Coping with Injury: The Psychology of Being Sidelined

May 19, 2013 By 2 Comments

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I love to run.  Running offers me an adrenaline rush second to no other form of workout, and it maintains my cardiovascular fitness in ways other workouts don’t.  Yes, I’m a CrossFit athlete, and CrossFit workouts are what I do most often.  But, there are some days when a good run, even if a short one after my gym workout, is just what the doctor ordered.  I lace up my shoes, grab my headphones, step outside, and let the soul feeding begin.

A few weeks ago, I registered for a women’s soccer league and played in my first soccer game since college, over twenty years ago.  I’ve toyed with the idea of soccer re-entry over the past few years, but I’ve always held off, for fear of injury.  For a number of reasons, I decided that now was the time to give soccer a whirl.  During my first game, I had an absolute blast.  Thanks to my decent conditioning from years of CrossFit and relatively good retention of my soccer skills from days gone by (with plenty of touches on the ball over the years as a youth coach), I was a contributor on my team and had a blast.  With just a few minutes left in the game, I felt a sharp sensation in my hamstring as I accelerated towards the ball.  After a moment of panic, thinking I had strained or pulled it, I was able to happily continue playing for the rest of the game.  A few days later, I went out for a morning run and was absolutely unable to make my hamstring work for such purposes.  Today, more than eight weeks later, I’m still sidelined from the activity I love most.  Luckily, as a CrossFit coach and gym owner, I have plenty of other things I can do to maintain my fitness and my sanity, but I’m starting to get antsy, and grouchiness is likely on the horizon.

Injuries can be devastating to individuals who are consistently active and/or are training for an event or ongoing participation in a sport.  The physical repercussions are usually apparent, but the emotional and psychological sequelae are often less obvious.  Back in 2009 while working on my thoracic spine, Dr. Kelly Starrett of MobilityWOD and San Francisco CrossFit and author of Becoming a Supple Leopard discussed the importance of recognizing the psychosocial aspects of physical injury.  He and I chatted about how athletes can quickly experience a feeling of social disconnect when they are injured, especially when they are accustomed to being part of a community of athletes.  Ironically, the same community that provides so much belonging and connection when one is able to participate (e.g. a CrossFit gym or team), can also feel like a source of disconnect when one cannot.

Since starting PsychologyWOD, I’ve received a number of requests for an article about the psychology of injury.  As I reflected on my experience with athletes and immersed myself in the literature on injury and recovery, a few themes emerged, which I’ve highlighted below.  When athletes are injured, they experience a range of emotions that may seem extreme or idiosyncratic but are actually well within the normal range of responses.  Of course, there are many factors affecting the athlete’s injury experience, including severity of injury, extent of sport participation, and pre-injury personality, but it is not uncommon for people to experience some or all of the following:

Isolation:  Athletes often feel isolated and lonely when they are injured.  This is especially true if they had been part of a team prior to injury or if their pursuit involved training with a group of athletes from whom they may now feel disconnected.  (Ruddock-Hudson, O’Halloran, & Murphy, 2012; Peterson, 2009; Russell, 2008).  Along with this experience of isolation may come an unwanted feeling of envy of those who are healthy and able to continue participating in their sport or activity.  Envy is an uncomfortable emotion and is often accompanied by shame or guilt.  Injured athletes should know that envy may be part of their experience, especially when an injury is serious and long-term.

Anxiety:  Athletes may experience heightened levels of anxiety, both regarding their sense of identity and their capacity for healing and recovery.  Some studies even indicate symptoms of post-traumatic stress after an injury (O’Connor Sr., 2011; Brewer and Petitpas, 2005; Podlog and Eklund, 2007; Peterson, 2009; 1; O’Neill, 2008; Appaneal, Perna, & Larkin, 2007).   Athletes who fear re-injury may behave in ways that actually hinder their recovery and lead to re-injury, such as overdoing rehabilitation and recovery training, thereby taxing the injured parts in ways that are harmful instead of helpful  (Andersen, Mubaidin, Tibbert & Morris 2011).

Fear of Re-injury:  Injured athletes often have a heightened experience of vulnerability after an injury.  As they work towards re-entry into their sport or another activity, they may fear getting injured again.   This may hinder full recovery and the possibility of immersion into sport in the future (Stephan, Deroche, Brewer, Caudroit, and Le Scanff, 2009; Peterson, 2009; O’Neill, 2008; Russell, 2008; Andersen, Mubaidin, Tibbert, & Morris, 2011).

Depression:  When an individual’s primary source of enjoyment is removed via injury, it is not surprising that mood will be affected.  There is often a component of negative affect and depression associated with injury timeouts.  This can be especially true when the athlete’s identity and/or full-time career is at stake, such as for professional athletes and Olympians.  Should one’s depressive symptoms become severe, professional help via therapy and/or medication should be part of the athlete’s overall recovery plan (Appaneal, Levine, Perna, and Roh, 2009; Evans and Hardy, 1995; Peterson, 2009; Russell, 2008, Tracey, 2003).

Low Self-Esteem:  Related to one’s identity, self-esteem can suffer when one is injured.  If an athlete’s sense of him/herself is challenged, esteem can take a plunge, and feelings of worthlessness can emerge (Tracey, 2003; Wasley & Lox, 1998).  The more serious and committed one is an athlete, the more one’s sport is wrapped up in one’s identity, and the more likely self-worth will be diminished when that identity is challenged via injury.

Paradoxical Sense of Relief:  In some cases, when an athlete has been under a great deal of pressure and strain to perform in his/her sport, being forced to take a break because of an injury can bring an unexpected sense of relief and even joy, even if this is not conscious.  The relief may be a source of conflict for the athlete though, and he/she may not be able to simply enjoy it.  Rather, he/she may feel guilty for having such feelings and may try to hide them from others, especially coaches and teammates.  As one author puts it, an injury “may function as an ‘honorable discharge’ for [athletes] looking for an excuse to leave their sport” (Peterson, 2009, p. 230).

Given these potential repercussions of injury, as well as other possible emotional experiences related to injury, what are some ways of coping?  Below is a list of some helpful tips.  This list is by no means comprehensive, but it’s a start.

Social Support:  One theme that emerges with vigor in the research on the psychology of injury is the importance of social support during the rehabilitation phase.  This includes coaches and athletic trainers, but also refers to general social support systems (Yang, Corinne, Heiden, Foster, 2010; O’Neill, 2008; Podlog & Eklund, 2007; Dupcak, 2000; Belger, 2012; Green and Weinberg, 2001; Mainwaring, 1999).  The importance of social support for responding to stressful life events and for our overall health and wellness is discussed in great detail in my book.  There is no ambiguity here: social support and community connections absolutely benefit our physical and mental health and well-being (Belger, 2012).  It is critical that injured athletes maintain a social support crew that will help them get through difficult times.  Non-injured, active athletes can keep a list of go-to people who can serve this purpose, should an injury arise.  Unfortunately, for many athletes, their built-in support network may be too involved in their training or sport to be objectively helpful during the most trying of times (Peterson, 2009).

Specific Strategies:  A number of strategies have been shown to be helpful for athletes in the midst of injury. These include:

*Imagery: Visualizing one’s body healing and seeing oneself back on the playing field.

*Journaling: Writing down emotional content related to one’s injury.  Doing so with consistency and commitment can be a helpful way to manage the slew of emotions one experiences when injured.  It can also be a great resource for the athlete in the future, should another setback arise, as it can serve as a reminder of how he/she persevered through bleak times.

*Goal-Setting:  Much like with one’s regular training, setting and tracking goals when injured can be a beneficial strategy.  Goals should be reasonable and realistic and should include both long-term and short-term views, so progress can be monitored in an ongoing way.  Flexibility with goals and their attainment is especially important when injured, since rehab progress is often unpredictable.

Acknowledging Feelings and Reality:  Avoiding the reality of one’s feelings and situation isn’t a great coping style in general.  This is especially the case when athletes are injured; avoidant coping styles (ignoring feelings and trying to distract oneself from facing unwanted realities) have been found to be maladaptive and not beneficial when dealing with injury.  (O’Connor Sr., 2011; Gallagher and Gardner, 2007; Evans, Hardy, and Fleming, 2000).  Interestingly, but not surprisingly, those with limited coping resources are also the most susceptible to injury in the first place (Williams, 1996), making effective coping skills (those that acknowledge and deal with emotions and problems) important for both injury prevention and rehabilitation.

Counseling: In many cases, working with a psychologist can be helpful when one is injured and the emotional ramifications are significant.  Support from coaches is also critical, but there are times when a coach is too close to the situation and outside assistance is warranted and most likely to help.

Find a Way to Stay Connected to the Sport and/or Find an Alternative Outlet If you can manage to become a spectator, cheerleader, or coach for teammates or other athletes during your down time, this is sometimes a good way to remain involved.  However, it may be too emotionally painful if you are seriously injured.  It is also important to engage in other activities and be social with non-athletes.  At the risk of redundancy, social connection is critical when an athlete is sidelined.  Recovery periods may be a good time to pursue alternative endeavors and take advantage of some down time that can be hard to come by when training is in full force.

