Athlete Wellbeing
Are more athletes struggling with poor mental health – or are they talking about their mental health more?
One of the best things about being a sport psychologist is that every time you watch sport you can class it as CPD and media interview preparation and feel a little bit smug and a little less guilty (because that to do list is always nagging away). So, hands up I’ve...
The impact of media pressure on Olympic Athletes
The modern media environment makes sport a very different experience for athletes. They don't just perform and maybe chat about it afterwards with a journalist. They have to behave with the media in mind at all times. I researched this a few years ago and interviewed...
Managing worry in children
The youngest children I work with are around 10 but, I have a 4 year old daughter and a 3 year old godson so tend to hang out with lots of little ones. And I am very privileged that sometimes they will share their worries with me. But I can feel out of my depth as to...
Staying ACE (Achieving, Communicating, Enjoying)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26xZm0NTmD8
Create your own boost box
Whether we are going through a global pandemic (hello 2020-21), have a tough period in our lives with lots of stressors or we have clinical depression or anxiety something which can be helpful is a self-care box. I call it a boost box as I like to think these are not...
11 tools for athletes to build mental fitness over lockdown
At the start of lockdown2 (November 2020) in the UK, Performance in Mind ran some free workshops to teach some tools and techniques that will help us cope better in lockdown and be able to come back to our sport stronger. In January 2021 when the UK went into...
9 weeks to race day…Values
Another green week. :0) I’ve now hit my goal of four green weeks. Some of this is more focus and effort on my part - some of this is down to working more closely with my coach so the training which goes in matches my workload better – giving me fewer excuses. I did...
Tips from the top: The Sleep Expert
Dr David Lee is the Clinical Director of Sleep Unlimited (www.sleepunlimited.co.uk). Most of his work is helping people with insomnia get some decent sleep but actually lots of what he teaches is brilliant for athletes - helping us understand ourselves, our sleep...
Eight ways to manage a difficult conversation
January provides the obvious opportunity to assess where we are in life, and where we want to be. We may have had some time over the Christmas break to reflect and we may have set resolutions, or goals for the new year. This can be really positive and give us a...
Parents of athletes – helping your child survive and thrive
As it is Sport Parent week I've been reflecting on some of the younger athletes I've worked with. What struck me was that often these young athletes don't just excel in their sport. They excel in every area of their lives; their sporting performance, in playing a...
Sleep tips for athletes
Having heard a great interview with Kirk Parsley recently on Marathon Talk (Episode 299 and Episode 300 – listen here ) about the importance of sleep I was really interested to see what Lindsay Thornton, Senior Sports Psychologist at the US Olympic Committee would say...
Seven tactics to stop comparing ourselves against others
In sport comparison is inescapable. If you are racing or competing there will always be numbers ranking us, digitizing us, making easy comparison to anyone else. It is a very quick way for athletes to lose confidence and develop low self-esteem. This social comparison...
The six rules of being a great sports parent
Sport is really important for children. The physical benefits are obvious but research has also found school children who exercise improve their sociable behaviour, their classroom conduct, control their emotions better and perform better on school tests. It also...
Sleeping before a big race
Sleep is one of the most important performance enhancement tools you have in your tool kit. It can make you happier, faster, less likely to get ill or injured and helps you fully memorize any mental or physical actions you have been learning over the day. But sleeping...
Sleep
Latest research: The importance of social support
Social support is known to be really important in sport, when dealing with injury and in helping you succeed in day-to-day life. It has become increasingly recognised as a key resource for athletes, and has been linked with enhanced coping with organisational...