Dr. Meghan Braun is a professional athlete, lacrosse coach, and physical therapist helping athletes and people of all ages in Jacksonville, Florida. I loved sitting down with Meghan and having this brief talk on mental health, athletic performance, and reacting versus responding in sports. I am so grateful for professionals like Meghan who are out there helping others achieve and succeed through physical health and wellness. Check out her website when you have a chance and enjoy the video!
https://www.bodymechpt.com/about-dr-braun There is a common belief that the only way to improve performance as an athlete is to work harder than the competition. Unfortunately, most athletes will learn the hard way that hard work alone often isn't enough. The high performing athletes that I work with know that the physical side of their performance is just ONE piece of the puzzle. Mental performance is just as important. And as a mental performance specialist, working with my clients' and athletes' mental skills is a critical ingredient in the recipe used to create successful outcomes. I regularly remind my clients' to focus on mastering his or her mindset to unlock true potential. Mindset is one of the most important yet most frequently overlooked aspects of performance. But what exactly does mindset mean? Mindset is another way to describe perspective. It is how you perceive your self-image; how you perceive the present moment; and how you view the world. A quote by Charles R. Swindoll describes mindset perfectly: "I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you...we are in charge of our attitudes". When we are faced with challenges, our mindset will determine how we will respond. In my role as a mental performance specialist, I help my clients' develop strategies to redirect their focus when challenges arise. I work with my athletes' on developing an elite mindset so that they are able to win the game inside their head and ultimately achieve peak performance. Now before you go ahead and start searching the internet for motivational quotes on mindset, I want to stress the importance of recognizing that mental conditioning is a skill that is developed and strengthened over time with consistent, intentional practice. You have to be in control of your mindset before you can control your performance.
If you are not already aware, Shark Week on the Discovery Channel begins tonight! That being said, Sharks are my most favorite animal in the entire world. Unfortunately they get a bad reputation for being blood thirsty and aggressive predators. The photo you see above is from a trip to Jupiter, Florida. We traveled to Jupiter just to swim with sharks in the ocean.
The day we were out on the water, we initially encountered some very shy bull sharks. Gradually once we passed the vibe check and the sharks could trust us, there were twenty-one plus bull sharks coming to the surface. Because the sharks could trust that we were not going to harm them and were not weak or injured prey, they allowed us to swim closely with them. The bull sharks approaching us was not an instant process. They key word here is PROCESS. Trust is critical for any working relationship. In therapy, trust is an important if not critical factor for successful outcomes and progress. Good morning! I want to share a sample of a reframe that is often used in sessions with my clients. Rewarding an outcome versus rewarding the efforts that go into achieving an outcome are similar yet uniquely different perspectives that can yield entirely different outcomes for mental health and mindset. What is the common denominator? Whatever we reward, will continue.
Have we met yet? If not, I want to take this time to introduce myself.
1. I am Amy Pope-Latham - Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the state of Florida. I am originally from Long Island, New York or as it is pronounced back home, "Lawng Guyland". 2. I am a Certified Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) therapist. I utilize a Somatic Attachment Focused EMDR (SAFE) model in my practice as a trauma therapist. 3. I specialize in working with athletes and adolescents! I also have the privilege of working with a variety of amazing people, regardless of my specializations. 4. I love medicine and I have tremendous respect and admiration for the human body. That being said, I largely use biology, neuroscience, and physiology concepts in my practice to better help my clients. 5. My posts on social media and this blog are not therapy and should never be considered a replacement for therapy. You are allowed to laugh and enjoy the content I share though! Thank you for attending my Ted-Talk. Enjoy the rest of your day! -Amy You are not responsible for your first thought. You are, however, responsible for your second thought and your first action.
