I have identified as an athlete almost as long as I can remember. My athletic career evolved from giving a go at the whole dance thing to a successful collegiate runner, and eventual cyclist. I have often had things to train for; to put my energy into, but with that being halted due to Covid-19, I’ve found myself taking a step back, reflecting.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the athletes who had their final seasons taken away from them due to the pandemic. While necessary, there is still a loss of the competitions that will never be. I think about seniors in high school and college who had one more season to look forward to, perhaps putting in a year’s worth of effort all for those final few months of their athletic career. Gone, so quickly. There is grief in this and important to honor that loss.

For many, perhaps sports may feel unimportant, however, for an athlete, this is far from the truth. As an athlete myself, I know how deeply rooted identity can be in the chosen athletic pastime. There is so much work that goes into sports that no one sees. Time spent away from friends because of training, early bed times and early mornings, carefully managing time so that every item on the “to do” list can get done.

Athletes, I see you, and know this time of uncertainty and loss can weigh heavily. It is okay to grieve the loss of a season, a race, a competition that you were so looking forward to. It’s okay feel some anger towards the situation. It’s okay to feel whatever it is you are feeling and ask yourself, what am I training for?

What a simple question, yet it feels so loaded. What am I training for? It’s easy when there is a season coming up, a race on the schedule, a competition date months out. We have a goal in mind, we train for that goal, and hope to execute that goal on the day. I have had races cancelled this year due to the pandemic. I support this decision fully, and have decided to use this time to reflect on my athletic abilities and my connection to the sport.

What I have found with reflection on athletics is that there are so many reasons people participate. Some do it purely for social purposes, others because they want to stay in shape, some because they are goal oriented, while others just like to push their body’s limits. It’s interesting, for much of my time as an athlete, I am not sure I would say I have trained for the very simple reason of just loving the sport.

When a sport becomes so wrapped up in identity, we can often lose our love. I felt this way about running. What once was a fun way to move my body became a complicated and unhealthy way to maintain calories, feel as though I was worth something, and ultimately, my entire identity.

This past year or so, I’ve begun to recreate love for moving my body that removes the thought of calories burned, trophies earned, and recognition from strangers. Biking, brought a joy to moving my body again that I didn’t know was possible. With races being shut down, I have been abruptly challenged to again reassess my drive to perform in races and ask myself why I am training.

The answer has not felt so simple at times. There are days when it doesn’t make sense to put in that much effort for races that are no longer on the schedule. Some days exercise still feels rooted in eating disordered thoughts. At the end of the day though, I have been able to come back to my root reason for pushing my body in the first place, I love to train. I love how it makes me feel. I love the mental clarity it gives me. And I love that, while races have been cancelled, I still feel driven to keep working hard in a sport that I love.

So, athletes, I challenge you to ask yourself, what are you training for? Create ways in which training perhaps can become more joyful once again. We have a rare opportunity to go back to the basics of the sport. Fall in love with your sport all over again, simply because you love it, now for what accolades it might bring you.

We will compete again someday, but ultimately, we are training for life, and life seems like a pretty important thing to be training for.

I am enough. When you hear that, do you believe it? To me, being “enough” is worthy of love, self-care, taking up space, and feeling capable of handling all the emotions, challenges and victories that come with life. Sometimes, our beliefs can navigate us away from a place that we feel we are enough. Dani wants you to help you own the belief you are enough, take away any doubt you may have and embody being enough and everything that comes with it.

She believes connection is vital to a positive therapeutic experience. She connects with my clients by creating a space for you to show up just as you are and meet you there. She takes an eclectic approach that is rooted in person-centered and strength based, with a focus on your needs and goals. After all, therapy is about you.

A lot of what has been on my mind and pressing has been the idea of change and how to cope when there is so much of it going on. Not only is there change in our daily lives right now but in our society as well. There are some of us who take change in and are ready for it at any moment then there are some of us that it scares the crap out of. No matter where you fall on the spectrum of being effected by change understanding how it impacts us will help us to learn to cope better.

Dr. Srini Pillay an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, states “not everyone I’d affected equally. Pillay suggests that personality determines how change impacts out mental health. For those who seek novelty, change is usually easier to swallow, while those who feel most comfortable with status quo will find life transitions more challenging”.

