Once a sports radio host said that the two purest forms of athletic competition are a foot race and a wrestling match. The personal strength and endurance required goes beyond physical, which is why wrestling can help build solid emotional health. The life lessons and health benefits of wrestling, both mental and physical, can be powerful.
According to wrestlers, emotional benefits they’ve gained from the sport include:
- A flexible temperament: Temperament is a set of traits that describe a person’s approach to the world. Though much of person’s temperament is established when they’re young or even before birth, through engaging in a sport like wrestling, positive traits can develop.
- Resilience: Resilience is the ability to face and withstand adversity. Wrestlers clearly face adversity in their sport. Being resilient in life can help people successfully handle stress and trauma. Wrestlers have physical and emotional toughness and the ability to work to bounce back. They have grit and determination, two emotional strengths that are helpful in life.
- Energy: Participating in a sport not only requires a certain level of energy, but it can also promote healthy energy levels and engagement in life. Wrestling provides a positive outlet for energy, which can benefit mental health.
- Routine: Healthy routines are part of a healthy lifestyle. Training for a sport requires a positive routine, including regular workouts, enough sleep, and regular healthy meals, all of which are essential for good mental health.
- New experiences: Accepting or withdrawing from new experiences is part of temperament. Having a growth mindset—a willingness and strength to grow—goes hand in hand with embracing new experiences. Wrestling, even for seasoned wrestlers, constantly offers opportunities for growth, from engaging in new ways of training and facing new competitors to adjusting mindset.
- Adaptability to change: Being able to adapt to change is a life skill that can support emotional health and positive thinking. Athletes routinely face change, such as changes in their bodies, in challenges they face, and in triumphs and losses.
- Goal setting: Setting goals and working to meet them is a key to success for athletes. The ability to goal set is a life skill. It can bring emotional strength and self-motivation to other areas of life.
- Courage: Competitive athletes have the courage to step out of their comfort zones. They have the courage to train, to push themselves, to set goals, to engage in competition, to persist, and even to ask for help when they need it. Courage can help strengthen mental health. It can help you feel more self-confident, empower you, and enable you to broaden your experiences and seize new opportunities.
- Attitude: Athletes have mental fortitude and a positive mindset. Their determination must be strong and their outlook must be positive in order to grow. This attitude can translate to other areas of life and can be motivating.
- Teamwork: Being part of a supportive network is beneficial in sports and other areas of life. Teammates support each other, push each other, and learn from each other. Teamwork is two-way: offering support to others and knowing you’re supported can boost mental health.
- Passion: Wrestlers are passionate about their sport. Finding passion in areas of life—personal professional, recreational, and connections with others—can help clarify a sense of purpose and strengthen mental health.
Marie Miguel has been a writing and research expert for nearly a decade, covering a variety of health- related topics. Currently, she is contributing to the expansion and growth of a free online mental health resource with BetterHelp.com. With an interest and dedication to addressing stigmas associated with mental health, she continues to specifically target subjects related to anxiety and depression.
