Sad stories for a better future: narratives and functions of depression stories in elite athletes' autobiographies

Abstract

In the public discourse on depression as a ‘widespread disease’ more and more athletes are giving deep insights into their experiences of depression. What kinds of stories do they typically tell? To answer this question, four autobiographical texts of elite athletes which characterise the genre in German literature are analysed. In order to relate the narrative structure of these documents to their specific societal context and understand them as a form of communication between the authors and their readers, sociological systems theory according to Niklas Luhmann is applied as an observation tool. The analysis shows that affected athletes tell sad stories about their athletic careers, which are replaced by a futurisation of happiness narrative in the course of their life story. The observed narratives are then discussed by means of an examination of their underlying individual and social functions. It is shown that they especially serve therapeutic, destigmatising as well as social advisory and amplifying functions.