Lucio Bizzini
Lucio Bizzini is an expert in
- Depression
- Degenerative Brain Disease
- Sport psychology
- Mindfullness
For Dr. Lucio Bizzini, football has been a passion since childhood. He went on to have a rewarding 15 year career as a professional footballer and became the Captain of the Servette Football Team in Geneva, Switzerland. At the same time he studied neuro-psychology, and became interested in helping people overcome ‘depression’ and in the prevention and management of Alzheimer’s disease. He worked at HUG (Hôpital Université de Génève) and also had his own private practice. He is now retired and still practices mindfulness and shares these practices and his extensive experience of ‘the neuroplastic brain’ with others.
MovementWise Films
Dr. Lucio Bizzini has appeared in the following film:
‘Sam’s Story – Health Is A Journey Not A Destination’
Key Quotes
‘Having mentors at different times of my life has been important to me. I remember my football trainer when I was 12/13 years old. I’m still grateful to him today because he instilled in me the will to keep going. Maybe he wasn’t the most technical or tactical trainer, but he was someone who passed on his enjoyment for the sport and I think this has stayed with me all my life. Doing something and having pleasure in doing it, a sense of curiosity – that was passed on to me.
Trainers and also teachers, colleagues, bosses (the good ones!) who give you that, it’s a really deep feeling – people who give me the desire to do something, to work, to strive to move forward.’
Close up and Personal
Tania Cotton met with Lucio Bizzini in Saint Gervais, France, and asked him about how he married being an elite athlete and working in the field of brain medicine:
Watch Dr. Lucio Bizzini’s full interview here (or select a topic to view below).
Download the Audio Podcast (mp3)
SECTION 1: FOOTBALL, MENTORS AND SKILLS FOR LIFE
Q1: Why and how did football become such an important part of your life?
Q2: What did football give you in your life?
Q3: Did you have role models throughout your career?
Q4: How important do you think it is for people in general to have good role models?
Q5: How has football changed since you played – has the money involved changed the game?
Q6: Do you think you would have still studied psychology if there had been the money available in professional football that there is today?
Q7: What were the highlights of your football career as a player?
Watch this Section: https://vimeo.com/229376600 (11’15”)
SECTION 2: PSYCHOLOGY AND OVERCOMING THE CHALLENGES OF LIFE
Q8: What areas of psychology particularly interest you?
Q9: How do the challenges we face in life change throughout our lifespan?
Q10: What influence can our environment have on our sense of wellbeing and the potential we bring out in ourselves?
Watch this Section: https://vimeo.com/229377250 (7’26”)
SECTION 3: MOVEMENT MASTERY AND THE MIND
Q11: How important is lifestyle, to move regularly and to eat good food, to our mental health and wellbeing?
Q12: How important is it for children to learn how to make ‘good movement’ part of their lives from a young age?
Q13: Does society fail to recognize movement as an essential life skill and replace physical education with academic subjects?
Q14: Is expressing ourselves athletically and being creative an opportunity for us to develop self-confidence and positive self-concept?
Watch this Section: https://vimeo.com/229377666 (10’30”)
SECTION 4: A GROWTH MINDSET -TURNING A THREAT INTO AN OPPORTUNITY
Q15: How can we nurture a ‘growth mindset’ (Prof. Carol Dweck) within children so that failure is accepted as part of the pathway to success?
Q16: What are some of the challenges and pressures that adolescents face today and how can they overcome them?
Q17: Is depression in teenagers common?
Watch this Section: https://vimeo.com/229378227 (11’32”)
SECTION 5: UNHAPPINESS, DEPRESSION AND SUICIDE
Q18: Can feeling overwhelmed lead to suicide in teenagers?
Q19: What is the difference between unhappiness and depression – are we all susceptible to these ‘states of mind’ during our lifespan?
Q20: How can Cognitive Behavioural Therapy help us break the vicious cycle of depressive behaviours?
Watch this Section: https://vimeo.com/229378890 (16’23”)
SECTION 6: LIFE PURPOSE, MEANING AND MOTIVATION
Q21: How much more powerful is it when we can find motivation within ourselves and not from the desire to please others e.g. parents?
Q22: How important is it for us to have a sense of purpose and meaning in our lives?
Watch this Section: https://vimeo.com/229379870 (6’25”)
SECTION 7: MINDFULLNESS – WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
Q23: Is Mindfulness is a word that has become more recognised but poorly understood?
Q24: Does Mindfulness mean more than just ‘awareness’? Compassionate Mindfulness – what is this?
Watch this Section: https://vimeo.com/229380227 (5’26”)
SECTION 8: HEALTH AND PERFORMANCE AND THE KEY TO LIVING LIFE
Q25: What does health mean to you?
Q26: What does performance mean to you?
Q27: What is the key to us having quality of life and to us living our lives for the whole of our lives?
Watch this Section: https://vimeo.com/229380524 (4’55”)