One final note about preventing injury in the first place:

In addition to physical issues related to keeping oneself well as an athlete, it is critical to remember that emotional and psychological well-being is also protective against physical injury.  Significant life stressors can predispose athletes and make them vulnerable to injury, especially when their coping mechanisms are less than optimal.  In one study along these lines, Kerr and Minden (1988) reported that stressful life events were related to both number and severity of injury within a sample of 41 elite female gymnasts.  This is a good reminder for athletes to be especially attuned to their bodies and their recovery during times of stress outside of their training.  If your emotional regulation or psychological coping is taxed or challenged outside of the gym, your body will be more susceptible inside the gym.  Ignoring stress and its potential physical consequences is a risky proposition.  Don’t do it!

Stay tuned for a future article on the psychology of sticking with a rehab plan!  

References:

Appaneal, R.N., Levine, B.R. Perna, F,N., & Roh, J.  (2009). Measuring postinjury depression among male and female competitive athletes. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 31:1, 60-76.

Appaneal, R.N., Perna, F.M., & Larkin, K.T. (2007).  Psychophysiological response to severe sport injury among competitive male athletes: A preliminary investigation.  Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology: 1:1, 68-88.

Andersen, M.B.,  Mubaidin, Q.H., Tibbert, S., & Morris, T. (2011). Injury recovery research issues: questions about anxiety, imagery, and mental toughness in rehabilitation.  12th European Congress of Sport Psychology.

Belger, A. (2012).  The Power of Community: CrossFit and the Force of Human Connection. Victory Belt Publishing: California.  Returning to Self: The Anxieties of Coming Back After Injury.  In Andersen, Mark B. (Ed), (2005). Sport psychology in practice, pp. 93-108. Human Kinetics: Champaign, IL, US.

Dupcak, S.S. (2000). After the fall: The development of a coaches’ manual identifying the psychological issues facing injured athletes. Dissertation Abstracts International. Section B: The Sciences and Engineering, 2754.

Evans, L., & Hardy, L. (1995).  Sport injury and grief responses: A review.  Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 17:3, 227-245.

Evans, L., Hardy, L., & Fleming, S. (2000).  Intervention strategies with injured athletes: An action research study.  The Sport Psychologist, 14:2, 188-206.

Gallagher,  B.V., & Gardner, F.L. (2007). An examination of the relationship between early maladaptive schemas, coping, and emotional response to athletic injury.  Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology, 1:1, 47-67.

Green, S.L., & Weinberg, R.S. (2001).  Relationships among athletic identity, coping skills, social support, and the psychological impact of injury in recreational participants.   Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 13:1.

Kerr, G., & Minden, H. (1988).  Psychological factors related to the occurrence of athletic injuries.  Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 10:2, 167-173.

Mainwaring, L. (1999). Restoration of self: A model for the psychological response of athletes to severe knee injuries.  Canadian Journal of Rehabilitation,  12:3, 145-154.

O’Connor Sr., J.W. (2011).  Emotional trauma in athletic injury and the relationship among coping skills, injury severity, and post traumatic stress. Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences and Engineering, Vol 71(10-B).

O’Neill (2008).   Injury contagion in Alpine ski racing: The effect of injury on teammates’ performance.  Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology, Vol 2:3.

Peterson, K. (2009).  Overtraining, burnout, injury, and retirement. In Hays, Kate F. (Ed), (2009). Performance psychology in action: A casebook for working with athletes, performing artists, business leaders, and professionals in high-risk occupations, 225-243. American Psychological Association: Washington, DC, US.

Podlog, L. & Eklund, R.C. (2007). The psychosocial aspects of a return to sport following serious injury: A review of the literature from a self-determination perspective. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 8:4, 535-566.

Ruddock-Hudson, M., O’Halloran, P.,, & Murphy, G. (2012).  Exploring psychological reactions to injury in the Australian Football League (AFL).  Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 24:4), 375-390.

Russell, P. (2008).  The psychological impact of sports injury.  Fitpro Network web article. 

Stephan, Y., Deroche, T., Brewer, B.W.,  Caudroit, J., & Le Scanff, C. (2009). Predictors of perceived susceptibility to sport-related injury among competitive runners: The role of previous experience, neuroticism, and passion for running.  Applied Psychology: An International Review, 58:4, 672-687.

Tracey, J. (2003). The emotional response to the injury and rehabilitation process.  Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 15:4, 279-293.

Wasley, D. & Lox, C.L. (1998).  Self-esteem and coping responses of athletes with acute versus chronic injuries. Perceptual and Motor Skills,  86:3-2, 1402.

Williams, J.M. (1996).  Stress, coping resources, and injury risk.  International Journal of Stress Management, 3:4, 209-221.

Yang, J, Peek-Asa, Lowe, J/B. C., Heiden, E. Foster, D. (2010). Social patterns of collegiate athletes before and after injury.  Journal of Athletic Training, 45:4, 372-379.

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The Importance of Being More than Just a CrossFit Athlete or Climber or Triathlete: Don’t Bore Your Friends and Family

May 12, 2013 By 4 Comments

momandgirlshug

Pure Joy: 2008 visit from Grandma. Happy Mother’s Day to my wonderful Mom, who taught me, among other things, how to write. 

Since I’m posting this article on Mother’s Day, here’s the tie-in:

1.  As a gift to your Mom, don’t bore her today with talk of your latest PR, unless of course she wants to talk to you about hers.

2.  If you’re a parent, yourself, thank your Mom for being one of maybe three other people in the world who truly care about the tiniest details of your kids’ lives.  Save those details for your Mom and spare your friends.

When I ask people at our gyms to name some of the challenges of being a CrossFit athlete, nine times out of ten a common theme surfaces: how to manage when a partner or good friend doesn’t also do CrossFit, and, therefore, doesn’t relate to one’s passion, commitment, and focus.  CrossFit involves some unique elements that make it especially seductive and potential all-consuming, but it is not necessarily different from any other pursuit in which a person might be fully engaged.  Some of the factors of CrossFit that make it attract one’s full-time interest include regular attendance at the gym, changes in lifestyle choices (bed times, diet, alcohol intake), and a new-found interest in aspects of exercise previously irrelevant to one’s life (think 42-year-old mom of three with no formal sports background suddenly tracking her clean-and-jerk PR’s).  All of these factors can have a profound effect on a person, to whom those closest can’t help but notice.  If your drinking buddy stops going to bars, your relationship is bound to change.  If your best girlfriend stops going to Pilates classes with you and starts talking about a movement called a snatch, you might get bored, and your friendship might change.  If your Italian wife no longer cooks your favorite pasta for you and your kids, you might be annoyed.  Now throw into that mix the fact that the friend/wife/partner/buddy also talks incessantly about a whole new group of people who shares his/her interest interests and choices, while you hang on the sidelines, unable to relate to this new and awesome “community.”  It’s easy to see how an unshared passion about, and commitment to, something like CrossFit could slowly but surely create a divide in a relationship, despite everyone’s best intentions.

As I mentioned, CrossFit is not alone in its capacity to absorb a participant’s attention.  Talk to triathletes—especially Ironmen and Ironwomen–about the effects of their training and focus on their close relationships with people who don’t also train.  How about someone who takes on a new position as CEO of a large company and starts traveling for business, necessarily becoming immersed in the company culture and the industry at large?  Might that impact his/her availability for status-quo relating?  How about the ultimate transformation when people go from being non-parents to parents?  Perhaps nothing changes one’s lifestyle, availability for chill time, or capacity to talk about anything remotely interesting to a non-parent more than having a baby.  What, then, happens to friendships with non-parents?  How often do they survive when one party crosses over to the dark side of parental preoccupation?

Life is filled with transitions.  High school ends and friends disperse to colleges.  College ends and friends scatter the country–even the globe–in pursuit of career dreams, graduate school, or to benefit a long-term relationship.  Post-college life often involves the burgeoning of new interests and exploration of various activities, some of which require a great deal of focus and investment of personal resources.  Friendships don’t always weather the storms of change.

When an interest like CrossFit enters the mix and becomes all-consuming, the athlete’s ability to remain available to friends, partners, and even co-workers is often tested.  It seems it is all too easy for the one involved to blame any rift that follows on the other person’s inability to relate to a new-found passion.  I don’t think this is fair or helpful most of the time.  The truth is that a bit of self-reflection might make one realize that one’s involvement with CrossFit or other endeavor is all-consuming and has, in fact, become a barrier of entry to the old version of oneself.  This may be insurmountable to friends and family who were there before.

We all run the risk of becoming absorbed in our current pursuits and friendships, and it behooves us to check in with ourselves to make sure we aren’t so consumed by our passion for what we are doing that we can no longer effectively relate to those who don’t share it.  We are all multifaceted individuals—some more dynamic than others, no doubt, but we can make the most of all aspects of ourselves if we keep all dimensions in check and don’t give our entire beings solely to one pursuit.  Finding the delicate balance between commitment to, and immersion in, a sport or job or other activity on the one hand, and balance and availability for other interests and people on the other hand, is often hard fought.  But it’s well worth the effort.  I can assure you that people who don’t do CrossFit have as little interest in your daily updates about your snatch PR or your muscle-up technique as you might have in the latest developments in crampon gear that enthrall your mountaineer friend.  And that’s exactly how it should be.  If you can’t talk about anything other than one activity, don’t blame your friends’ lack of interest on their inability to relate to your passion.  One person’s passion is another’s source of boredom.  Sensitivity to that is critical if you’re going to be an effective member of any community or relationship for that matter.  If you do CrossFit and only have friends who do CrossFit, or you’re a climber who can only have a conversation with other climbers, or you’re a Vegan and your Vegan lifestyle is simply all there is to talk about, it’s probably time to diversify a bit.

