Football Helps with Schizophrenia and Depression

As a football fan who inevitably ends up supporting losing teams, I’ve always looked at the sport as having a negative impact on my mental health. There have been a few matches that have taken a couple of years off my life, meaning I will only live until 125 instead of 130. There is some promising research in Italy, however, that is showing that playing the Beautiful Game can greatly help people who suffer from Schizophrenia and Depression.

According to the Italian psychiatrist Mauro Raffeli, playing football twice a week has significantly reduced the need for psychiatric medication and has helped patients suffering from severe mental illness to return to work and reintegrate into society

Psychology graduate and schizophrenic Benedetto Quirino was pestered by voices in his head until he became a rightwinger for Dr Raffaeli. “When you run out on the pitch, the voices stop,” he said. “Your opponent is no longer inside you, he has come out and you can dribble round him and beat him.”

Funny, but every time I let an opponent beat me I start hearing voices in my head.

Raffeli’s team of schizophrenic and depressed patients is the subject of a new documentary “Matti per il calcio” – “Mad About Football”. A trailer of the film is below. It looks a bit..um..crazy.

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Category: World Football