South Africa is home to some of the world’s most passionate sports lovers.
Regardless of whether we are talking athletics, cricket, rugby or soccer, you are almost guaranteed to hear a loud roar coming from a group of passionate spectators as their favourite team crosses the line to victory.
While many of us enjoy the good part that comes with watching our favourite teams, the reality is that often times the journey towards victory is not a simple process – and for those watching the game, it can be an experience filled with all sorts of stress, tension and the fear of disappointment as the outcome could potentially swing either way.
The recent 2023 Rugby World Cup was evidence of this, as our national team, the Springboks gave fans a nail-biting experience to the point that many found themselves emotionally invested and drained after narrowly winning their games by one point in three consecutive games.
While this is often seen as the by-product of watching sports, the reality is that “sports fans depression” is real and often affects those who are entirely emotionally invested in a team’s performance and should that team lose, they fall into a bitter mood.
What is sports fan’s depression?
According to a leading mental health provider of therapy and psychiatry – Thriveworks, the term is not officially recognised as a mental health disorder, it is a descriptive term used to “illustrate the strong emotional connections that ardent sports fans have with their teams.”
The expert medical information source also adds: “This underscores the emotional rollercoaster that dedicated sports enthusiasts experience, with the game outcomes or season’s performance often affecting their mood or overall state of mind.”
However, the good part is that while this is often intense and stressful. it is temporary as you should be back to normal within a day or two.
Magellan Health Insights – a mental health information hub – recommends taking the following steps to overcoming this feeling:
- Make time to mourn the loss and create self-awareness of intrusive thoughts so you can become more productive afterwards.
- Expand your identity and realise who you are outside of being a sports fan.
- Make time to engage in healthy habits like exercise this will help you forget about the loss and move on.
- Cultivate connections with others by reconnecting with fans and making some new friends in other areas of life.
- Unplug from your fandom and invest in clearing your mind and get emotional distance from your team. This is the perfect time to focus on you.
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