Injury: the toughest race to win - Notice the pattern

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Thursday, 08 July 2010 00:00

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Notice the pattern

There is a pattern to our reaction when we get injured or sick. Very often we go into what is psychologically called denial. We pretend it isn’t happening. This can take the form of ignoring the body or be heard in statements like” It can’t be happening”. “Why now, why me?” are two questions athletes often use at this challenging time.

We are filled with a sense of utter disbelief. “Why so close to the big race?” is a common question we could all have asked ourselves at this stage.

Then we begin to bargain. “Maybe, if I just increase my dose of …” Or “if I cut back on my training” then I will be okay. The 2 stories above are examples of athletes who stayed in denial. Bargaining is fine and may work depending on the extent of the injury/illness.

Another part of the pattern is anger. We become really anger that this tragedy has hit us. This may happen before we are even in denial or bargaining. We become angry with our coach for giving us too much training or angry with ourselves for letting this happen. We berate ourselves for this setback.

Depression

If we allow ourselves, then we get depressed about the Sad State of Affairs. We realize that the big race “ain’t gonna happen” or even if it does, it may be just to finish. We identify a lost opportunity. We accept the inevitable. But, we are not happy about it. We often lose our motivation because we either cannot train at all or we are reduced to a temporary cutback. We even threaten to quit the sport-and some athletes do. We look for comfort from our training partners. Sometimes they seem too caught up in their own training to show much concern (or so you perceive it!) At this point it may seem that nobody cares and you may feel completely alone. Well, good news for you… all these feelings are natural!

When last did you have a race this tough?!