Premier Sport Psychology is committed to supporting our community’s coaches, athletes, and athletic administrators during this challenging time. As 2020 draws to a close, we at Premier would like to provide you with tips to stay focused, use your support systems, and finish out the year strong.
If you need additional resources, we are here to help. Together we can grow stronger from all the challenges we have faced during COVID-19.
How do you cope with stress? There are adaptive ways (e.g., working out, cooking, reading, journaling) and maladaptive ways (e.g., substance use, stress eating, obsessively checking the news for updates) to cope with stress. Ask yourself if the ways you are currently coping with the stressors associated with COVID-19 are healthy and effective. If they are not, reflect on a time in which you were faced with adversity and utilized effective coping strategies. Consider how you may use those tools now. Write them down, and make them part of your action plan for those days when you’re feeling flat or overwhelmed.
Mindfulness is a great coping technique that allows us to stay in the present moment when our mind is eagerly attempting to focus on the future and the unknown. Taking time to focus on your breath and being mentally present in each moment are great ways to reduce your anxiety.
With the constant news updates, it is important to stay informed. Take time to find credible news outlets that give you accurate information, and remember that some social media sources can be misleading. Although COVID-19 is consuming to the media, it does not have to consume your mind. It is critical to find a balance between staying informed and taking breaks to focus on yourself.
Click here to get up-to-date Coronavirus information.
In the midst of this pandemic we may experience an array of emotions (e.g., grief, confusion, anger, sadness, relief). Understandably our gut instinct is to want to ignore and avoid the most extreme of these emotions. It is a losing battle to fight your emotions. In fact, it can cause more distress in the long term.
The best approach is to acknowledge how you are feeling and remind yourself these feelings are normal. Our emotions are largely uncontrollable, but being aware of our feelings allows us to learn more about ourselves and become more in tune with our emotional experiences.
During these tumultuous times, it’s important to remember to take care of yourself. Get adequate sleep. Eat properly. Use relaxation techniques.
To decrease stress, maintain a healthy social life. Stay in touch with your friends and teammates, even if you can’t gather together physically. It’s also important to remember that seeking guidance and support from a mental health professional is normal.
When physically training for sport, it is easy to forget about the mental aspects of the game. Most athletes report that their sport is at least 50% mental, but hardly dedicate any time to improvements in this realm. As difficult as it is to not have the opportunity to train with your team, this could be a great opportunity to gain a mental edge.
Contact us to learn more about how you can use the Premier Mindset Program to return to sport mentally stronger, or try the program risk free below.
As an athlete you have already developed skills and qualities that you could leverage in almost any challenge. Think about the nature of sport. Sport itself is unpredictable, challenging, and requires extreme dedication to succeed.
Reflect on your athletic career. Consider what skills you have developed (e.g., perseverance, resilience, effective communication, an ability to move on from mistakes). Now consider how you can use those skills to work through difficulties, overcome challenges, and grow during this difficult time. As before, write them down. These are the tools, the strengths, you can reliably draw upon when confronting adversity of all kinds.