On the flip side, there is also the reality that some people have a hard time supporting friends or partners in pursuits that are new and involve changes.  This phenomenon is multi-determined.  Of course, there is commonly a bit of jealousy that a friend or partner has found something new, exciting, and transformational.  There can also be a simple feeling of being left out or left behind.  Then there are some more complex forces at work.  For example, I often hear of friends mocking more restrictive nutrition choices or calling their friends “boring” or “uptight” because they now choose to avoid alcohol.  It is often the case that when a friend or partner chooses a path of discipline and refined lifestyle choices, the one left behind condescends, as a way of making himself/herself feel better about his/her own choices.  It seems that eating pie in front of someone who no longer eats wheat and sugar might make the pie eater feel inferior or less disciplined, consciously or not.  Having a few drinks with a buddy who no longer imbibes might make the drinker feel self-conscious in ways he/she might not otherwise.  It may inadvertently force the drinker to reckon with his/her own need/desire to drink.  Judgments about a friend or family member’s chosen restrictions may actually be an attempt to get rid of the uncomfortable feelings of self-doubt about one’s own choices—a way of ejecting the feeling that one might be somehow inferior for not choosing to follow the same dietary restrictions or wellness lifestyle choices.

So how can you handle friends and family members who don’t support your choices or question your new behaviors?  With sensitivity, grace, and tact.  Simple and periodic acknowledgments that the changes you have made via your pursuit, be it CrossFit or something else, can do wonders for relationship stability.  Recognizing that you have changed your behaviors but not necessarily who you are can be a helpful reminder to others that your relationship with them can continue.  Careful attention to how frequently you talk about CrossFit or climbing or your new job can stave off the shut-down mechanism in friends who don’t share your experiences.  Being careful to ask about their lives and to maintain a genuine interest in continuing to spend time with them is critical to ongoing relationships.  If you really care about someone, you will respect their indifference to the minutiae of your sport, and you will take care to address their interests with as much zeal as you do your own training.

Of course the cold, harsh reality is that some relationships won’t stand the test of ebbs and flows, especially when one party becomes fully immersed in an interest or pursuit.  This is part of life, but it’s a good idea to be darn sure that something you’re doing in the moment, even if you plan for it to be a long-term endeavor, doesn’t end up losing you more than you’re gaining, as far as relationships go.  As always, introspection and thoughtful attention is critical along these lines.  So, enjoy yourself and revel in your dedication to training or to a job or a certain way of eating.  Just don’t lose hold on other aspects of yourself; surely others will follow suit if you do!

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Time for a Break?

May 5, 2013 By 1 Comment

hollissoccerforarticle

Our eight-year-old came home from school yesterday with tears in her eyes.  She told me she was tired, had too many activities, and wanted to quit something.  She mentioned that I wouldn’t be happy about it.  She said she wanted to quit soccer.  I immediately knew what the problem was: her best buddy at school has Mondays free, and soccer practices will  begin next week, on Mondays.

This will be our little one’s first year playing select/competitive soccer.  Spring session has two practices each week, which adds a load to her already busy schedule.  But the kid loves soccer.  She worked hard to prepare for her first-ever tryouts, and she has been totally jazzed about the upcoming practices.  Still, she is eight, and she wants to play with her buddy.

Kids are notoriously short-term thinkers.  They are all about immediate gratification and have a harder time than we adults at delaying gratification for a later date.  When faced with a desire for something tangible and immediate, like a play date with a best friend, kids struggle to see the forest for the trees.  Rational, logical thinking can easily become a thing of the past or the future when the possibility of a play date is on the line.  As a parent of two, I’ve gotten used to this scenario, but the challenge of getting a very determined eight-year-old to become more flexible in this regard remains a daunting one.

Did I tell my daughter that she could quit competitive soccer before she even started, so that she could enjoy her play dates on Mondays?  Of course not.  Did I explain to her that some day she will appreciate my parenting and will probably be stunned that she had ever even considered quitting?  Yes.  Did she come to her own senses within hours?  Thankfully this time, yes–another indication of how much she loves soccer.  Phew.

This whole interaction got me thinking about how we know for sure when it’s time to quit something.  How do we know when something we’ve enjoyed in the past, something to which we’ve devoted hours of our time and boatloads of our resources, is no longer a positive presence in our lives?  Maybe it’s not a matter of quitting forever, but it’s an issue of taking a break, taking time to reflect, and having enough information to make an informed decision.

Training and sport are easy examples of such a struggle.  Just today a new acquaintance told me that he had stopped running ultra-marathons when his kids were born.  As I wrote in the Acknowledgements section of my book, “Kids are a great barometer of what is worthwhile in life.”  When you are given precious little time to expand your life outside of raising human beings, you choose wisely–very wisely.  And what you do with that time darn well better not detract from your ability to parent well.  Mostly, at least for some time, the choices aren’t yours to make.  There is the reality that the sleep-deprivation and other lifestyle issues that come with newborns is far from conducive to efficient and injury-free training.  The decisions become pretty obvious pretty quickly.  Serious injuries, much like having babies, also tend to cut short our training goals and athletic endeavors.  When a physical injury prevents participation at a sustainable level, the question about whether or not it’s time to quit becomes easily answered.

But what about scenarios that are not so clear cut?  What about the grey areas when sport and training have become such a part of one’s life that it’s hard to imagine going forward without it, but at the same time participation has more and more downsides?  How does one decide when it’s time for a break or time to call it quits for good?  The implications for life outside of sport are easily conjured.  How do we assess when it might be time to step away from the job we’ve had for years?  How do imagine the possibility that a long-term romantic relationship might have run its course?

Having the capacity to make changes in our lives is critical.  Having the courage to shake up our own status quo is hard.  Familiarity is comforting, even when imperfect.  The idea of stepping away from something to which we’ve given a solid chunk of ourselves is frightening.  Maybe it’s the feeling that all of the time, energy, planning, we have put into the endeavor will seem like a big waste if we leave it behind.  Perhaps we are afraid that we won’t find anything else to fill the void.  Maybe we stay in a relationship for fear of being alone.  The same can be true of training for triathlons: are we afraid that we will feel aimless and have no structure if we were to stop?  Then there’s the addiction element: perhaps something about our training and physical pursuits serves a function far greater than fulfilling our competitive drive or helping to keep us in shape.  Maybe, like any addiction, it has become a way to prevent ourselves from feeling something we are afraid to feel or from knowing something about ourselves that we are afraid to face.

By no means am I suggesting that there always comes a time when it’s time to quit a sport or a training pursuit.  I am simply suggesting that you take time to reflect with honesty and courage on how this pursuit is working out for you.  Are you generally inspired and jazzed by your training, or are there more days than not when you feel drained, tired, defeated?  Motivation level is a critical indicator, not only of how well you are likely to do at a sport, but also of how positive the effects of your involvement are.  If you are feeling unmotivated, it can be a sign that your emotional, psychological, and physical needs are not being met by participation in your sport, and it can also be a result of excessive stress and not enough success to feed your system.  (see reference below:  James Loehr’s book on Toughness Training has a nice section on low motivation).  How about social indicators? Are your social connections being maintained in healthy ways, or are you finding that you are throwing yourself so heavily into your training that relationships outside of it have dwindled?  Physical signs are equally important.  Is your body responding in ways that show improvement, or are you constantly fighting injuries or pretending you don’t have pain when you walk?

This kind of self-reflection is critical for ongoing happiness, development, and health.  Of course there are some commitments that are non-negotiable.  Parenting is one of them.  You can’t decide a few years in that it’s just not working out for you because the effort outweighs the upsides.  But most of us give a lot of ourselves to some other endeavor, and I’m arguing that it’s worth assessing the results of this at any given time.  Given that we only go around once, figuring out when it might be time to step away from something—maybe forever and maybe just for a while—is probably a really smart thing to do.  Leaving something behind makes room for something new, which is awesome.  But let’s not jump right into that.  There is much to be learned from allowing ourselves the gift of time, space, and the capacity for more.  The next great thing will find its way in, and it just might be the very thing you had to leave behind in order to figure that out.

Reference:

Loehr, James E. (1994).  The New Toughness Training for Sports. Plume: New York, NY.

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Have an Audience? How Do You Handle the Pressure?

April 28, 2013 By 1 Comment

jessgames

I can remember back in high school, amidst the burgeoning of adolescent self-consciousness, being on the soccer field with my teammates while spectators cheered us on.  For the most part, this was a plain-and-simple experience of taking pleasure in being an athlete and appreciating the support of friends and family, as my teammates and I applied our training and talents during games against high-school rivals.  But on some days, during occasional moments, there was an awareness of another kind—of whether the boys watching thought I was cute, of whether the girls who played other sports appreciated our efforts, of whether my coach was pleased with my progress.  Luckily, I wasn’t overly self-conscious, so this kind of thinking rarely intruded on my performance.  But for some, self-consciousness or even certain types of social anxiety can absolutely contribute to a decline in athletic performance.  As athletes, it’s important to consider how our psyches affect our physical skills, especially with regard to anxiety.  So, here goes a little analysis on a certain type of social anxiety that has been shown to hinder performance.