What does this mean? In other words, do not get mad at yourself for having disordered thoughts. Do not think that you are a failure or that you will never succeed. Instead, focus on your second thought: what can I do differently? What is the alternative and positive outcome of the situation? And then your first action: I am going to choose fear as a messenger that is trying to tell me what I need to do because I can get through it, instead of telling me what I shouldn't be doing because I fear that I can't. The first thought we have is often the thought or negative belief (or negative cognition) that is linked to an earlier memory. You have the power to tell it to get lost.
I am excited to share that I have been approved to join the Professional Association of Athlete Development Specialists (PAADS)! It is so wonderful to connect with professionals throughout the world who are truly committed to helping athletes succeed.
As a therapist specializing in grief therapy, I want to hear about the person who brought joy, purpose, and love to the life of my client. I am a firm advocate of applying a non-violent approach to my therapy practice. That being said, one of the most violent acts a therapist can do is try to help and "fix the pain". To clarify, a violent act is not a punch to the face. A violent act in therapy is the therapist taking over a client's organic process of feeling, healing, and grieving by trying to offer "expertise" on how to fix something. So how does one "fix" grief? You can't. I am not here to take over the process of grieving for my clients. I strive to create a space where my clients can grieve but also feel connected to their loved ones. Talking about a loved one, talking out loud to a loved one, and speaking the name of a loved one out loud in conversation are all normal processes of grief. There is no "right" way to grieve. "While grief may look like an expression of pain that serves no purpose, it is actually the soul's acknowledgment of what we value most" One thing you need to know about grief: We never move on from grief. If anyone ever tells you that you will move on after someone has died, please tell that person to go sit down somewhere and leave you alone with that poor advice. We learn to move forward carrying the love and eternal memory of the person with us.
As a mental health expert specializing in working with elite and professional athletes, playing a sport won't "solve" or "cure" issues related to mental health.
What I generally observe is a disconnect occurring between the mind and body, affecting performance, and ultimately affecting emotional safety and health. This cycle circulates in one big loop, or what I love to phrase as a "pattern". At the same time, it is also important to recognize that an athlete is still a human being under the helmet or uniform he or she wears. Just because a person can compartmentalize and carry pain well does not mean it is not heavy for that person. With Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy becoming popularized as a mental health treatment, I would like to spend some time with you today talking about the various mechanisms of trauma and how it affects our brain and its functioning.
A primary question I often receive centers on the question of "what is dissociation" and "will I dissociate during EMDR?". Dissociation is a survival oriented process. Dissociation is the way the brain has the ability to take something that is so overwhelming when a patient cannot escape a stressful event and/or is caught in the freeze response. So for example, there might be a child being hurt by a caregiver. Children are often too small to run away or fight back. They are the victim of the grown up. What the brain does during this type of scenario is that it allows the child to be there and not be there at the same time. In other words, the dissociative process of the brain is protecting the child so they can survive the experience. EMDR therapy helps patients move through the dissociative process, which is inherent in any kind of trauma. EMDR helps the patient move through the experience with a much reduced rate of emotional arousal. For the previous thirty years when trauma and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) were added to the Diagnostic Statistical Manual (DSM), it only categorized trauma as specifically large or “Big T” events. However, adverse life experiences or “little traumas” can also have a major impact on social, emotional, psychological, and physiological functioning. I personally choose not to define trauma by “little” or “big” events. What is significant to me in my professional opinion is how the smaller, more repetitive patterns of events become recorded in the nervous system and because of its repetition, these experiences gradually accumulate in the brain. Where in the brain does this all get stored? Please allow me to introduce to you, if you have not already learned about the amygdala. The amygdala is within the right hemisphere of the brain, known for responding to a heightened sense of arousal. The amygdala translates information that it receives from the other parts of the brain into an emotional response. This type of response can manifest in a variety of ways within the body (e.g. heightened blood pressure, more rapid breathing, blood moving from the central part of the body to the peripheral, and the release of adrenaline). In my next post, I will continue to discuss two key symptom behaviors that are congruent with trauma: avoidance and rumination. Stay tuned! |
AuthorAmy Pope-Latham, LCSW is a board certified mental health professional in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL. Archives
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