How athletes overcome the mental obstacles associated with Physical Recovery
The road back from a debilitating physical injury often requires overcoming mental blocs prevalent in--and similar to--other emotional disturbances such as political addictions. BYU Athletics interviews four athletes about their internal journey back to health.
In the world of sports, the spotlight often shines on the physical prowess, exceptional talent, and remarkable achievements of athletes. However, injuries are inevitable, and some spectators might be surprised by the hardest struggles an athlete faces when hurt.
Four BYU athletes: Davin Thompson, Hinckley Ropati, Cooper Vest, and Mina Margraf recently discussed their struggles combating doubts, pressures, and fears–especially after injury.
Often the toughest battle when overcoming an injury is the mental game, according to Mike Gurr, a sports psychologist who treats Olympians, professional and collegiate athletes.
“When you talk about the mental component of the injury… is greater because lost identity, community and role. For so many players they don’t know what to do with that, become lost,' he said.
These four athletes have a common thread—their love and passion for their respective sport. Each noted how depressed they were not practicing with their team.
“When I was training, it was over 34 hours a week. My entire life was centered on gymnastics. When that was taken away from me, I had nothing to do in my day,” Margraf said. “I would go to practice. . . and mentally it was hard because I would watch people practicing and I would remember how long my recovery would be.”
Ropati had a similar mental struggle.
“Not being there you feel a distance from the team. You feel you are not a part of the team. Doubts start to creep in your head. You think ‘Is this even the sport for me?’ I’ll be lying if I said those thoughts never came to my head. I feel that the hardest part was to stay mentally locked in and staying mentally motivated and positive about the situation,” Ropati said.
According to a study of athletes and coaches, one lasting impact of an injury is called a mental block. Sports psychologist Melissa Day defines a mental block “as the situation when athletes are no longer able to perform a skill which at one point they were able to perform with ease.”
Gurr says there are three methods as to why these mental blocks occur:
Outcome thinking—an athlete is concerned with something that is out of their control.
Experience—an athlete starts to overthink after a few bad games or a few bad reps.
Injury—an injury can cause a mental block because athletes question if they can trust their bodies and return to the same field/court where the incident occurred.
For Vest, he said that the mental block he had to overcome was allowing himself to succeed.
“The mental block coming out of it was releasing all the chains and locks so I could allow myself to be successful,” he said.
On the other hand, runners have a hard time coming back and competing because it is a pure fitness-based sport.
“The longer you can train in a row the better you are, it’s just a fact,” Thompson said. “It’s hard to tell myself that I am one of the best runners in the country when I haven’t really been that good for over a year because I’ve been hurt.”
Despite these mental blocks, Gurr notes that what separates the good athlete from the great to the elite is their mind.
It is possible to overcome mental blocks. It just takes time, patience, endurance, and humility to get back up and try again.
For Ropati, the biggest thing that helped him was surrounding himself with positive people.
“My wife has been a huge part of that, even my family, that is what got me through the mental side of it was the people around me.'
Margraf shifted her focus to believing in herself and her abilities.
“I know I can trust in my gymnastics, and I know I am better now. All I can do is put that aside and focus on what is right,” she said.
Thompson uses his work ethic to pass through barriers.
“For me, I work hard to get through mental blocks. If I am working as hard as I can then the rest will follow. I can’t be mad at any outcomes if I work as hard as I can.”
Before their injuries, they were successful competitors. Since, their injuries, they each created a new appreciation for their sport and the resilience to fight their way back to the top. New skills were gained to overcome these challenges both physically and mentally. If anything, being hurt made them stronger.
Read the whole thing here.
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