In the psychology literature on anxiety, there is a concept called Fear of Negative Evaluation (FNE).  Watson and Friend (1969) first defined FNE as “apprehension about others’ evaluations, distress over their negative evaluations, and the expectation that others would evaluate oneself negatively (p.449).”  Basically, people with high degrees of FNE (which can be assessed by the FNE Scale created by Watson and Friend) are overly concerned with how they are being judged or perceived by other people.  They tend to imagine that they are being perceived in negative ways, and they are often inhibited in their behaviors as a result.  FNE can be related to a more global social anxiety (Schlenker, 1980), and it can lead people to avoid situations in which they might be evaluated.  While most of us have some degree of awareness of how we are received by others as social beings, those who are high in FNE have a heightened level of anxiety that they are, or will be, evaluated in negative ways–an anxiety which affects their behaviors and choices.

People with social anxiety tend to have more negative ratings of their own affect and bodily symptoms than those without social anxiety (Edelmann & Baker, 2002).  In an interesting study of performance anxiety while singing (Chen & Drummond, 2008), high-FNE subjects who were forced to make eye contact with evaluators before and/or during their performance later reported more bodily symptoms consistent with anxiety (e.g., sweating, cardiac measures), even though they did not actually exhibit any more of those symptoms than did their low-FNE counterparts.  It was their FEAR of showing signs of anxiety that made them experience changes in their bodies that were actually not happening.  This finding seems very relevant to performance anxiety in sports, which often leads to decreases in performance.  If you have a high FNE or are otherwise socially anxious, you are likely to experience heightened levels of anxiety in somatic ways, even when your body is not actually affected.  For example, you may feel more winded or more fatigued or experience your muscles failing you, even when you, and they, are not.  Your cognitive assessment of these phantom bodily symptoms might make you give up early—perhaps you will fail a lift, miss a putt, botch a free-throw.

Self-presentation models of “choking” under pressure to perform are also discussed in the literature (Schlenker, 1980; Mesagno, Harvey, Janelle, 2012).  Self-presentation refers to behaviors and actions chosen to present a certain image of oneself to other people.  As Mesagno et al (2012) discuss, concerns around self-presentation likely affect competitive athletes’ susceptibility to choking.  Indeed, qualitative work has demonstrated a link between desires to present a positive self-image, and choking in competitions (Gucciardi, Lombardi, Jackson, & Dimmock, 2010; Hill, Hanton, Matthews, & Flemming, 2010).  In one study, Mesagno (2009) took fourteen athletes known to be susceptible to choking and asked them about their experiences involving low and high-pressure performance scenarios.  As summarized by Mesagno et al (2012), “analysis of participants’ interviews suggested a link between perceived self-presentation concerns and choking, which might be explained through public self-consciousness (i.e., tendency to focus on outwardly observable aspects of the self such as physical appearance or performance) and fear of negative evaluation (FNE)” (p. 61).

There is plenty more evidence that people high in FNE appear to be more susceptible to performance anxiety in sport than those who are low in FNE.   For example, in a research study examining choking under pressure in experienced basketball players, high-FNE subjects had a significant increase in anxiety and a significant decrease in performance when pressure to perform was induced (Mesagno et al 2012).  In a slightly different vein, a study in England explored how students respond to physical education classes.  Elementary and secondary school students were asked to rate their own athletic competence immediately after physical education classes.  The study found that girls had higher FNE than boys, as well as lower perceptions of their own athletic competence.  High-school-aged girls had the highest FNE levels and lowest perceived competence of all groups (Hartmann,  Zahner, Pühse, Schneider, Puder, Kriemler, 2010).  These results suggest that when we are anxious about how others will judge or evaluate us (high FNE), we are more likely to underestimate our skills and competencies, and, therefore, more likely to stay away from activities in which they will be judged.  Or, perhaps, we may engage in these activities but with only part of ourselves being actually committed to the task; the other parts are too busy worrying about how we will be perceived.

Fear of negative evaluation also intersects with perfectionism, which can be the result of an over-investment in others’ evaluations of oneself. People  with high degrees of perfectionism often lack self-confidence and worry that perfect performance is the only way to please others.  This can lead to an avoidance of activities in which someone is not perfectly competent or confident. (Frost, Glossner, & Maxner, 2010).

The point of this post is not simply to expose or detail the pathology of an intriguing aspect of social anxiety.  Rather, my idea is to make use of examples in the literature to raise awareness of some of the anxieties that might impact not only an athlete’s performance, but also his/her desire to engage in training or practice at all.   While most of us don’t suffer from severe social anxiety or high FNE, we all experience moments of fear or questioning related to how we are being judged, especially when learning new skills.  In the physical realm, when these skills are outside our zones of comfort, we are more likely to feel self-conscious and less likely to allow our bodies to do their things, unfettered.

My own experience with Olympic-style weightlifting has been a great learning process for me along these lines.  It is by far the most I have struggled with something physical in my life and has involved the times when I have felt the least capable or coordinated.  Until recently, when I lifted, I would fight not only the barbell, but also my mind telling me ten ways from Sunday what I was doing wrong.  When I had an audience, even of just one person, the ante was upped, and my chances of training effectively or performing well were quite slim.  Thankfully, I’ve gotten over my fears to a large extent (admittedly helped along by a lack of competitive ambitions for the moment).  My run-in with the barbell in my early forties has been a powerful learning experience as far as the mind-body relationship goes, and I have learned much about how self-doubts can dictate physical outcomes.

So, next time you’re out doing something physical—really doing anything–and have an audience, be aware of how focused you are on what they are thinking of your performance.  Don’t try this during a competition or important training session, of course!  First try it out during a session when the stakes aren’t high, but there are people around.  How worried are you about what they will think?  How tense does your body feel, and how hindered might your movements be?  What is it that worries you about their evaluations?  It can even be helpful to take notes in a journal after your training session or performance, allowing you reflect on the results of your anxiety and how your performance was affected.  While I don’t have a list of answers for how to make you stop caring about what others think, I do know that we would all benefit from this kind of internal analysis and reflection on what it is that concerns us so much about having an audience.

Of course the implications for life off the courts are plentiful here.  When we are ridden with social anxiety or simply with worries of how others will perceive us, we often restrict ourselves in ways that fulfill our own fear-driven prophecies–at work, in relationships, wherever.  Too much fear of how others are judging us can wreak havoc on our senses of ourselves and our abilities to maximize our talents and optimize our learning potential. Self awareness and an understanding of who we are in relation to others is, of course, critical to optimal functioning.  However, there is a tipping point at which our ability to shine will be totally outweighed by our fears.  Make sure you’re not reaching that point, and if you are, it may be time to do some serious work.  Just think how awesome you might actually be!

REFERENCES

Chen, V., & Drummond, P. D. (2008).  Fear of negative evaluation augments negative affect and somatic symptoms in social-evaluative situations. Cognition and Emotion: 22(1), 21-43.

Collins, K.A., Westra, H.A., Dozois, D.J.A., Stewart, S. H. (2005). The validity of the brief version of the Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale.  Journal of anxiety disorders: 19: 345-359.

Edelmann, R. J., & Baker, S. R. (2002). Self-reported and actual physiological responses in social phobia. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 41, 1-14.

Frost, R. O.; Glossner, & K.; Maxner, S. (2010).  Social anxiety disorder and its relationship to perfectionism.  In Social anxiety: Clinical, developmental, and social perspectives (2nd ed.), Hofmann, S. G. (Ed) &  DiBartolo, P. M., Eds. (pp. 119-145). San Diego, CA, US: Elsevier Academic Press.

Gucciardi, D.F., Longbottom, J., Jackson, B., & Dimmock, J.A. (2010).  Experienced golfers’ perspectives on choking under pressure.  Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 32, 61-83.

Hartmann,  T., Zahner, L., Pühse, Us., Schneider, S., Puder, J.J., Kriemler, S. (2010). Physical activity, bodyweight, health and fear of negative evaluation in primary school children.  Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports, 20(1), 27-34.

Hill, D.M., Hanton, S., Matthews, N., & Fleming, S. (2010).  A qualitative exploration of choking in elite golf.  Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology, 4, 221-240.

Mesagno, C., Marchant, D., & Morris, T. (2009).  Alleviation choking: the sounds of distraction.  Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 21, 131-147.

Mesagno, C., Harvey, J.T. & Janelle, C.M. (2012).  Choking under pressure: The role of fear of negative evaluation. Psychology of Sport and Exercise: 13(1), 60-68.

Ridgers, Nicola D.; Fazey, Delia M. A.; Fairclough, Stuart J (2007). Perceptions of athletic competence and fear of negative evaluation during physical education. British Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol 77(2), 339-349.

Schlenker, B (1980). Impression Management: The Self-concept, Social Identity, and Interpersonal Relations. Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole Publishing.

Watson, D. and Friend, R.  (1969). Measurement of social-evaluative Anxiety. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 33 (4): 448–57.

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What’s YOUR Story?

