Stress Management<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\nCOVID-19 is an unprecedented event. As such, there is no rule book to follow and it is inevitable that stress and anxiety levels rise given the uncertainty and unpredictability of the situation we are facing. However, it is important to remember that not all stress is bad; it depends on our perspective, competencies, and support. Adversity is part of high performance sport, therefore, athletes, coaches, and IST members can use existing skills to manage challenges and the unknown. COVID-related stress management tips include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Protective physical and psychological factors<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n- Engaging in physical distancing;<\/li>
- Washing hands and wearing a mask and gloves when out in public;<\/li>
- Staying home, especially if sick;<\/li>
- Reducing information by taking breaks from watching or listening to news;<\/li>
- Maintaining a sense of balance by pairing intense information processing with light activities (e.g., watching or reading something amusing, playing a game).<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Stress management<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n- Identifying stressors and focusing on the knowledge and skills we have to manage them \u2013 keeping our confidence greater than our fears;<\/li>
- Connecting with others and expressing worries and concerns to feel supported;<\/li>
- Taking care of our body by exercising, eating and sleeping well, and limiting our alcohol intake;<\/li>
- Spending time outdoors to benefit from mother nature\u2019s healing effects;<\/li>
- Doing breathing \/ relaxation exercises;<\/li>
- Having fun and staying stimulated by trying out new activities \/ hobbies;<\/li>
- Naming the emotion we are experiencing (e.g., I feel anxious and overwhelmed) and recognizing it as normal and valid (e.g., just my emotions doing their job in these times of uncertainty);<\/li>
- Accepting the emotion as a normal aspect of our experience (e.g., It\u2019s understandable that I have heightened level of anxiety given the current situation);<\/li>
- Identifying needs by exploring what the emotion is revealing or why it is important (e.g., I want to be safe and need to take necessary precautions).<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Mindfulness<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\nMindfulness is deep awareness of the present moment. It reflects our ability to BE.HERE.NOW with an accepting, nonjudgmental attitude. Mindfulness helps us to embrace all human experiences, regulate emotions, improve focus and sleep, and boost immunity. A daily dose of mindfulness training can make a world of difference<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gratitude and Growth<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\nTo help balance the part of the brain that becomes activated when exposed to perceived threat and danger (the amygdala), we can even out the input by focusing on what is good. This can be done by scanning the world around us for three good things and writing those things down at the end of each day. This activity has shown to improve levels of optimism, happiness and subjective well-being.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We can also mitigate the stress response by adopting a \u201cchallenger\u201d mindset and looking for opportunities for growth and learning that comes with the challenge we are facing. For example, this quarantine is a great opportunity to build mental fitness and resilience skills, which can help enhance sport performance when back to training and competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Take a proactive and preventative approach and practice psychological hygiene on a daily basis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Leading a Return to Sport Participation The Leading a Return to Sport Participation eLearning module provides resources and guidanceto help coaches lead a safe and adaptive transition back to sport. Coaches will have the opportunity to review potential challenges and learn practical advice to apply when creating their own return-to-sport plan. After completing this module, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racquetballontario.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/398"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racquetballontario.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racquetballontario.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racquetballontario.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racquetballontario.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=398"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/racquetballontario.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/398\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1360,"href":"https:\/\/racquetballontario.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/398\/revisions\/1360"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racquetballontario.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=398"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}