The Mindbuffs Podcast

For the upcoming Eating Disorder Awareness Week, which runs from February 1 to 7, these three athletes and Mindbuffs psychologists, Alex, Ana, and Lindsay, address the stigma and taboo surrounding eating disorders. All three, former or current competitors in different sports, share their experiences with specific sports cultures and the impact on athletes' health and performance.

 

Acting as the host is Alex who brings to light the silence around eating disorders and body image issues in sports. She leads the discussion down a path of vulnerability and empathy that many athletes will resonate with. Previously a competing figure skater herself, she unravels the toxic culture within the industry by unpacking her experiences.

Lindsay talks about aesthetic and non-aesthetic sports and the mind-blowing evidence that contrary to popular belief, athletes in aesthetic sports struggle less with body image issues than those in non-aesthetic sports. As a basketball player herself, she recalls when unsolicited backhanded compliments were harmful and why it is important for society to not project into athletes. 

Ana chimes in that it’s hard when athletes are healthy but society does not idealize their bodies as normal. She later elaborates that as an Olympic-style weightlifter, she knows that her body is healthy but she often struggles with how people can perceive her body as different depending on the social context. She mentions perfectionism as a cause of body issues in athletes and explains how perfectionism can serve a good purpose and when it can be detrimental.

Through research-backed evidence, lived experiences, and the well-informed minds of sports psychologists, this conversation needed to be had and all athletes should hear it. Listeners will see eating disorders and body-image issues through a compassionate lens to have a healthier year.