Note from the Author – This was a survey and paper done by me during the COVID lockdown, which unfortunately was not accepted for publication anywhere. Hence, I am sharing the abstract and a brief discussion of the paper here for everyone’s benefit. I would love to discuss and debate on the same. You can download the article below.

Objectives. Pandemic situations have been known to cause a variety of psychological effects, especially in situations involving prolonged periods of indoor isolation. Despite physical activity being a proven method of dealing with psychological issues, Mental Performance specialists working with Olympic athletes have reported multiple cases of confusion and anxiety since the start of the lockdown. This study aims to understand the psychosocial effects of the lockdown and the efforts taken by Indian cricket players to cope with those effects through an online survey

Methods. This is a qualitative study conducted using a web-based survey. It included 75 participants who fulfilled the eligibility criteria out of 83 that consented and answered the survey. The participants were asked to answer a survey comprising of the Public Health Questionnaire – 9 (PHQ-9) and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder – 7 (GAD-7) questionnaires in addition to 4 open ended questions. The data obtained was analysed using the Deductive Grounded theory.

Results. There was an overall negative outlook on the lockdown amongst the players. The Mean total score combing the PHQ -9 and the GAD – 7 was 11.89 (SD – 7.46) showing a prevalent mild to moderate depression. Some of the key terms that were constantly found in the responses included “sleeplessness, a sense of feeling unfit, loneliness, depression, anxiety, frustration” and more.

Conclusion. There are considerable mental detriments to athletes because of isolation in the lockdown which need to be addressed.

The mental state of the domestic cricket players in India during the lockdown period of the COVID pandemic was assessed in addition to qualitative questions regarding their physical and mental states to gain an understanding of the effects of the lockdown on athletes in India. The responses of the participants showed a universally negative outlook on the lockdown in terms of both mental and physical fitness. Further, the mental states of the players, as assessed by the GAD – 7 and PHQ – 9 questionnaires showed a significant number of players having mild anxiety and depression with a small number showing severe signs inclusive of thoughts of self-harm / suicide.

Several studies have been conducted during this pandemic to analyse the mental state of athletes and non-athletes alike. [9,10] However, the responses in this study to the mental health scales showed 2 pro players reporting self-harm / suicidal thoughts as opposed to 1 collegiate. This finding is contradictory to previous research that shows pro/elite players to being more mentally stable than novices. [9, 10] However, this response must be considered while keeping in mind the relatively smaller sample size of collegiate players than professionals.

Other responses with regard to physical and mental state such as poor nutrition, poor sleep, inability to train or move freely, a sense of longing for a regular sporting calendar, and other detraining effects such as loss of muscle mass and increased fat mass, a sense of feeling unfit, loneliness, depression, anxiety, frustration and several more were reported. These findings were in line with multiple scientific works of the past analysing the effects of social isolation in athletes. [11-13]

With particular emphasis on detraining, it has been proven in the past that long periods of cessation of sport specific activity (usually 4 weeks or longer) can cause significant decline in strength performance and sport-specific power. Also, maximal oxygen uptake can be reduced anywhere between 4% to 20% depending on the duration of detraining. [14]. These effects could severely affect the players performance when they return to sport and in turn causing further impact on their mental health.

              On the whole, this study has shown in decent clarity that there are considerable mental detriments to athletes as a result of the lockdown much like other preceding studies. It has also opened avenues for analyzing and if found appropriate, implementing the necessary facilities for mental health aides for players in India especially in the post-lockdown climate.

Author – Dr Harini Priyadharshini Muralidharan, Founder & Co-Director