Injury's Impact: Stories of Resilience - Part I: The Mind's Game
When it comes to injuries in sport the mind can be impacted just as much as the body. Injuries are unfortunately a part of sports that every athlete must deal with at some point in time, but what matters the most is how we respond to the injury mentally, physically, and emotionally.
Some athletes can get injured and return to their sport without any issues but for other athletes, particularly younger ones it can take a toll physically and mentally over time. For student athletes the response of the mind can trigger serious mental health problems. These mental problems include anxiety, depression and eating disorders. This demonstrates the importance of having a strong mental state while competing and while being sidelined through injury. Emotional responses to injury include sadness, isolation, irritation, lack of motivation, anger, frustration, appetite changes, sleep disturbance and disengagement.
Another significant factor involved in sports injuries is when the physician clears the athletes to participate in preinjury level activity again, does the mental struggle hinder performance on return? The physician makes the decision on when the athlete can return to action and the psychological side of things is a major factor in this decision.
A crucial factor for athletes is realizing that responding to injuries emotionally is not out of the ordinary. However, it can be problematic when the mental issues aren’t resolved and get continuously worse over time.
There is a specific psychological injury response that can increase recovery time and prolong the length of the injury. Mental health issues in athletes believe it or not can be associated with increased injury risk. This is because the athlete has a weaker mental state, however, most importantly it can negatively impact performance on return. Currently there are efforts being made globally to make and put initiatives in place regarding athletes' mental health. For example, support systems, health screening and directed interventions to address the link between athletes physical and mental health.
Read part two and part three