Matthias Sperl Interview SZ 26_02

In an interview with the Süddeutsche Zeitung, Matthias Sperl, anxiety researcher in the Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy at the University of Siegen, explains why extreme athletes do feel anxiety and how this can be explained psychologically - contrary to the widespread idea that they are "anxiety-free". The reason for the discussion was the ascent of the 508-metre-high Taipei 101 skyscraper in the Taiwanese capital Taipei by professional mountaineer Alex Honnold - without a rope and without any form of safety device. Sperl describes in particular the underlying neurobiological processes that take place in the brain during fear reactions and makes it clear that extreme athletes learn to deal with their fear in a targeted manner. With his article, he contributes to communicating scientific findings on fear and risk behavior to a broad public in an understandable way. The article, which appeared on the "Knowledge" page of the Süddeutsche Zeitung on February 10, is also available online: https://www.sueddeutsche.de/gesundheit/extremsport-angst-psychologie-li.3378871