7 Categories of social support

This figure consists of a series of different coloured boxes with text within. The eye is first drawn to the left hand most box which is titled ‘Support from’. The content is in bullet form listing support from coach, teammates, medical or science practitioners, friends or family.

Five arrows then project out of this box to five other boxes describing different types of social support. The uppermost box is headed as Esteem and described as: behaviours that bolster an athlete’s self-confidence or self-esteem, perhaps through providing positive feedback or demonstrating belief in their ability to cope with burnout. The next box is headed as Listening and described as: actively listening whilst refraining from giving advice or making judgement – may involve sharing positive and negative (e.g. setback frustrations) thoughts and feelings. Below this is a box titled Shared social reality and described as: acting as a reality check by verifying an athlete’s perception of the situation, thus potentially providing a sense of normalisation. Next is a box headed Emotion and described as: providing impartial assistance during emotionally difficult times and demonstrating acceptance, empathy and encouragement and thereby some comfort. The final box at the bottom of the figure is titled Motivation and described as: encouraging athletes to overcome or give into various barriers during the recovery process.