April 21, 2013 By 2 Comments

babybook

One of my favorite parts of completing my Doctorate in Psychology was having the opportunity to do intakes of incoming clients in various settings.  Hearing people’s stories offered a fascinating glimpse into the human experience and afforded me a series of small windows into the events and relationships that form personalities and psychological functioning.  What has always fascinated me about people and initially lead me to pursue doctoral training is the same thing that I appreciate most about people now: We all have a story to tell.

It’s funny sometimes how little we know about each other.  We can spend hours with people at the gym, in our jobs, as parents at school functions and still know next-to-nothing substantive about each other’s backgrounds and histories.

What’s YOUR story?  If you were going to an intake meeting where someone asked you to talk about yourself and the events and relationships that have formed who you are today, what you would you say?  What have been the turning points in your life?  Which relationships have mattered most in the formation of how you relate to those closest to you now?  What successes and failures have created your current outlook about the possibilities for your future?

Intentionally thinking about our own stories from time to time can help us get a grip on why we think, react, and behave in the habitual ways we do.  Moments of focused self-reflection about where we came from and how we got here can help us question our relationship patterns and challenge our notions of our future.  Ultimately, the goal is to allow for growth and development, both of which imply change.

Ever had a moment with someone you’ve known for a long time where you find out a significant bit of information about that person (maybe that her mother died suddenly when your friend was just five), and you suddenly have an entirely new appreciation for your friend’s personality quirks?  Ever wonder why your boss is so darn cynical sometimes, only to find out that he spent his teen years in foster care with an alcoholic parent?  Perhaps your responses to these people change when you know more about their story.

So what’s YOUR story, and how has it formed who you are?  We often have Baby Books, with moments in time documented by others.  Somewhere along the way, the stories told about us tend to become us.  What are the pivotal moments and formative relationship patterns that make you tick now?  Do you let your history dictate your actions now?  Have you ever thought about how you can control the effects of early experiences and make changes so you can be unencumbered by them?

Consider this the next time you’re training and struggling to complete a workout or gain mastery of a skill.  What thoughts go through your head, and how do those relate to “your story?”  How can you make a deliberate shift in the thought patterns that arise now that you have become more aware of how your past affects you?  Let me give you an example:

You are shooting for a one-rep-max lift or you are practicing your tennis serve.  After a number of failures, you begin to get frustrated.  Because you are trying to be more focused on your thought processes, you realize that you’re thinking about how your older sister could probably do this better than you can.  After all, she was always so much better at learning new sports–your dad loved to joke about that at family gatherings.  Instead of allowing this line of thinking to unravel in your mind, how about stopping it dead in its tracks?  As soon as your sister pops into your mind, remind yourself immediately of a major success in your life, preferably one you’ve had to work hard to achieve.  Eventually, with enough practice, you can just say the word “success” out loud and that will be enough to derail your thought process.  Or you might remind yourself how your childhood experiences with your sister actually have nothing to do with your success on the court or in the gym today (ultimately having a catch phrase/mantra like “be your own person” should suffice to counter the old thoughts).

Of course, the effects of such awareness and thought restructuring won’t be immediate.  People often seek ongoing therapy for these purposes; change takes time.  But we’re in this for the long haul, so we might as well start today.  There’s plenty you can do on your own.  Acknowledge your past, consider its effects on your present, and learn to take control of the moments when your story takes over, but you realize you’re not the author.  Your revised draft just might take, and it could include a more awesome version of the you somebody else wrote about.

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Brief Thoughts on the Boston Marathon

April 16, 2013 By 3 Comments

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I had the pleasure of running the Boston Marathon in April, 1996, the 100th Anniversary year of the event.  I was 25 years old and can remember being totally inspired by the support from the crowd lining the streets, much like I had been when running in other cities.  But the spectacle of the 100th running in Boston made it that much more alive and exciting, and I felt fortunate to be a part of it, running high on positive fumes for much of the race.

Today’s tragedy at the finish line in Boston is a striking blow, as all terrorist attacks are, to our sense of safety, innocence, and wonder.  What strikes me most about this one is the juxtaposition of the triumph of the human spirit and capacity—runners pushing themselves beyond limits while spectators and volunteers attend to various needs—with the depths of the human condition—the absolute worst of what human beings can inflict.

Like so many others, my thoughts and prayers are with the families who are suffering right now.  Just this morning I was talking with some friends about the enormity of being a parent and recognizing that in a split second, life can change irreparably, should something bad happen to our children.

For those of you who have experienced a significant trauma or loss prior to today, keep in mind that events like today’s are likely to stir up grief, fear, anxiety, sadness, irritability, and other uncomfortable emotions.  Reach out to those to whom you can talk about such things, including professional counselors or therapists if need be.  For those of you with young children not immediately impacted but concerned about today’s events, it is best to reassure them that this is a freak event that is unlikely to happen again or to them.  Children need to hear from their parents that the world is generally a safe place, filled with wonderful people who can help and protect them.  The reality is that there are also bad people who do bad things.  But kids need to be able to have faith that all will be fine in their worlds.  Keep your ears out for your kids’ fears, and make yourself available to talk as needed.

As for those of you in training for your next athletic event or physical pursuit, perhaps today gives you a dose of perspective—mostly, we are lucky to have what we have and to do what we do.  Worrying about training milestones or competitions or outcomes of our hard work is a luxury.  Taking time to appreciate that and to savor the moments of triumph and opportunity is as important as any PR or training session or trophy.  Life can change in an instant; harness the positives and work through the rest.  In each moment lie possibilities.

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How’s All That Thinking Working Out for You?

April 12, 2013 By 14 Comments

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Ever had someone tell you to stop thinking so hard when you’re trying to execute a physical skill?  Ever had a feeling inside that if you could just let your mind go, your body would probably do what it needs to do?  Pay close attention to that feeling the next time it happens; there is much to be learned in this terrain, and we would all be better athletes with a greater likelihood of peak performances if we could learn how to quiet our minds when the going gets tough.  Easier said than done, right?

There are moments in our lives as athletes and learners when we need to be very conscious and deliberate, calling upon our higher-level verbal skills to mediate the development of new motor patterns.  However, there comes a time when it is best to let go of this kind of conscious attention to motor skill execution, and when we don’t—when we think too hard—our performance suffers.

Typically when we learn new motor skills, we rely on the type of processing that is mediated verbally.  This is known as explicit learning, which results in declarative knowledge.  For example, when learning how to kick a soccer ball, a novice athlete might respond well to all sorts of verbal cuing from a coach—“make contact with the ball on the top of your foot, keep your hips facing in the direction you want to kick, be sure to follow through towards your target.”  Once we become experienced with a motor pattern or skill, however, our knowledge is considered to be procedural and requires little conscious attention mediated by language.  It has become automated and happens smoothly, with little conscious, verbal control.  If you have ever been taught to run using a specific running method, it is easy to understand the different kind of conscious attention you use when you are learning the new method, as opposed to the kind of automatic processing that happens once you have integrated the new motor patterning and technique into your being.  Once you are in this phase of learning, your knowledge of the skill/motor pattern is considered to be implicit or procedural.  Your movements are no longer regulated by conscious, verbal processing, and they become smoother and more effortless.  (See Masters, 1992 for a good explanation of the different types of learning).

It turns out that when we try to apply declarative knowledge and conscious, verbally mediated attention to the execution of motor skills that have already become automated, we actually do ourselves a disservice.  There is a pool of research demonstrating that when experienced athletes apply conscious, explicit strategies to learned motor-skills, their performance suffers.  This is less true for novice, unskilled learners, who typically benefit from this kind of internal, conscious attention.  The idea is that novices need it in order to perform well, but once there is some level of competency and a motor skill has been automated to a large extent, a “reinvestment” in conscious processing actually hinders the efficiency of movement (Masters and Maxwell, 2008).

In 1992, Masters introduced the theory of conscious processing via a study showing that when people were taught a motor skill using explicit techniques (with clear and specific instructions on how to putt a golf ball), they tended to over-rely on such explicit learning when tested under stress.  In contrast, when implicit learning was involved (practicing how to putt a golf ball with little verbal mediation), subjects were protected against an anxiety-induced regression to explicit knowledge.   Furthermore, explicit learners performed more poorly under pressure than implicit learners, suggesting that declarative knowledge interrupts automatic motor patterns when one experiences performance anxiety (Masters, 1992).

Along these same lines, in situations when athletes experience a heightened level of anxiety, as typically exists in competitive situations or when performance matters for other reasons, there is a tendency to revert to conscious processing.  This is true even when athletes are experienced and would fare better by relying on procedural, automatic, and smooth processing to guide motor mechanics.  (Hardy, Mullen and Jones 1996;  Masters 1992, Masters and Maxwell, 2008; Mullen and Hardy 2000, Pijpers, Oudejans, and Bakker, 2005; Flegal and Anderson, 2008).

The implications of this conscious processing hypothesis for experienced athletes can be summarized in this way: we need to find a way to fight the urge towards regression to language-mediated, conscious control of automated motor skills.  In other words, we need to have faith in our training and our muscle memory, to let go of our declarative/explicit learning processes, to stay focused on the larger picture of the task at hand (E.g., making the lift instead of all of the bits and pieces involved in our body that will make that happen), and to let our body do its thing.  We need to become comfortable with anxiety and know that it can lead to an optimal state of arousal for performance, as long as we don’t let it derail our automatic processes.  We need to have at our beck and call a reservoir of positive self-talk that helps us when we feel nervous and unsure—talk that brings us back to a feeling of confidence in our skills and abilities.  The details of such strategies are for another article (coming soon).  My goal here is to get you thinking about how to avoid over-thinking when you are trying to peak your physical performance or simply perform learned motor skills on demand.

