What Does Emotional Flatlining have to do with Athlete Mental Health?

I probably don’t have to tell you that mental health has a lot to do with emotions  (e.g., how much you feel, what you feel, how balanced or imbalanced those feelings are, etc.) Emotional flatlining, or being indifferent, can be a signal that something is off in your mental wellness.

What happens when you lose the ability to feel positive emotions?

Is it good to be emotionless during game time?

What about being emotionless in your personal life?

In the world of sports, we admire intensity, but we also greatly admire those athletes who perform exceptionally well in high-pressure situations. Those players typically seem to have crystal clear vision, an undeterred focus, and are undistracted by emotion. They perform almost like they are superhuman or robotic, doing their job no matter what the environment is like.

Some players have the ability to emotionally flatline during games—a skill that helps them stay “in the zone” regardless of the momentum of the game or the actions of others. While that skill can help a player get in other player’s heads and keep them out of their own, it can only take them so far when the game is over.

Emotional energy has to go somewhere.

If you’re a fan of this blog, you know that I talk a lot about how athletes are humans and not robots. This means that eventually an individual will have emotions because its inescapable if you’re human. Also as I’ve pointed out before, you can only suppress emotions for so long before they begin to channel into physical symptoms.

Emotional energy has to go somewhere so whether you consciously manage those emotions or you bury those emotions that energy is going to go somewhere for better or for worse. For that very reason, I spend a lot of time in athlete mental health coaching sessions guiding individuals to self-awareness so that they can become conscious of and then manage that energy.

What is emotional flatlining?

Emotionally flatlining is when you ignore your emotional state. This is different than when you’re in a state of mindfulness. In mindfulness, you’re aware of your emotions as an observer, rather than as an ignorer, and things roll off of you because you’re in a heightened state of awareness. Emotional flatlining is more like feeling numb and bottled up rather than feeling free and clear. It’s an inability to feel pleasure or bliss because you’re in a state of guarded indifference.

When is emotional flatlining a problem?

In the context of mental health, emotional flatlining is formally known as Anhedonia. As defined on webmd.com, “Anhedonia is the inability to feel pleasure. It’s a common symptom of depression as well as other mental health disorders.” It also states that you don’t have to have depression or a mental health disorder to struggle with Anhedonia.

It’s critical to note that while you may not have a mental illness, there is likely some mental health issue as an underlying the cause of Anhedonia, which can range from substance abuse to prescription drug side effects to PTSD to physical illness (e.g. diabetes), and ongoing stress.

The WebMD site also states that according to many studies, the most likely reason for someone to develop Anhedonia lies in brain activity whether that’s related to the production or response to dopamine (feel good chemicals) or an overactive prefrontal cortex (dopamine neurons area of the brain).

Emotions are meant to help you enjoy life.

Science aside, I think it’s fair to say that everyone wants to enjoy life. If you notice that you’ve lost interest in things you once loved, you avoid spending time with other people, or you no longer enjoy physical sensations, you owe it to yourself to explore why.

You deserve to enjoy positive feelings. Feeling good is one of the most basic and best parts of life. If you’re struggling with a lack of or loss of enjoyment, know that there are plenty of resources available to help you get back on track. For example, one resource that I found while writing this article is a site called, Anhedoniasupport.com.

If this sounds like you, I would also strongly encourage you to seek the help of a licensed mental health professional who can properly diagnose and treat your symptoms so that you can get back to experiencing the bliss that life is meant to offer.

If you’d like to learn more about how self-awareness can improve your mental wellness, contact me to learn more about coaching.