Adjustment Disorder: a new way of conceptualizing the overtrainingsyndrome

摘要

It is proposed that an athlete's overtrained state is more perceptible in its etiology,diagnosis, treatment and prevention if considered from the context of abiopsychosocial disorder of adjustment. By shifting focus from a limited notionof excessive training loads and inadequate recovery schedules onto a compre-hensive model of maladjustment, the full scope of the phenomenon becomesclearer. Specifically, the overtrained state is reconceptualized as an AdjustmentDisorder and thus should be treated from the perspective of this diagnosis.Adjustment Disorder is viewed as a response to an identifiable stressor orstressors that results in clinically significant symptoms, and 'can be triggered by astressor of any severity and may involve a wide range of possible symptoms'(DSM-IV-TR, 2000, p. 682). A rationale for the adoption of this definition isproposed. Included in this rationale is a comprehensive model of maladjustmentwith an overview of relevant subtypes to clarify the complex interaction ofvariables involved in the etiology, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of theathlete's maladjusted state.