Winning bat-tles

Deepika Padukone’s viral ad on sports reinforces that sports is not just a physical activity but a mental one that helps battle depression.

There is no better field than sports to teach you a thing or two about life — wins, losses, ups and downs and the spirit to never give up — it all keeps you balanced.

So, when Deepika Padukone, after an ad campaign that is now going viral, spoke about how sports helped her deal with depression; how when she “was sinking” sports taught her “to survive and how to fight”, it only reiterated the point — sports can help you deal with depression.

Apart from the life lessons that are imparted to you on the field, science backs this theory too, the release of endorphins, the fact that you socialise with others and that coupled with how sports helps reduce stress just goes a long way to prove that sports is not just something you take up to while away time.

The world of sports has had plenty of examples of players who with the help of their game not only got back to a better mental state but also helped their family cope with losses. Players from the sports fraternity tell us how sports helped them, why it is important and how sports is not just a game, but a a way of life.

Makes you tough Sports help you relax and is more beneficial than meditation. For instance, when you play badminton for even 45 minutes, your concentration will be on the shuttlecock. Sports helps inculcate other values — one will experience victory and failure and sports will help them handle tough situations. — S.L. Rajiv Reddy, director of referees at the Squash Racquets Federation of India

Sports as stress buster Playing a sport does help people fight depression. It acts like a stress-buster and helps relieve pressure. There were a lot of times and situations in my life where I was depressed over things, and, playing cricket helped me feel better. When I was 12, my father passed away, and after a few days I started playing a lot of cricket. It helped me shift my focus and get more serious about life.— Hanuma Vihari, cricketer

Sports make you live in the moment When you’re playing a game, the competitive spirit keeps you going. You are focussed on one goal and that channels your energy and your thoughts from things that have been bringing you down. Besides that, when you play a sport you fall into a routine, you get tired, that would mean that you eat better, you sleep better and your body is taken care of.

When you play a sport, take badminton for instance, you’re living in the moment. You can’t not focus on the game because if you don’t, you lose track of the shuttlecock and you won’t be able to play, sports does that... makes you live in the moment.

I also feel that those who play sports are more balanced and can even handle life easily. Since we’re so accustomed to winning and losing we are more balanced. When I lost my sister, my parents, like any other in such a situation, broke down. It was difficult for them to accept and handle the situation. I found that my sportsmanship helped me bring the family together through that tough time. I was able to handle the situation differently and that helped me immensely. Sports gave me the coping skills to handle life and I’m glad my parents introduced me to it. —Parupalli Kashyap, badminton player

Sports is more like a preventive measure to stop depression bouts from happening again, since when someone is depressed, he or she may not feel like taking part in physical activities. It, however, does help, since it has physical and emotional components that make the person feel better — when they win, they feel good about themselves and when they lose, they know it’s a game and that it’s okay for that to happen sometimes. — Dr K. Siva Prasad, Professor of psychology, Indian Institute of Mental Health

Physical exercise helps improve the mood and helps people think positively. It’s something I often recommend to people who are depressed or anxious. Working out — cardio activity — improves mood as it causes positive chemical changes in the brain that helps lift depression as well as calm down a nervous mind.— Diana Monteiro, counseling psychologist

Combats depression Sports does help people combat depression. When you play any sport, you automatically get active, organised and more serious about life. Whiling away your time watching television and confining yourself indoors can make you feel more depressed. Instead, when you go out and play, you wake up early, set and achieve goals, meet new people... it subsequently changes the way you look at life. It also helps a person face everyday challenges. Many cricketers too open up and talk about the problems they face professionally as well as personally to coaches. For example, if a player doesn’t get selected over and over again, he may feel depressed, and we as coaches provide them with pep-talks. They then spend more time playing and practicing and it always has helped them feel better. Hanuma Vihari like anyone faced problems and was low when his father had passed away; he then started spending more time playing and now he is a successful player.— John Manoj, cricket coach

‘It’s the perfect leveller’ Sports has completely changed me as a person and has taught me to digest the failures and not to feel too high after winning. It’s a perfect leveller and helps you become a humble person. I was injured for a while and had to make a comeback, it was almost as if I had to start everything from scratch and it was a tough time in my life. My lessons in sports helped me sail through this phase and taught me to be humble, more disciplined and gave me the fighting spirit to face my fears and push myself harder.— Jasprit Bumrah, Cricketer