Sport Society and Mental Health
On Saturday this week I spent an enjoyable day at the England versus South Africa test cricket match. When I was a younger man, I used to love going to baseball or football games and watching from the stands. The fans singing and socialising with people that I never met before and would most likely never meet again. It was a most enjoyable experience and Saturday was no different. It got me thinking that the elements of watching a sporting match is a microcosm of society and even has parallels which could be used in mental health.
The sociological bit is obvious a group of people coming together for a common purpose willing on their team is very similar to what we do on a day to day basis in our communities as well as our families. Where mental health comes in, attending a sports match is a suspension of life. For the time you are there, nothing exists outside of the match a person can put aside their hurt and disappointment and just cheer for their side. Perhaps this should be the way that folk look at therapy, as a means of suspending the outside world while the client roots for their own success.
