Before a race I feel like giving up, not wanting to do it and being scared. It's not like I don't love my sport, I really do but can't seem to get my pre-race nerves under control and feel like it's getting out of hand. Anyone got any suggestions?

I've seen people saying 5 minutes is enough. It's been working for me so far, but I can't find any investigation on the topic that confirms this idea.

I also see people saying that a 20 minute mindful session is enough.

I'm completely fine with those timeframes, I'm just curious about the topic, and of course, I'd like to optimize what I already have.

Thanks in advance.

Hi, I'm Dan, a Sport and Exercise Psychologist in Training (SEPiT), based in Portsmouth.

I am currently available for free consultations and practice, be that at training, on a match-day, or a conversation online as I look to build up experience across more age groups, sports, and abilities.

If this sounds like something you may be interested in please don't hesitate to get in touch or visit my website (lockwoodperformancepsychology.co.uk).

Thanks.

I am a professional ballet dancer for almost 10 years. Had minor injuries here and there but this time was a bit more dramatic... It is now 11 weeks post MACI, and I am doing ok but of course I have many concerns as a professional dancer. Our body is an instrument, we use every part of our body every single day. It would be great if we could gather and talk about our experiences here including our mental health as well.

How it started I started to feel a pain in my knee in September of 2023, and the pain just slowly increased, started to have clicking feelings and felt like my knee was stuck and also loose at the same time. But I kept dancing on it(because it is normal for us to have some pain) with a good care like icing, giving manual massages and strengthening... I even went to see a doctor. Then we scheduled for MRI but it was a month away so we decided to do two different kind of injections in the different times, one was for lubricating and another was anti inflammatory, but I didn't feel anything from neither of them. on March 1st of 2024, I found about an inch of popliteal cyst(Baker's cyst) behind the knee, and I couldn't stretch my knee. I was finishing a combination of Pliés, and I stepped out of class. We were a week away from the performance, but I decided to not perform thinking that I will be back within a couple weeks.

Second Step I was finally able to get my MRI checked. The result showed a tear on the cartilage and popliteal cyst. But it was not clear enough to tell how big the tear was. My doctor recommended me PRP injection, it's supposed to heal with your own blood. I had heard that some dancers had it for their meniscus tear and it helped, so l decided to take this chance. PRP happened on March 20th. The needle was about 2 inches long. It was pretty intense but I was able to handle the pain. Do I wanna do it again? No. They told me that it will take 3-6 weeks to heal if it works. So I gave a few weeks to see if I start feeling better. 2nd week of April, my doctor reached out to me asking if I feel any better from PRP, but I honestly felt even worse. My knee swelled up even more and the cyst was bigger. So we decided to go see an orthopedist.

Third step On April 12th, I met an orthopedist. I explained what I have done so far, then he said "you have done from A to D, and nothing has worked. I think you need a surgery. " He took a look at my MRI and mentioned that there is a sign of bruising, so it probably got torn right before March 1(the day I stopped). But again, he couldn't tell how big the damage was. So we scheduled an arthroscopic surgery, he said he will smooth out the tears, if the damage is small enough to get smoothed out, I only need one surgery, but if there is a hole, we need to schedule another surgery 6 to 8 weeks after the first surgery.

The first surgery On April 25th, I had my first surgery. On the way to the facility, all I was thinking was "I hope I only have to do just one surgery and be back dancing as soon as possible. " Surgery started 45 minutes late, but it all happened so quickly. I woke up after procedure, and my surgeon came up to me and said "surgery went very well. We found a big hole with a flop. We will need another surgery. We will get you fixed ok?" I was relieved to hear him said that surgery went well, but my tears were coming out right after he walked away realizing that I will be missing many pertormances and not being able to dance for long time. And also, l was in a lot of pain at the same time. Good news was, I was able to start PT after one week. By the first week of June, I was able to walk 10 miles.

Second surgery The second surgery happened on June 27th. 9 weeks after the first surgery, I was moving better than before the first one. The surgery happened at the same facility, I felt like I was just there yesterday. Surgery happened almost on time. I woke up with a terrible pain in my whole leg and also feeling nauseous. They used more anesthesia this time, I was so exhausted. The ride back home, I was fighting with a pain and trying not to throw up at the same time. Also, I was emotionally damaged, my tears kept falling down. Just going through all of these is just A LOT.