Implications for coaching are also intriguing.  There seem to be a number of ways a coach can teach new skills that may help prevent athletes from succumbing to competition anxiety.  For example, coaches should encourage external focus by helping athletes to think about the effects on the environment of their movements as opposed to how their bodies are moving (Wulf, Hob, and Prinz, 1998).   They should discourage athletes from verbalizing the steps of their successful motor patterns, instead having the athlete use imagery for mental pictures, as well as sensory reflection on how the movement felt.  Additionally, coaches can teach skills under practice conditions that invoke self-consciousness (Beilock and Carr, 2001) and self-awareness (Lewis and Linder, 1997); both have been found to protect against the over-investment in thinking when stressed.  The idea is that training and learning under conditions that mimic the anxiety of competition adapts the athlete to the pressure, making him/her less likely to rely on the reinvestment of conscious processing (Pijpers, Oudejans, and Bakker, 2005).  Competition experience can be mimicked using such techniques as performing for an audience, participating in mock competitions with other athletes, and having people video the athlete during training sessions.

I realize there’s a bunch of fancy terms and research references in this one.  If you’re intrigued by this topic, you now have plenty of studies to sift through on your own.  The big takeaway in my mind is that if you want to optimize your performance when you’re nervous, it’s high time you acquire tools that will prevent you from thinking too hard about motor skills you’ve been doing successfully for some time.  Finding ways to deal with your performance anxiety is half the battle (again, stay tuned for more details on this topic). The other half of the battle relates to how much you allow yourself to be in your body, resisting, in the heat of the moment, the temptation of conscious thinking and verbal processing.  It will serve you well to practice this art.  When you perform a movement—be it a snatch or a golf putt or a tennis swing—reflect on how it feels in your body and how the barbell or the club or the ball moved in space, rather than putting into words what your body just did.  Let the movement happen, and focus on the effects of your automatic execution.  The rest will take care of itself when you’re under pressure.  Don’t let your mind’s thinking get in the way of what your body knows how to do!

hollisrunning2011

References:

Beilock, S.L., Carr, T.H. (2001).  On the fragility of skilled performance: What governs choking under pressure?  Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 130, 701-725.

Flegal, K.E. & Anderson, M.C. (2008).  Overthinking skilled motor performance: Or why those who teach can’t do.  Psychonomic Bulletin & Review.  15 (5), 927-932.

Hardy, L., Mullen, R., Jones, G. (1996).  Knowledge and conscious control of motor actions under stress.  British Journal of Psychology.  87, 621-636.

Lewis, B.P. & Linder, D.E. (1997).  Thinking about choking?  Attentional processes and paradoxical performance.  Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 23, 937-944.

Masters, R. S. W. (1992).  Knowledge, knerves and know-how: The role of explicit versus implicit knowledge in the breakdown of a complex motor skill under pressure.  British Journal of Psychology.  83:3, 343–358.

Masters R. and Maxwell, J.  (2008).  The theory of reinvestment. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology.  0, 1-24.

Mullen, R. & Hardy, L. (2000).  State anxiety and motor performance: Testing the conscious processing hypothesis. Journal of Sports Sciences, 18, 111-120.

Pijpers, J.R., Oudejans, R.D., & Bakker, F.C.  (2005).  Anxiety-induced changes in movement behavior during the exection of a complex whole-body task.  The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology. 58A (3), 421-445.

Wulf, G., Hob, M. & Prinz, W. (1998).  Instructions for motor learning: Differential effects of internal versus external focus of attention.  Journal of Motor Behavior, 30, 169-179.

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Post-Open Blues? Time for Some Good, Old-Fashioned Introspection.

April 7, 2013 By 1 Comment

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The CrossFit Open 2013 is over.  Thousands of CrossFitters around the world can breathe a collective sigh of relief, enjoy some rest and recovery, and find other things to do with their down time besides check the leaderboard and read coaching tips about workouts.  They can let the tips on their hands heal and relax those aching shoulders.  They can hang out with their children, free from the distractions of 13-point-something and can revel in the thought of going to the gym with a more relaxed mindset.

Or can they?

It is important to recognize that, alongside the highs, there may also be a collective sigh of regret, a sense of confusion and malaise, a feeling of things left undone.  There may be people feeling unsettled, unsure where to focus their energy, and confused about why they feel disconnected in some ways.

There is a small percentage of athletes for whom the Open turned out extraordinarily well, who will advance to the next phase of competition at Regionals or, for Masters athletes, head directly to the CrossFit Games.  For these individuals, there may be a larger sense of relief mixed with excitement and anticipation, as well as an invigorated outlook (even if sprinkled with a good dose of pressure and fatigue).  But for the majority of people who competed, this is the end of the road as far as the competition year goes, and endings and transitions are often rich with psychological fodder.  I’ll dare say there may even be a small percentage of participants who will experience some form of emotional “blues” or even a mild depression in the wake of having thrown much of themselves, both physically and mentally, into the five-week event.

This may sound hyperbolic to some readers–perhaps I’m just too much of a shrink and too ready to go to the dark side.  But I think there is much to be learned in that underbelly of human experience.  In talking with many CrossFit Open participants over the past three years, I’ve come to take seriously the effects that participation has on one’s psyche.  There are stories of elation and triumph from having overcome obstacles, having hit personal records in lifts, and having mastered skills in the heat of the workout battles.  There are stories rich with human connection, of people finding new friends and becoming closer to each other through the trials and tribulations of competition.  There are stories of spouses finally understanding the athlete’s investment in their workouts and their lifestyle.  And yet, I’m proposing that, much like the condition of postpartum depression after pregnancy, there may be a “condition” involving depressive symptoms in the days and weeks after a consuming event such as the CrossFit Open.

Hang with me here.  Have any of you been married?  Have any of you put your heart and soul and childhood dreams into your wedding day?  Have any of you felt a sense of void after your honeymoon was over?  How about those of you who have worked tirelessly as an event planner at work, riding high for weeks and months on the feeling of focus and import that can come with planning a big event and being in charge of numerous people and pieces coming together?  Despite the stress involved in such an effort, have you ever felt empty or sad or derailed in some way after it ended, perhaps taking with it a bit of your sense of self worth?  Anyone ever have a hard time in the days and weeks after graduating from high school or college?  Any triathletes or ultra-marathoners out there ever experience a dip in mood and/or an experience of being wayward in the weeks after crossing the finish line?  If none of you say yes to this, some of you are lying.

You’ve probably heard of postpartum depression (PPD), and some of you may have even suffered from it.  According to the DSM IV-TR (the handbook of psychiatric/psychological diagnoses used by mental-health professionals), PPD occurs within four weeks of delivery and lasts for at least two weeks.  Diagnostic criteria include symptoms associated with a major depressive episode, with impairment of functioning lasting at least as long as two weeks.

Without getting too deep into the literature on PPD, there are some interesting risk factors associated with it, which, in my mind, may have implications for our feelings of dejection, loss, irritability, etc. after a major event other than pregnancy that has occupied us for some time.  For example, women who report symptoms of depression and anxiety during pregnancy are more likely to suffer from PPD, and women with a history of depression are more likely to experience PPD.1  Those with limited social support are also more vulnerable; having strong social connections appears to mitigate susceptibility to PPD.1  That whole social connectedness/community topic runs deep (see my book if you’re interested in this topic).  Another important finding is that a large percentage of women experience some sort of low-grade depression after delivering a baby, even though symptoms do not meet diagnostic thresholds.2

What I’m getting at is that there may be a similar pattern of emotional blues that exists after the completion of a significant and exciting event like the CrossFit Open, and how you went into the event likely affects how you will come out of it.  Those of you with a history of depression might be more prone to feeling depressed and sad after the Open.  Those of you who are prone to anxiety might feel especially confused and unsettled about where to focus your resources now, and you may feel irritable because of your lack of direction.  Those with tentative social connections might feel particularly uneasy at the thought of leaving behind the special vibe you have shared with gym members through the Open.  Those of you who were totally jazzed and wide-eyed can probably take a positive spin on even the hardest parts of the Open.  You may not have as strong a reaction as others, but you can still learn from this time of transition.

When I sat down to write this article, I was curious to see what I could find in looking into the concept of post-event blues.  What I found online were numerous personal stories of people who have experienced a significant letdown after an important event or endeavor.  Some people even called it “Post-Event Depression,” which is the search term I had used.  Much like PPD, I’d say there is a wide range of severity and symptomatology that can occur after the passage of a big event, ranging from no issues at all to a whole slew of issues that impair functioning for a given time period.  A certain percentage of CrossFitters will surely experience some kind of blues in the next couple of weeks.  They may question why they ever cared about the Open in the first place, and they may struggle to find a reason to continue training at the level to which they are accustomed.  They may wonder what the purpose of it all is, and they may have a hard time defining another goal that seems worthwhile.  Some might have difficulty letting go of images of workouts, no-reps, unfinished business.  They might be bitterly questioning the fairness of the Open model, with varying degrees of judging standards withheld across the world.  They may feel let down by a coach, a gym’s programming, or their own deficiencies in skills.  Again, I realize this is only part of the story.  For every athlete who is dejected in some way, there are plenty of others who are on cloud nine–loving the rush of having competed, having lived outside of their comfort zone, and having exceeded all expectations of themselves.

