Holistic Athlete Weekly Newsletter

Mental Health and the Holidays

As adults — whether it’s stress and pressure you’re putting on yourself to give your kids a great holiday experience, feelings of grief or loneliness, struggling with the dark and cold weather, or any number of factors, the holidays are difficult for many people.

While having a break from the typical schedule may seem nice on paper, disruptions to our routine can cause distress and challenges as well. Like everything else, there are pros and cons to the holiday break. This article identifies some of the top issues people may struggle with around the Holidays, and breaks down some take-away actionable items to focus on to combat issues of feeling overwhelmed, isolation, depression, and grief.

Mental Rehearsal

We can all agree that confidence comes from preparation (as well as a number of other mindset and perspective-related factors. See the coaches education course below), but what does effective mental preparation look like?

Unlike many mental performance coaches, I don’t believe that positive visualization is overly helpful. I can imagine myself hitting a home run off of Chris Sale or defending Connor McDavid, but if I don’t actually believe that I can do those things, my brain won’t believe it. In addition to not being able to trick ourselves into being confident, simply visualizing success doesn’t prepare us for the emotions, thoughts, and the need for problem solving when things aren’t going well.

Instead, I’d prefer athletes to visualize and plan for how they may respond in the best case, worst case, and all reasonable outcomes prior to performance. Mentally rehearsing all possible outcomes, identifying potentially unhelpful thoughts and emotions that may come up during those times, and planning for how to respond; this better equips athletes to manage the reality of the unpredictability of sports. It allows them to be confident in their preparation even when they’re struggling, or factors outside of their control are negatively influencing their performance.

@zacketterha

Having a mental plan for various situstions increases #confidence! #performance #psychology #mindset #athlete #success

Holistic Athlete Services

If you haven’t done so already, sign up for the 11 module Coaches Education Course! Contact me for a discount code

Also if you haven’t already, please sign up for a Zoom call for you and your staff to discuss the specific needs of your team, to asses what services may benefit you, to review content from the course, and to discuss any challenges with athlete’s you’re experiencing.