Question by Calle K: Any post intense athletics teen athletes with body image problems?
I just recently stopped swimming after ten solid years, and in the last four years, I was on an intense team that trained 3 hrs/day, 6 days/wk (and that was at the minimum practice requirement). I got used to constantly swimming. there was no such thing as an off season
anyway, this is my senior year, and on account of college apps and actually having to grow up and get a job, I’ve had to stop. I’ve picked up a few moderate intensity sports, with about a third of the commitment, and I’m actually okay with the change.
except that I keep finding myself constantly scrutinizing my body, pinching and squeezing it for fat. I’ve had mini panic attacks thinking about gaining weight, and I start hating my fatter, less toned body to the point where I go on these eating binge things (does that make any sense? no, not really!) and even if I’m eating a normal meal, I freak out because I won’t be able to burn it off. I still ear regular sized meals and portions, but I hate myself for it, and it’s a constant nagging feeling that things are just wrong.
are there any other post athletic teens out there who have had the same problems after quitting sports? or is this something that I’m experiencing? I wasn’t on a team that emphasized body size (who cares when you’re in the water) so I don’t think that has anything to do with it. is there a name for what I’m going through? it’s been about three months, and I thought the feelings would go away, but they’ve only gotten worse (as I’ve gained weight…)
Best answer:
Answer by Cheburashka ♥
I have two cousins who are very close to me (like sisters!) and both have had problems like this. Their parents put one of the girls in rhythmic gymnastics (let’s call her M) and the other (A) in ballet when they were both very young.
M’s life was concentrated on rhythmic gymnastics. since she was around eight she trained from 4 to up to 8 hours a day (if it was before a competition), every day of the week except for sundays. when she was fifteen she had a back injury which forced her to stop for two months, and she went crazy…….. she told me this herself that all she could think of was the fat accumulating on her body, and she went into depression. she tried restarting training at home but it only made her back problem worst. it was only until her mother and i and A had a long talk with her that she started acting like herself again, and she tried to not think about her body by keeping her mind occupied by other things like schoolwork and novels, until she restarted training.
A has a harder time because her parents were forced to take her out of one of the best ballet academies in Russia because her body structure turned out to be wrong (she had medium-big bones but to be kept in the academy you have to have a small bone structure so you can stay thin and light…. when she had entered the academy she was scary skinny but after she ‘developed’). so imagine, she was taken out of the academy because she was sort of ‘too big’ and she was forced to let go of her dream job (ballerina). it was really hard on her, and she went into depression and had eating problems too but after she started going to ballet class (not at an academy) twice a week her problems seem to be getting better.
i am sorry if this was too long….. and i don’t really know how you can fix your problem. maybe you should start swimming again, but very little, say an hour a week?
good luck =)
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