The Open is but one example of a physical endeavor that, once over, might have significant repercussions for one’s state of mind.  Marathons, adventure races, adult sports leagues, and other physical outlets requiring time, focus, and energy can also lead to a postpartum experience that is not all peaches and cream.  Once again, this doesn’t mean there isn’t also elation, a sense of accomplishment, joy, inspiration, and motivation.  But those are the easy and fun parts.  The big picture is about the totality of our experience, and if we only focus on the upsides, we sell ourselves short and ignore an opportunity for self-reflection and growth that might reap great rewards as we approach our next venture.  The same is true for non-sport events—those that absorb much of our time and energy in the realm of our work lives, our social lives, or our spiritual lives.  We can learn a lot from the post-event roller coaster if we pay attention while we’re on the ride.

So what can we do?  Below are some suggestions that can help guide you in the wake of a big event.  For those continuing on to the next phase of competition, most of these tips are less applicable than they are to those who are done.  However, reflecting on the process after each step of the way (E.g., Open, Regionals, Games) is probably a good idea for everyone.

Track Your Experiences

Journaling can be a great way to document and learn from our experiences. If you’ve been keeping a journal throughout the Open (or other big event), that’s great.  Don’t stop now.  You should continue with it during the days and weeks that follow the event’s closure.  If you haven’t been writing, it’s never too late to start.  Jot down your thoughts when your mind wanders to the event.  Reflect on what your goals were going into the event (E.g., a certain ranking in the Open, a certain number of clients added to your sales profile at work, a certain kind of emotional presence at a social event).  Write down how you fared at meeting those goals.  Write down what you did well and would like to repeat in the future, as well as what needs to be altered.  For the Open, you could focus on various aspects, including physical self-care (sleep, nutrition, training), mental preparation (visualization, relaxation exercises, journaling), and management of the extras (time spent on the leaderboard, handling disappointing workouts, etc.).  The more you can put in writing, the more solid a record you will have for your future, and the better your guide for next time will be.

Do Some Research

Consider your options for next steps carefully.  It may or may not be best to jump right into your next CrossFit goal, scanning the Internet for upcoming competitions in your area.  Maybe it’s time to try something new and test your training in a new forum.  Maybe there’s a basketball league or a mountain-bike race you might want to try.  There is room for more than one endeavor in our lives, and if you’ve put a lot of yourself into the Open, it might be a good time to find another outlet while you continue with CrossFit in a less competitive or intense way for the moment.  There is huge value in competition, but there are also other avenues you might want to explore.

Set Some Goals

During the days and weeks after your event, with your research behind you, you might take some time to set some goals for what’s next in your life.  Try to create short-term goals (maybe just the next few weeks), mid-term goals (6 months out), and long-term goals (1-2 years).  During the first couple of weeks after a big event isn’t the best time to make hard and fast decisions about what you will choose to focus on.  However, people often find it helpful and grounding to look to the future and start to create a plan.  Just be careful not to let your planning prevent you from feeling what you’re feeling; rigorous planning for the next big thing can become a defensive maneuver if you’re really disappointed in the last big thing.

Connect with Others  

Don’t underestimate the importance of staying connected during your post-event experience.  Research is unambiguous about the effects of social connection, especially during times when you are at risk of even the slightest duress.3  Be sure to find time and ways to connect with friends—those who are CrossFitters and can relate to the Open as wells as those who aren’t and can’t.  Both are important; it’s the connecting that is critical.

Find ways to Relax

You probably know what works for you: massage, visualization, meditation, hiking, and reading, are some examples.  Make sure you find some down time while you’re less occupied with your training.  It might even be the perfect time for that weekend away or full-blown vacation you’ve been putting off because of your training requirements.

Celebrate!        

This is just a little reminder to celebrate your victories and the fact that you put yourself out there, competed in the Open (or put on a big event or ran a long race), and came out the other side in one piece.  There is much to celebrate in this, even if you are one of the people feeling blue.  Having some kind of celebration, however small, is a great way to mark an ending and move on.  If you’re not able to do this at all and are really struggling, it’s probably time to talk to a counselor or therapist.

Notes:

1. Robertson, E., Grace S., Wallington, T., and Stewart, D.E. (2004). Antenatal risk factors for postpartum depression: a synthesis of recent literature.  General Hospital Psychiatry, 26, 289-295.

2. Bennett, S.S & Indman, P. (2006).  Beyond the Blues:  A Guide to Understanding and Treating Prenatal and Postpartum Depression.  Moodswings Press.

3.  Belger, A. (2012).  The Power of Community: CrossFit and the Force of Human Connection.  Victory Belt Publishing.

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Dying to Know the Workout? What’s the Deal with Not Knowing?

April 2, 2013 By Leave a Comment

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Our ten-year-old daughter tried out for a competitive A Capella group a couple of weeks ago.  Tryouts were on Friday, and the casting email was sent the following Wednesday.  Our kid can sing, no doubt, but she was nervous and distracted for four days while waiting to hear if she’d been chosen.

Watching her through this experience made me think about the collective anxiety among CrossFitters during the CrossFit Open, which peaks on Tuesday nights.  It’s worse on Tuesdays than Wednesdays, because Tuesday is the last night of going to bed not knowing what the workout will be each week of the competition.  Why are people so anxious?  Unlike other sports in which participants know what they are training for, a hallmark of CrossFit competition is that the format of the testing ground is unknown.  The skills and domains in which athletes must become competent are vast and increase as the field and the sport becomes more competitive.  It’s like being a track and field athlete and having to be ready to do everything from the steeplechase to a high jump, because those two, and everything in between, could show up on game day.

So for CrossFitters competing in the Open, from the newest beginners to the most elite of the competitors, Tuesday nights mark the final dawn on the days of not knowing, at least for that week.  Since tonight is the final Tuesday night of the Open, I thought I’d honor it by writing about our human struggle with NOT KNOWING.

We like certainty.  We want stability.  We generally want to be prepared and be able to put our best foot forward, rather than being caught off guard and forced to wing things last-minute.  We like to know we will have a roof over our head, a meal in front of us at dinnertime, a person to call when we are down.  We like to KNOW that these things are givens.  For the most part, we’d prefer not to have such fundamental aspects of our comfort left to chance.  Sure, there is the excitement and intrigue for some people when things are unsettled or in the works.  Life wouldn’t be exciting if all things were known all of the time.  But, in general terms, we are a species that gravitates toward knowing.

In the psychoanalytic literature, there is a line of thinking about how, very early on, we become able to experience our own emotions and psychological perspective.  It all has to do with a kind of initially unspoken recognition and mediation of our experiences by our parents, and ultimately through their translation via formal language.  Some psychologists understand certain pathologies as stemming from a difficulty “knowing” our own emotional states, an inability to experience how we feel, in part because we are too afraid of what we might find.  Extreme cases of such struggles might manifest in addictions, eating disorders, and obsessive behaviors.  The idea is that the behavior or relation to the substance is a placeholder preventing us from recognizing and reckoning with our inner experiences, or worse yet, acknowledging that we don’t even know what our feelings are.  Unsettled because you have a constant feeling of dread but can’t quite figure out why or how you got there?  Have a few drinks.  Not sure you want to know that at your core you feel abandoned?  Maybe overeating will help.

Clearly, this is a watered-down and totally insufficient explanation of a very important and complicated psychological construct, but hopefully it suffices for my purposes here.  The idea is that NOT KNOWING something can be quite unsettling, while at the same time knowing something “bad” deep down might be even worse, and we are extra adept at defending against the anxiety inherent in both experiences.

What the heck does all of this have to do with the CrossFit Open on Tuesday nights?  It’s all about the anxiety of not knowing.  I’ve talked with people who have no chance at qualifying for the next stage in competition, who are maybe the 12,000th best exerciser in the world, who are losing sleep and stressing themselves out while waiting for the workout announcements.  The same goes for athletes who are gunning to win.  There is something powerful about not knowing what we’re in for, what our proving ground will be, what we should expect.  The tantalizing fact is that there are people who know what we don’t, and it affects our fate, our performance, potentially our self-esteem, and almost certainly our pending physical soreness.

Those of you obsessing over the final workout tonight might want to take some time to reflect on what aspects of “not knowing” are most uncomfortable for you.  Are you afraid that what comes up will be hard for you?  Are you afraid that you will see something you like and will feel the pressure to perform especially well?  Are you hoping you won’t have to work as hard as last week or won’t be able to do one of the movements?

Of greatest importance, and where we can learn the most about ourselves, is what do we do to manage our anxiety.  Do you start getting critical or judgmental of the people in charge of creating the workouts?  Do you try to diminish the import of all of this madness, in an effort to make yourself not care so darn much?  Do you feel agitated? Sleep-deprived?  Irritable?  Do you talk about it incessantly with your friends who also do CrossFit?  Do you bore the hell out of your family members who don’t?  Do you try to find ways of distracting yourself, like going for a walk with your kids, only to face the unnerving reality that, even there, you are preoccupied and tempted to call on Facebook for clues to your exercise fate?

