"I noticed my pants were falling down": Alba Orois's most honest witness

BarcelonaEating disorders are increasingly common in today's society, especially among elite athletes. Alba Orois, a player for Unicaja, has decided to use her personal experience to raise awareness. The Catalan player identified the problem while playing at the University of Maine. "When I went to the United States, it was the first time I'd ever left home. Things went well athletically, but I realized something wasn't quite right. I was constantly calling my parents and family, and I remember one particular day as if it were yesterday. I was talking to my mother, and she asked me if I was okay because she kept seeing me in a pair of pants, and as soon as I put them on, they fell off. That's when I started to think something wasn't right."

"At that time, I didn't ask for much help because I didn't know if it was serious or not. In the United States, I weighed myself every week. I saw that I was losing weight, and that was another turning point. I had a very strong mental breakdown, and we started to study the possibility of returning, and when I received an offer from Joventut Badalona, ​​it was good," explains Orois, who currently competes in the Liga Femenina Challenge, the second tier of Spanish women's basketball.

Orois sought help from specialists. "We looked for day hospitals, places specializing in eating disorders, and we consulted a psychologist who recommended I take a break. At first, I wasn't sure because basketball was what truly fulfilled me, but there came a point when my boss told me I couldn't take it anymore, that I had to accept that I wasn't well, but the specialists advised me to stop my career. I had to take a break because I couldn't go on like this," he admits.

"When you're going through something like this, there are comments that aren't helpful and can really affect you. People do it unconsciously, but those of us who are dealing with a disorder often take it to a place that isn't healthy," warns the point guard. Orois wants her case to serve as an educational tool about eating disorders. "There are many people going through something similar and they're not even aware of it. It's very important to start reflecting and not leave things unresolved. There are many people who are very attached to the illness and don't want to acknowledge that they want to recover. The opposite happened to me. When I reached a point in my life where I was very unwell, I went..."

"It's a habit"

Elite athletes are even more vulnerable than the rest of society. "We think it's normal to want to take better care of ourselves, but we have to watch every detail because some behaviors aren't healthy. I want to share my story so that if anyone feels a bit like I can relate, they'll take action. The sooner you detect a problem like this, the better off you'll be, and the more you'll be able to overcome it."

Ari Magriñá, a sports nutritionist, shared a team with Orois and is familiar with his case. "There are several things that can raise red flags. One is an obsession with eating very well, too cleanly. If you find it difficult to eat in public and you become isolated, that can also be a symptom. Another is weight. Some teams use weight as a control measure, and that increases the risk of these illnesses. If they live outside the family environment, the risk is even higher," he states.