Athletes dealing with injury

Injury. Ugh.

An athlete’s worst nightmare. Maybe it came on suddenly, or maybe it was a small twinge that you brushed aside and it became something more. Regardless of how you got here, being injured sucks.

When your sport, or training is a tool you use not only for your physical wellbeing, but also your mental wellbeing, having to cease operations can be really taxing. It is important to note that with injury comes grief. The stages of grief are denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.

Examples of denial: “This is going to be fine. I don’t mind that this happened.” Or, “nope, I’m not injured, this is just a twinge.”

Examples of anger: “Why won’t this thing heal more quickly?” Or, “ughhhh, I hate not being able to do my sport!”

Examples of bargaining: “Maybe instead of a bone injury, this is actually muscle and just needs a massage.” Or, “It’s feeling a bit better, I think I can return to full speed now.”

Examples of depression: “No, I don’t want to even hear about practice, it makes me too upset.” Or, avoiding feeling by numbing with phone use, substances, or distractions.

Acceptance: this is hard, AND I am doing it. I will improve, I will be able to do my sport again, AND right now I need to rest and to heal.

No matter where you are in this journey, having support is incredibly important. You want to be able to talk about your feelings with someone who understands what it is like to be injured, and how hard it can be to take time off from the thing that you love. Reach out today to chat.