Renne Fabian on talk space stated “One of the major reasons we struggle with change, and why it can result in cognitive dissonance, is the element of uncertainty. Uncertainty is the enemy of our biological impulses — if we’re unsure whether an animal is a house cat or a blood thirsty tiger, we’re in trouble. Our brain doesn’t like the odds of equations with unknown variables, so it defaults to a negative bias for safety”.

“A study…showed that in people who are uncertain, 75 percent of people mispredict when bad things are going to happen,” Dr. Srini Pillay explains. “The uncertainty biases the brain to expect the worst. That doesn’t mean that change is great and you should expect the best, but you should recognize that your brain will go into…an automatic negativity bias.”

To help soothe the uncertainty that’s causing the brain to fire its stress responses, level the playing field with neutral self-talk phrases such as, “Uncertainty simply means I don’t know the future. It does not mean the future is bad.” Says Fabian

To help combat the uncertainty in change it helps to make a plan and get organized. To do this, change what Pillay calls “goal intentions” to “implementation intentions.” “Rather than saying, ‘I’ll take it as it comes. We’ll see how we’ll handle this,’ which often increases the amount of uncertainty upfront, [make] the intentions more specific by adding an actual time to it,” Pillay suggests. “By making the intentions more specific…you can decrease the uncertainty and therefore make it easier to embrace the change.”

Another way to help cope with change is to give our minds a break. “It may seem prudent to push ourselves into overdrive during these times, but our brain really needs breaks throughout the day to run most efficiently” Fabian states. “When you’re focused, you are essentially collecting the different pieces of the puzzle with your mind, but unfocused time is the time you give to your mind to get these puzzle pieces together,” Pillay tells us. “If you’re going through a change with just continuous focus throughout the day, you are not giving your brain a chance to put these puzzle pieces together.”

There also a part of coping with change and that is dealing with grief and loss. Sometimes the change that comes is out of our control such as losing a loved one or suffering a illness or injury. Texas-based psychotherapist Heidi McBain emphasizes the grieving process as crucial to navigating change. She helps clients by “letting them know that grief takes time but they will feel better, normaliz[ing] that others feel the same way they do, [and] discuss[ing]…how these major life changes have impacted their relationships.

Lastly practicing self care is very important while coping with change even in its most positive of forms. “Often with major life changes, self-care goes right out the window,” says McBain. “It can help to choose one thing each and everyday that you do just for you and your own well-being such as exercise, meditation, [or] journaling.” Getting enough sleep eating healthy and turning to others for support with help us while change is effecting us the most.

They often say the most difficult part of therapy "is walking through the door." I believe there is truth to that statement. Therapy is not only an investment in yourself, but it's an investment in your life. Effective therapy can be a powerful way to achieving happiness, acceptance and greater life satisfaction.

The choice of a counselor is an important one. It is my belief the relationship between the therapist and client is the foundation for successful therapy. My goal is to provide clients with a non-judgmental, empathetic, genuine and collaborative environment.

I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with the ability to diagnose & treat most mental health issues. I work with individuals on issues pertaining to anxiety, depression, relationships, addiction, self-actualization, anger, self-esteem, and grief.

In addition to individualized counseling; I offer couples therapy, family therapy, community resources, education, and referrals. I would like to help you navigate the challenges that you are facing. You are not alone and there is hope. I can guide you towards increased self-awareness, positive change, and healing.

Rachael Myers, Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), graduated in 2011 from Belhaven University, where she received a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. In 2014, she earned a Masters of Social Work (MSW) from Southern University at New Orleans. Rachael has experience in outpatient and inpatient mental health hospitals; working with personality disorders, mood disorders, and addictive disorders. She has completed an externship and core skills 1 in Emotional Focused Therapy (EFT) to increase her skills in couples counseling. As a therapist, she is able to integrate her knowledge of mental health issues to help couples, families, and individuals problem-solve, overcome personal issues, and work toward positive outcomes in relationships. In her practice, Rachael believes in a holistic approach. She has an attachment based foundation and incorporates a variety of therapeutic methodologies based on the individual client needs.

What Are We Training For?

Coping with Change