How to Mentally Cope With an Injury

Advice to Athletes:

1. Adjust Your Goals- When first coming back from an injury you need to accept that it is going to take a little bit of time to get back to your old self. Adjusting goals are necessary to reach your full potential again. Start small and aim to focus on getting back to where you were or work on coming back stronger than ever before.

2. Keep Your Athletic Ability- Do not allow yourself to get sucked down into a negative drain. Remember how happy the sport makes you. Attend events when you can, staying in contact with teammates and coaches making sure to keep yourself involved. Focus on recovery and use that athleticism to build strength up until your fully ready to come back.

3. Rid Yourself of Self Doubt and Fear- When returning to the game, the feeling of fear is normal. You have to allow yourself to understand that you are going to need time to adjust and get a feel for the motions and mechanics again. Your biggest critic in life is yourself so make sure to stay positive if you have trouble at first. You may be a little behind and thats okay, you just returned from an injury and your body needs to ease into it.

4. Maintain a Positive Attitude- It is proven that the human body reacts negatively to negative thoughts and actions. If you do not take care of yourself and focus on getting yourself better, your body will shut down and you may fall even further behind. The injury is now out of your control and all you can do is focus on getting yourself better to return to the sport in a timely manner. Being negative will do nothing but push you further and further down until you destroy your self confidence completely.

5. Seek Support- If you really step back and think about all the love and support surrounding you, you will begin to realize how much people believe in you. It is okay to seek help and advice from your peers. They may not understand exactly what you are going through, or how you are feeling but they are there to give you a big hug or try and help you through the tough time. Spend time with family and keep yourself busy and mind at ease.