The duality of sport: a tool for health and wellbeing and an Achilles heel in extreme situations
- The Mental health and sport: impacts and limits conference advocates physical exercise as a means of inclusion and health and calls on the authorities to make sports pre-registration easier.
On Wednesday, 8 October, Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu hosted the third conference as part of Mental Health Week. The event addressed sport and its benefits for people's mental health.
Over the course of the morning, health and sports professionals shared insights on how physical activity helps improve people's physical and emotional health. Sport is good for everyone for several reasons. Doing sport is not just about getting moving: it helps manage psychological discomfort and fosters emotional wellbeing. It can be an inclusive way to create opportunities for people to come together and help build communities.
The panels held throughout the day called for a change in the approach to mental health to include doing sport in pre-registration by professionals and also underscored the importance of innovative projects such as Thalassa, which brings aquatic activities to people with intellectual disabilities or mental health disorders in the Barcelona area.
Joan Pascua, professional elite goalkeeper coach and assistant to Eder Sarabia at Elche CF, also spoke about the negative side effects of elite sport if not properly managed. The discussion looked at the pressure to win and how frustration at failure can affect psychological wellbeing. This makes it essential that doing sport is backed up by appropriate therapeutic support and guidance.
Sports afternoon
In the afternoon, the Nordic walking workshop brought together around forty people who learned the technique and were able to practise it in the Parc Sanitari SJD gardens.