Post surgery Using both crutches made me feel so helpless. You can't even bring a glass of water to myself. Recovery process after the second surgery was waaayyyyy slower than the first one. I had to use both crutches for about a month. On top of that, a week after the surgery, I had an allergic reaction to possibly adhesive they used. I had red blister like rashes all over my leg. I couldn't sleep bc of itchiness. I used a whole tube of cortisone cream in 2 days. I contacted the surgeon's team and they prescribed me 6 days steroids. It kicked in right away, I was finally able to sleep well after that. 2 weeks post surgery, I had a follow up appointment with my surgeon. I asked him when I can start PT, then he said I need to wait another 4 weeks which is 6 weeks post surgery. That's a long time not moving or bearing my weight. Also I hate to try it without knowing how much I can push. I started to bend 30 degrees before I started PT, but I was scared to bend bc I felt lots of pain when I bent. Now Now I have been going to PT 3 times a week, the days I don't go there, I do almost all the exercises on my own at home. I am just started to walk without brace and crutches. I can finally walk confidently with a brace, full unlocked, without crutches. I was able to increase ROM from 30-60 degrees pretty easily but I’m fighting to pass 90 everyday now. It is so painful, when I bend 90 degrees, it feels like my knee is gonna snap out. At PT, there is a lady who had a whole knee joint replacement, she is going through the similar exercises and increasing ROM, she said "going through knee replacement is much harder than giving a birth. " It made me feel a bit better. LOL

Overall It sucks to get through this. So much waiting, so much pain, so much concerns and the most frustrating part is not being able to do normal human activities and DANCE!!!! It is a lot. I am dying to communicate with a professional dancer who is going through this with me. I would love to talk about our journeys even about our mental health. I appreciate you reading and learning about my experience with MACI. Now, I want to learn yours and discuss about it.

We got this! Sending you a big healing energy!

Hi,

I hope everyone is doing well. I have several questions, regarding potential career opportunities and training qualifications, in this discipline.

Background: I earned an undergraduate degree in Sport & Performance Psychology (4.0 GPA). I also earned a graduate degree in Industrial & Organizational Psychology (4.0 GPA). Then, I worked in the corporate sector, as a curriculum designer, executive leadership coach, and neuroscience specialist. Now, I'm enrolled in a Kinesiology MS Program, specializing in Sport & Performance Psychology.

Career Aspirations: I want to become a Sport Psychologist. Ideally, I'd love to work with collegiate/professional athletes, or within various collegiate athletic departments. If I were employed by a major university, I'd want to hold a 50/50 appointment (i.e. splitting time as Sport Psychologist, and an Academic Professor/Researcher).

I recognize my opportunities in this field are limited, with a MS, even if I'm CMPC Certified. Plus, I also recognize, that if I want to work in academia, then I'll need a PhD. So, here are my questions:

1. Which licensure-based program (i.e. Clinical or Counseling) should I pursue, if I want to become a licensed Sport Psychologist?
2. How could I make myself a more competitive applicant, for the Clinical/Counseling Psychology PhD (or PsyD) programs, if I'm currently enrolled in a Kinesiology-based MS program? I know Clinical/Counseling Psychology programs are highly competitive, and since I'm not necessarily coming from one those disciplines, I'd need to separate myself from the rest of the applicants.
3. Several Sport & Performance Psychology PhD programs have concurrent CMHC MA programs built into their curricula. Are graduates of these programs limited on what they can do? Or are they typically able (and qualified) to accomplish everything, from both the performance enhancement & mental health, perspectives?

As a follow-up to question 3, would these programs be viable options for me, considering my career aspirations? Or would I still be limited on what I could do, from a counseling/psychology standpoint?

Logistically speaking, I'd rather go through a Sport & Performance Psychology PhD program. The content, practical experiences, and research opportunities are more relevant to what I'd like to do. Plus, they're shorter than the Clinical/Counseling PhD programs. However, I've noticed many collegiate/professional organizations seemingly prefer hiring licensed psychologists, over traditional SEP or SPP PhDs.

Either way, a PhD program is a huge commitment -but one I'm excited and willing to make. That said, I want to make sure I'm giving myself the right opportunities, to pursue the career(s) I want. I'd hate to go through multiple programs, for multiple years, just to finish, and find myself wondering "How am I still unqualified for these roles?"

Thanks for all your help and guidance. I really appreciate it. Take care!

I am curious, what is the average cost for getting mentored hours to pursue CMPC? What is, or was included in that cost for any of you who hired a mentor, or for anyone who offers mentorship?

Hi guys! I am completing my MSc dissertation on evaluating the efficiency of different support staff for athletes as well as the prevalence of support given to prepare them for life after their sporting career. If you have 5 minutes, I would really appreciate it if you could fill out my questionnaire. 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScVDSgMn3qSfFLtuQDiS0LvB8bnRFY2j15t3YNNwMzz5Oljpw/viewform