Being an athlete comes with so many benefits. For me, it means feeling empowered, strong, energetic and happy. Coming from a past where I struggled with my mental health, working out has become an essential emotional outlet in my life and transformed the way I felt about myself.
Unfortunately, sometimes putting stress on your body through exercise can lead to injuries. While injuries can initiate physical pain (the surface and seemingly more prominent pain), it can also foster emotional pain, which is much less talked about (this can be the deeper and harder to understand pain).
Being a runner, my injuries have always been due to the stress running puts on my body. This past year, I got not one, but two stress fractures in my feet. Despite the pain I felt and the annoyance of being stuck in a cast for months, I suffered from many psychological symptoms which were harder to deal with. It's not like I can put my anxiety into a cast and hope it gets better in 6-8 weeks.
The most surprising change I noticed was how drastically my sleep changed. I was used to falling to sleep instantly after my head hit the pillow, but since I didn't have an outlet for my inner energy, it made falling asleep much harder. Nights of deep sleep became a rarity.
Other than sleep, I found it hard to be my happy bubbly self. I no longer could do the thing that gave me a release after a long day of classes. I felt far less motivated.
If you are dealing with an exercise related injury, the pshycological and emotional changes you might experience are completely valid. My best tips/advice on getting through an injury would be:
-DON'T push your body when it's injured, your recovery time will only be longer (I know this one from personal experience) respect and listen to the pain.
-Try to find another outlet. I started using an indoor biking machine for exercise which didn't cause stress to my foot. Keep in mind, your new outlet may not be comparative to your favorite sport, but it will help keep your fitness up and release that built up energy.
-Change your perspective. I was constantly worried about losing progress in my running. I constantly stressed out and think about how each day I didn't run was another day I lost progress and stamina. What helped me was shifting my perspective of this situation. Yes, I will not be as strong a runner when I start up again. But act of simply being able to push myself again and train harder than I was will ultimatly make me even stronger than I was before.
To anyone with an injury, give your body time to recover. I hope these tips helped :)