell Mead at 12:59 on 9 Dec 2011

After I published yesterday's post by our performance psychologist Dr Victor Thompson, he dropped me a line in the evening to let me know that he was due to broadcast from the BBC Radio 5 Live studio later, discussing the issue of depression in sport with presenter Eleanor Oldroyd, former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan and Chairman of the Management Committee of the Professional Footballers' Association. Clarke Carlisle.

I listened, and found the programme really interesting. But in case you missed it, below is a link to the podcast - the programme started at 9.30pm and Victor's involvement began at 10.

Depression in Sport: Radio 5 Live Special Programme

“How on earth could he be depressed?” Why footballers can hit rock bottom.

Posted by Nell Mead at 15:15 on 8 Dec 2011

Victory's performance psychologist Dr Victor Thompson was recently asked by Channel 4 to comment on the death of ex-Wales football international and Wales football team manager Gary Speed, who was found hanged at his home on 27 November.  Here, Victor reflects further on the factors that can send sportsmen into depression.

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The tragic news towards the end of November that Gary Speed had hung himself sent shockwaves through the football world and beyond. I have been asked to comment in the media on why a man with so much going for him would choose to end his own life. On the surface, it doesn’t seem to make any sense. Why would a man with a lovely wife, two young children, a multi-million pound house, a highly valued job, support from fans, a successful track record as a player and now as a manager, choose to end his life?

While I do not know details of Gary Speed’s life, his suicide does echo the story of Robert Enke, a goalkeeper, who played for various European teams as well as the German squad in Euro 2008. In November 2009, aged 32, Enke committed suicide when he stood in front of a train at a level crossing. He left a suicide note. Later, his widow revealed that her husband had been suffering from depression since 2003 and was treated by a psychiatrist. During this period his daughter, Lara, died of a heart defect and he struggled to cope with this loss. Enke’s story has been captured by his friend Ronaldo Deng, in the excellent book, A life too short.

Here are some stark statistics on the extent of the problem:

• Depression is common, affecting 8-12% of the population each year.
• It is more commonly diagnosed in women, but that may be mainly due to women being more likely to present for help and that doctors spot the signs in women.
• Suicide is the most common cause of death in men under 35 years of age.
• Approximately 5,500 people in the UK die from suicide each year.
• Men are three times as likely than women to die by suicide.

With professional football, we see players performing on the pitch or under the spotlight. There are pressures within the game, with struggles to gain and maintain form, challenges when out with injury. There can be difficulties with teammates and management. Critical ‘fans’ and comments in the media. Everyone seems to have an opinion on their performance.

Outside football these players can experience what anyone else can: problems at home, difficult relationships, loved ones who fall ill or other misfortune.

Then these players might have been on a likely path to experience psychological difficulties anyway, whether they were to grow up to become a footballer, tennis player, shop worker or unemployed. For instance, perhaps they were always an anxious child or someone who lacked self-belief.

A problem with depression is that when a person is struggling the most, when they would benefit most from help, they are least likely to reach out for help. The person’s outlook on life and the future is normally very bleak – pointless, hopeless, without change. At this point, suicide can become entertained as a way to stop the suffering or to solve the problem.

However, it doesn’t have to be this way: effective treatments exist for depression which can bring about improvements within days or a few weeks. I see sports and non-sports people every week, helping them to reclaim their life from the darkness of depression.

Path to Victory

Posted by Nell Mead at 08:00 on 1 Sep 2010

When you have an injury, a niggle or are struggling to perform at work or in sports for some indefinable reason, what do you do about it?

If we know our bodies well and recognise that there is something wrong, most of us have a regular doctor or therapist of some description whom we trust to steer us in the right direction.  (A Royal Marine friend of mine once told me that most Marines have two numbers on speed dial: the mistress and the chiropractor!)

But no single doctor or therapist can possibly have all the answers – and nor will they always know exactly which direction is going to be best for you.  So what do you do when you have reached the limit of their expertise, or when their well-meaning suggestions aren’t having quite the effect you’d hoped?

That’s where Victory can help.

At Victory, we work to an interdisciplinary model.  That means that not only are our doctors, physiotherapists, performance psychologists, nutrition therapists, podiatrists and rehabilitation therapists under one roof, but we work as a team, talking to each other and bouncing ideas off each other constantly.  

Our premium service is the Victory Interdisciplinary Assessment (VIA).

When you call us to book a VIA, one of our top clinicians will ring you back at a mutually convenient time to discuss your issue with you.  As a result of that call, we will put together an interdisciplinary team that is focused on your specific problems.

For example, if you are a rugby player with a badly sprained ankle, you are likely to need a physiotherapist to help you restore mobility and motor control, and a rehabilitation therapist to help you regain strength, power and endurance.  But for even better results, you may also benefit from seeing a podiatrist to give you insoles that could help to prevent you from turning your ankle again, and a performance psychologist to you trust the ankle again, so that in your next big match, you are able to focus on the ball and the game plan, and not on whether you are about to twist your ankle!

This rugby player would see a Victory team consisting of a physiotherapist, rehabilitation therapist, podiatrist and performance psychologist at the VIA.  After lots of discussion and clinical testing, the player and the Victory team would agree on performance goals, and work out how best to achieve them.  The plan they come up with is the player’s Path to Victory – a timetable of appointments with the team, scheduled to fit in with the player’s diary and designed to get him back to peak performance as quickly as possible.

Victory will be offering VIAs as soon as we have premises!  Watch this space for further news.

If you would like an appointment with me, please e-mail me

If you have any other comments or questions, I would love to hear them so please feel free to comment below (I will respond!) or to e-mail me.