Episode 161 – Mental recovery from a physical injury
Q: How do I mentally recover from a physical injury (in other words, what should be my ‘return from injury’ mindset?
Imagine this, you’re a top rank athlete – everyone loves you, wants to be like you, your fit as a fiddle and of course, you’re dominant in your sport! Life is heaven. You have a lot of endorphins such as serotonin, adrenaline, and dopamine going through your mind and body – there’s a flow of good vibes from your sport – plus the thrill of constant success!
Life is great at the top!
But what happens when that’s taken away in a flash?
That’s what can happen when an injury hits you.
You’re instantly morphed into a different person!
Immediately, the mind seems to play games with you because your internal biochemistry has changed – those feel good endorphins are still there but not at the levels you’re used to. Your mindset slips.
It’s time for an intervention.
How will you ever recover (mentally)?
To recover and bring yourself out of injury and back to your best, basically a few things need to be done – and fast!
The first thing you should focus on is returning to the sport as soon a possible. That’s going to allow you to get back to who you are! Build your healthcare team around you and plan your course of action that regresses you back to a level you can go before you move forward again.
What are the other 2 step to this return from injury mindset? Read on below.
So if you can’t return immediately, then you got to find things to mimic that – mimic the sports movements that you were doing.
For example, you might be a runner that can’t quite take the full impact of gravity yet, so start with running in water. Another example might be a rugby player who can’t move laterally yet, so you’d start back with straight line running first.
2. where attention goes, energy flows
This is about finding out what you can do as opposed to what you can’t do, and focusing here while on the road to recovery. Not only is this physically helpful but more importantly mentally helpful in converting your attention to the positives of your journey. Bring the focus of your mindset onto each small step – one by one – as the main priority – all the while acknowledging the long view at the same time so that you have a balance of process and patience.
3. Keep good company
There’s nothing better than having good support around you to help you on your journey and to give you the high morale you’ll need. When you can focus on these simple steps in your return from injury mindset, then the positive flow-on effect on the other parts of your life will add up fast!
Goodluck
–
Need extra help?
- My PURITY Protocol is an amazing resource packed with 6 secrets to detox your life and supercharge your energy. It’s my personal wellbeing philosophy. Check it out here.
- The First Five Fitness program is a complete 35 day guide to nutrition, mindset, and fitness for beginners and intermediates AND it only takes five minutes blocks to start. Click here for details.
- Don’t know what or how to cook and prepare food?! Check out My Meals & Recipes book here. It’s packed with loads of practical, healthy and simple to make breakfast, lunch, dinner options as well as snacks and drinks.
- Want live coaching? Click here to contact me. I look forward to working with you soon.
–
Photo by Jeffrey F Lin on Unsplash
Chris Everingham lives and breathes health & fitness.
Hi, I’m Chris Everingham.
I’m sharing the holistic performance secrets that I both personally used to overcome racial scrutiny, escape poverty and depression, AND taught others so that they too could bring proven success and happiness into their lives.
Learn more about my time competing in international sports, in front of media and speaking with live audiences of thousands of people to discover my high performance secrets. Click here to grow your mindset, rewire your habits and transform your life.
