Sarah Liegmann – from the ring corner: Post-fight depression

Before I get started, I’m really glad you’re here to read my column. It’s going to be chaotic, funny, but mainly 100 percent real. I’ll be sharing lots of anecdotes and experiences from the world of boxing, but also giving you some exciting insights into my everyday madness. And now it’s time to clear the ring!

Once again, I was able to end a long and hard training camp with a victory. The stress and pressure fall away and you can really breathe again after a long time. Despite all the positive aspects after a fight, I firmly believe that we boxers often suffer from “post-fight depression”. Some training partners have already told me about their emotional state shortly after a fight and I also notice the change.

Fight night is the big highlight – you put everything into this fight. If you win it, you still feel like you can conquer the world that night. A mixture of adrenaline, dopamine, endorphins etc. leads to this special “high”. You are surrounded by family, friends and fans who congratulate you and keep your spirits and emotions high.

Listlessness, tiredness and low mood

Even the next day, the reports pile up on social networks and the press ask for interviews. But then it suddenly goes quiet. You return to “normal” everyday life. Something we top athletes are not used to. There is a real hormonal crash – comparable to a low after a drug binge. This crash often leads to listlessness, tiredness and low moods. Our stress system is also often overloaded and exhausted after the long and exciting days of fight week. In technical jargon, this is referred to as burnout in extreme cases. Of course, we athletes are far removed from this after such a fight, but we also experience symptoms of inner emptiness, irritability and fatigue.

It may feel nice at first to go into training without any pressure and to cure the sore muscles and some of the problems of the past few weeks, but suddenly, after a few days without sport, you miss it: working out, measuring yourself against others and getting better every day. The next goal has just been reached and now the question arises: What’s next? What do I want to work towards next? You have long-term goals in mind, but the small steps to get there and the intermediate goals have to be redefined and worked out again and again.

So it is quite normal to fall into a low again after a high. It is important that you know that this is only a temporary phase and that you should enjoy the time after the battle despite the mood swings. Do things you don’t normally have time for, go on vacation or generally spend time with friends and family. No sooner have you settled into the nice rest phase than it’s almost over again, suddenly everything starts all over again, you’re in camp and have the next fight ahead of you.