Are you having difficulty navigating stressful situations? This is a very common issue and is one that the mental performance consultant at our partner center in Nepean physiotherapy center is equipped to handle. Here, our Stittsville physical therapists explain more about how this member of our team can help.
Stress is something that everyone naturally feels. It is a response to the pressures placed on us as part of our lives and can become much stronger when we care about something - such as athletics or passion projects. Stress can become an issue for many people, however, when it starts negatively impacting your ability to do the things that you want to do, whether this is accomplishing goals in a stressful environment or having the energy and willpower to do what we love after a stressful day.
When you can feel stress negatively impacting your life well after your initial feeling of it, it's generally time to seek help to manage these feelings.
Our physiotherapy team recommends that we have a mental performance consultant as part of our network of physiotherapy centers. This professional will be able to work with you to help support you in achieving your goals and performing at a high level either on the court or in the office.
Mental Performance Consulting Services
Mental performance counselling works similarly to other mental health services - it's just that the focus is on helping you perform to a higher degree be encouraging supportive and positive mental habits.
At your first appointment with a mental performance consultant, they will take some time to get to know you and your values. This includes gaining an understanding of who you are, your medical history, the areas you want to improve your performance in and some goal setting for you to improve your performance.
Appointments last either 30 minutes or 60 minutes, with varying ability to include both conversations about you and your progress as well as time to work on specific skills.
Mental performance consultations can help to focus on a number of different skills in order to support a client's goals and achievements, including:
- Stress Management
- Motivation
- Confidence
- Self-Awareness
- Focus and Distraction Control
- Resilience and Adversity Management
Performance Coaching for Stress Management
When ti comes to the specifics of the discussions and mental exercises involved in performance counselling for stress management, the primary focus is on assisting you in managing your and other's stress - with a particular focus on performance anxiety.
What your mental performance consultant will be focusing on will be situations like nervousness before playing a game, public speaking, or delivering a product presentation at work that may be negatively impacting your ability to reach your potential during those tasks.
Alternatively, if you are finding that a particular factor in your life is causing far-ranging stress such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, they will work with you to work through those emotions and stop them from negatively impacting the rest of your life.
Examples of Ways to Manage Stress
While the strategies that may be proposed in order to help you manage your stress will depend on your specific context and emotions, the following are some of the common strategies that may be suggested by the mental performance consultant at our Nepean clinic:
- Avoid Multitasking
- Lighten Your Workload
- Leave Plenty of Time to Transition From Doing One Intensive Thing to Another
- Plan Stressful Events Ahead of Time To Help You Feel In Control
- Focus on What You Are Working On Right Now
Ask your mental performance consultant about what they think the bets strategies for your stress management may be at your first visit with them.