While the benefits of sport participation (academic success, physical fitness, learning critical life skills, etc.) often lend to overall mental and physical well-being, it’s important to recognize some of the struggles athletes experience when living, performing, and competing under heightened expectations from themselves or others. Body image is one concept that tends to have a more negative connotation in [...]
Recently, Dr. Herzog was interviewed on the status of addressing mental health in youth sports and how it impacts both their performance and overall wellbeing. We thought it was prudent to share his responses with our community! What do you think is the biggest impact that mental health issues in youth sports has on the future of the athletes? [...]
Pandemic or not, holidays can be stressful. Traveling gets chaotic; even being at home with a smaller segment of your family during a pandemic can feel chaotic! Family members can love each other dearly AND know exactly how to push each other’s buttons. Gift giving and receiving can be fraught with hopes and expectations (and gifts can be expensive [...]
Mind-body interaction (“psychophysiology”) is spectacular. We think something, whether in conscious awareness or not, and our body has physiological reactions… this happens repeatedly every second of the day. Thoughts contribute to being regulated (e.g., mentally calm, with appropriate levels of physical alertness) or dysregulated (e.g., rapid thoughts or going blank, with inappropriate levels of physical alertness). In working with [...]
Group Starts online on Tuesday/Wednesday (Dates TBD), 2020 @ 7pm (A virtual group for athletes and other peak performers, feeling the brunt of missed opportunities, milestones, or achievements) For driven kids and young adults, the current COVID-19 crisis has been hard, between abrupt endings, uncertainty about the future, strained relationships, and more. It is important to give voice [...]
People are often afraid to ask about thoughts of suicide. Don’t be. In fact, you should also ask if they have specific plans or intent. You will not inspire someone to commit suicide. You can normalize that people sometimes have thoughts about dying, it is a sign or serious distress, and you can work with them to find help [...]
Clinical Depression (“Major Depressive Disorder”) consists of some combination of the following symptoms: 1) Depressed mood most of every day; 2) Activities are no longer enjoyable/exciting; 3) Changes in weight or appetite (in either direction); 4) An observable slowing down (of thought or movement); 5) Fatigue or lost energy; 6) Feelings of worthlessness or guilt; 7) Problems concentrating or [...]
Don’t worry about knowing a mental health diagnosis before referring to a professional, but DO keep an eye out for the following symptoms associated with these two common diagnoses. Adjustment Disorders: No mental health issue should ever be minimized, however, knowing that “adjustment disorders are like the common cold of mental health” can help with removing stigma. With adjustment [...]
Seeking Mental Health Services Stigma, for athletes and others seeking help for mental health, is finally fading. Plenty of factors play into this. More people (including elite athletes like Kevin Love, Michael Phelps, and Elena Delle Donne) talking about mental health helps “normalize” it. Elite sports programs (e.g., NBA, NFL, and NCAA) are hiring full-time practitioners to address it. [...]
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. The overall objective of raising awareness of mental health issues around the world and mobilizing efforts in support of mental health. The sports world has been starting to recognize the importance of attending to mental health for well-being and performance. Sport psychology, a multi-disciplinary field (psychology/mental health AND sport science), requires multi-disciplinary training [...]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsuZMcNudSU&feature=youtu.be
This time of COVID-19 has thrown us all for a loop. Parents have become home-schooling teachers. Day-to-day norms have all radically changed. And so, we have to strive to accomplish a “new normal.” Routines provide stability and continuity in family life during times of stress, because: they facilitate a sense of control, protect well-being, help with work-life balance, and [...]
UNC Tarheel Women’s Lacrosse player, Katie Hoeg, put it perfectly. "We wanted to be angry at a specific person, or anything," Hoeg said, "But we knew there was nothing to be angry about. Like, this was completely out of our control. We have to do our part." Anger often provides the illusion of control in a situation that is [...]
In our lifetimes, we’ve never experienced anything quite like the current pandemic, its toll on health/lives, mental-emotional well-being, social ramifications, and economic impact. Rather than pretending that everything is “fine,” it’s more useful to be honest (with boundaries, determined by what feels right to you) and to model feeling, expressing, and managing emotions. Another way of putting this is [...]
I first published this on 3/12/20, but will continue adding links, particularly regarding mental health and coping in the face of COVID-19... First off, let me share some useful (and reliable) links about Coronavirus, so that you can learn more about what it is, how it is spread, and how it can be contained. This article and video from [...]
