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Psychological Recovery...

Friday, 24 July 2015 00:10

By Molly Breslin (usatriathlon.org)

Unfortunately, most of us have experienced an illness or an injury that has sidelined us from our athletic pursuits. It's challenging enough to deal with these events from a physical standpoint. Managing the psychological aspects of the recovery process is just as important as managing the physical ones and can make or break your return to optimum athletic performance.

We all talk about the rational mind — but the mind can be terribly irrational when dealing with events that have emotional components to them. Triathlon isn't just swim, bike and run with a bunch of gear, training plans, race dates and entry fees. It's something we've committed to, it gives us purpose, makes us happy, diminishes our stress, and provides a social network....

Whether you are a beginner or an Olympic contender, hopes and dreams are inextricably intertwined with the physical labors of training and racing.

In part one of this two-part series I will discuss dealing with the initial stages of psychologically recovering from illness or injury. This sets the platform for the psychology of actual physical recovery that comes later. Part two will focus on actual techniques to recover psychologically so that physical recovery will be successful.

Swiss psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross famously defined the Five Stages of Grief. We tend to think of these stages as only being applicable to very large, devastating life events but they also apply to smaller disappointments and setbacks as well. Understanding and thoughtfully managing these stages is really the first step in recovering from illness/injury. Let's examine the five stages as they apply to use as injured or ill triathletes. READ MORE