What about in our lives outside of CrossFit?  How do we manage not knowing?  How do we deal with uncertainty when our fates are in the hands of others?  How do we deal with chance, or worse still, the possibility of subjectivity affecting our future in significant ways?  How do we expect teens to manage the days between submitting a college application and receiving the letter in the mail offering acceptance or relaying rejection?  How do our kids survive the hours between an audition for a singing group and the email with the cast list?  How do we bide our time and reign in our thoughts when we have interviewed for a coveted job and have not yet heard if we’ve been chosen?

These moments rich with anxiety can lead to self-doubt, a general sense of powerlessness, and a feeling of frustration and loss of control.  Have you ever diminished the character of an interviewer simply because you were anxious that he/she would reject you?  Maybe it feels better to proactively minimize that person so that the rejection stings a bit less (after all, getting rejected by a flawed person feels better than being unwanted by a rockstar).  Speaking of rejection, what do we do when we are unsure of where a relationship is going, but we suspect it is heading south and we want it to go north?  How do we deal with not knowing a partner’s inner feelings and desires, and wondering if we might become the next ex-girlfriend?  What do our protective measures look like, and how productive are they?

I leave you with a parting thought along the lines of a “Would You Rather” game my husband and I like to play with our kids:  Would you rather KNOW that Open workout 13.5 is a workout in which you’ll fail because you cannot get even one rep, or would you rather be left in your current state of NOT KNOWING, in which, despite the agony, there is the eternal hope that you will hear exactly what you want and you will rock it?  All the while that our psyches want to be saved from a state of anxious not knowing, sometimes it is better than the alternative.  It is how we manage both that makes up who we are.  Of course there’s a third alternative, which is that we KNOW the workout and it is filled with things at which we are awesome.  But life isn’t all neat and tidy, and I’d argue that it’s our management of all things imperfect that makes up our character and leads us to the most meaningful personal growth.  Try to relish in these moments of not knowing, and learn from what comes up for you while you’re here.  I’ll bet these lessons will apply to your life lived outside of working out, and that probably makes the wonder of it all that much more awesome and worthwhile.

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Who are We to Judge?

March 31, 2013 By 1 Comment

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I can remember being on summer vacation with my family during one of the Olympics in 1976.  We would watch our favorite events at night, and my parents would educate me and my brother about the events, the sports, the countries–the whole shebang.  Much like they are now, back then two of my favorite sports to watch were women’s gymnastics and swimming.  1976 was the year fourteen-year-old Nadia Comanici earned several scores of a perfect ten.  It was then that I learned about subjectivity in sport–how some sports rely on judges to decide which performances are best.  I’m not sure if it’s my adult brain projecting onto my child mind, but I feel like I can recall being perplexed by the fact that it was up to a group of judges to decide whose physical performance was best.  It seemed that there should be clear, objective standards on which results are based, especially when the stakes are as high as they are at the level of the Olympics.  You perform, you get a time or an objectively generated score, you are ranked, and you discover where you stand.  Once I got wind of the international politics of it all, the situation became increasingly murky and that much more unsettling.  I just wanted it all to be fair and clear.  The best athletes with the best performances should be the ones wearing those shiny medals.  Events like swimming and track and field were less stressful to watch, because they seemed unfettered by subjectivity and political whim and thus more pure in my mind.

Fairness is critical to kids.  We want to believe that life is fair.  A great summary of our desire for fairness comes from J.M. Barrie, author of Peter Pan:

Every child is affected…the first time he is treated unfairly.  All he thinks he has a right to when he comes to you to be yours is fairness.  After you have been unfair to him he will love you again, but he will never afterwards be quite the same boy.  No one ever gets over the first unfairness…p. 96

As a child who played soccer and other field sports, and later as a collegiate athlete, I knew firsthand the effects of subjective influences on sport.  I can remember one of my most embarrassing moments on the soccer field in high school when my father, our team doctor who was usually composed and supportive, blurted out after a bad call by the referee, “Oh come on.  Get some glasses, will you?”  Clever and creative, right?  In my heart I agreed with my dad, but we were always taught to keep such sentiments to ourselves.  Bad refereeing was always a bummer, but that was part of playing the game.  You had to have faith that, for the most part, things worked out evenly in the end.

The CrossFit Open depends on the adherence to movement standards and fair and consistent judging by thousands of amateur judges judging thousands of mostly amateur athletes around the world.  Since its inception in 2011, complaints have abounded about the lack of fairness of it all, the lack of consistency in movements by athletes from gym to gym and garage to garage, and the inability to truly enforce standards when all that is required for a score to count is that a CrossFit gym owner gives his or her stamp of approval with the click of a mouse.

Let me be very clear: I have no desire to start a conversation about the validity of the CrossFit Open or the fairness of the model.  Instead, I am hoping to encourage some meaningful reflection on the management of subjectivity, fairness, judging, and being judged–more importantly than just in the Open–in life lived outside of CrossFit competition.

One of the richest elements of judging in the Open is that of peers judging each other.  For many, this brings up the “Who am I to judge?” feeling.  It is a reluctance to evaluate someone else’s movements when that person is working hard to complete a workout.  It is often rooted in a recognition that one’s own movements are often not always perfect or to standard, and thus it feels hypocritical to tell a friend who is busting his/her ass that his/her effort is not up to par.  This can be exacerbated by a feeling that one has not been fully trained to assess range of motion and is thus being given a job for which he/she is not fully qualified.

From the athlete’s perspective, there can be a reciprocal feeling of “Who are you to judge me?”  Of course this is often couched in the pleasantries of community and camaraderie, but there can be an unspoken feeling that one is being judged by a peer who has no business having an athlete’s fate in his/her hands.  In the heat of the moment when the clock is ticking, the heart is racing, and the muscles are cramping, social graces and rational thinking don’t always prevail, and lurid thoughts can surface.

What is it about judging others that is so uncomfortable?  I am suggesting that much of our reluctance to judge others and have their fates in our hands comes from our discomfort with being judged BY others.  For every time we shout “No rep” at an athlete, we imagine someone judging us—not just in a workout, but in life.

As human beings, we make judgments about each other constantly, often immediately and unconsciously.  Malcolm Gladwell’s book, Blink, is a great read about the value of our capacity for instantaneous judgment and decision-making.  He demonstrates mostly the upsides, but also the potential downsides, of our hardwired ability to make snap assessments.

We are told in grade school not to judge a book by its cover, but the reality is that many hard and fast judgments are based on first impressions.  Adolescence is all about navigating judgments; indeed part of the rite of passage into young adulthood is to be able to form our own opinions and perceptions, taking in the perspectives of parents and peers but being able to integrate them into the creation of our own.  When we are adults, we are presumably far more adept at doing so, and we are also supposed to be more mature with our judgments of other people.  We are supposed to be less fearful and more accepting of people who differ from us.  We are supposed to be more understanding about the richness of human experience and less likely to judge others just because they are not like us.

Truth is, we judge others and fear the judgments of others all too often.  Even those of us who appear to be self-confident and impenetrable by the opinions of others are, I’d argue, affected somewhere in our beings by what other people think.  We judge each other for the way we look, the clothes we wear, the cars we drive, the way we rear our children.  We make assessments of people’s intellect based on where they attended college.  We assume certain things about people based on what job they have or where they grew up.  Skin color, accents, number of piercings, choice of life partner.  You name it—it’s all fodder for judgment.

The other day, shortly after I had received an email suggesting that I write about this topic, I was doing one of my favorite workouts: running a set of stairs near my home.  Knowing the value of intensity and combined with the fact that I love running, I was pushing hard.  By my seventh round of stairs, I was panting and grunting at the top, and I even let a few spits fly along the way.  At some point my mind landed on the topic of judgments.  I thought about the two other women who were also at the stairs.  They were dressed in super-cute exercise outfits, smelled of perfume, and had on a decent amount of makeup.  Their pace was much slower than mine, and I didn’t see them froth at the mouth or let fly a spit a single time.  For a second, I thought of how I might judge them—thoughts like “What’s the point of going so slowly?” or “How could you possibly be so perfectly coiffed for your stroll today” passed through my mind.  Then I imagined how they might judge me, with thoughts like, “That whole spitting thing is pretty gross,” or “Did it occur to you that grunting is kind of excessive?”

The point is, we are all potential fodder for judgments.  Negative judgments of others are often based on our own insecurities.  The whole judging component of the CrossFit Open absolutely brings up issues for people along these lines, and it’s a great opportunity to reflect on how we judge others, how we judge ourselves, and how we might make better judgments in both veins if we were to commit to having adequate information about ourselves and each other before coming to any decisions.  Better yet, perhaps we will become so comfortable with ourselves that we won’t find a need to make judgments of others with such regularity and immediacy.  The current Supreme Court decision-making regarding whether or not gay marriage should be legitimized via the law of our land is a solid kick in the pants for us all to do some good old-fashioned soul searching about who and what we think is our realm to judge.

References:
Barrie, J.M. (1991).  Peter Pan. Viking Penguin Group: USA.
Gladwell, M.  (2005). Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking.  Back Bay Books/Little Brown Publishers: USA.
*Thanks to Cynthia J., one of my blog readers, for suggesting this topic.

 

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