Injured & frustrated: Tips for dealing mentally with injuries
An injury is the worst case scenario for many competitive athletes. In this situation, many questions arise, for example: What happens now? How long does rehabilitation take? Can I return to sport at all and if so, when? Will I be able to reach my previous level of performance again? And what effect will the injury have on my future career?
These unresolved questions can bring with them a range of negative feelings. Perhaps you feel hopeless, at the mercy of the situation and frustrated. Perhaps you feel clueless and have to find a new daily routine for yourself. All of these thoughts and emotions are typical and it would be asking too much for you to be in a good mood and look forward to the upcoming rehabilitation period immediately after an injury. But this phase also carries the risk that the negative feelings will not diminish; as an athlete, an injury puts a lot of psychological strain on you.
The question that is asked in the context of sports psychology is: How can I best deal with my injury? I would like to explain two ideas of sports psychology injury management in more detail here.
Tip number 1: The friend question!
Sooner or later, most of us get fed up with our persistent bad mood. You feel like you just can't get out of it. This is where you need to show self-compassion! In other words: You can't expect yourself to be in a positive mood and motivated for rehab at all times. You may experience setbacks, complications or simply a bad day when the extent of your injury seems enormous.
And this is exactly where a phenomenon comes into play that we are probably all familiar with: we are much harder on ourselves than on our friends and the people who are important to us. That's why my tip is to ask yourself the friend question: if your friend / girlfriend / training partner told you that they were injured and were going through a difficult time, what would you say to that person? You would probably try to build the person up and show compassion. And that's exactly what we should do with ourselves too.
Tip number 2: Change your perspective!
After an injury, you often feel at the mercy of the situation and circumstances. You don't know how the rehab will go and you have to be patient and give your body the rest it needs. The feeling of being in control of your own situation has a significant impact on our well-being. To regain control, I recommend the following exercise: Make a list of the things that are out of your control, i.e. things that you cannot influence. Then make a list of the things that you can. Examples include sticking to the rehab plan (not doing too little but not too much either!), eating healthily, having a daily structure, getting enough sleep for physical recovery, drinking enough, perhaps working on topics and techniques that you otherwise don't have time for. Your task now is to focus your time and energy on the things that you can influence! (You can find more on this topic in my blog post at https://www.boostsportpsychologie.com/post/alles-unter-kontrolle ).
If you are currently injured and would like support in dealing with the injury, please contact me by email at kontakt@boostsportpsychologie.com or by message on Instagram at @boost.sportpsychologie. You can also contact me if you have any other sports psychology questions.
Thank you Anna-Lena for this informative blog post!
Anna-Lena studied psychology and sports in Kiel and then completed her training as a sports psychologist. With this extensive knowledge and qualification, she set up her own business and has since then been advising athletes from various disciplines on psychological issues. I also trust in her expertise and attended a workshop with her before an exam in my sports studies. In addition, I have also been sending the athletes I look after to her since then, with a very good feeling.
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