Emotional fitness — Building resilience What can we learn from football managers?
- timetoheal1210
- Jan 2, 2023
- 3 min read
Building skills to help us bounce back from setbacks and cope with the ups and downs of Long Term Health Conditions (LTHCs). Enabling better stress management, and improved mental health and well-being. Transferrable skills from the football field to everyday living.
Part 1 - Focused on ITFC football manager Kieran McKenna. The implementation of emotional fitness is at the heart of his person-centred approach to management.
Part 2 - Looking at what emotional fitness means to those with LTHCs. And the evidence-based strategies we can utilise from extensive research in this field.
What is Emotional Fitness?
In the words of Fire Walker Toby Robbins emotional fitness includes:’being resilient, positivity and focused. It means you can change your mindset from angry, anxious or sad and instead focus on constructive emotions and tasks. Ultimately, you're able to bounce right back and continue on your journey even stronger than you were before (https://tonyrobbinsfirewalk.com/emotional-fitness/)
We have options!
Our behind-the-scenes football focus showed us the opportunities they have to access programmes such as meditation, mental health sessions and the use of technology. Playing to strengths, trust and support in and for each other. What we should have within our medical team.
A treatment plan that works for us. Skills and knowledge are gathered from wherever we want and incorporated into what our medical professionals can offer us.
The Mayo Clinic in the US cares for more than 1.4 million people each year, including people from 140 countries and all US states. They run a support programme based on resilience that focuses on areas that include emotional, cognitive and mental, physical, and spiritual well-being.
Encouraging patients to envisage challenges as opportunities is a way to decrease stress and anxiety. Specifically for those with serious and complex medical conditions.
Any search engines will show up lots of options which fit this criterion that may include:
Mindfulness
Goal setting with positive feedback
Developing hobbies and interests
Practising self-compassion
Ranked No.1 hospital by U.S. News and World Report and Newsweek, led by president and chief executive officer Gianrico Farrugia, M.D. demonstrates the high standards at The Mayo Clinic. Travelling and accessing a programme such as this will only be accessible to some.
Recognising this fact they have produced The Mayo Clinic Book For Happiness. At $17 it’s a lot cheaper than a plane flight to the states. You can read the detailed preface prior to purchase. It focuses on four distinct areas:
Training your attention
Cultivating emotional resilience
Starting a mind-body practice
Picking healthy habits
We are promised peace, contentment and happiness by author Dr Amit Sood, M.D., M.Sc. Having lived through difficult times in India, he moved to America expecting everyone there to be happy, content and stress-free. Not the reality he expected.
He committed himself to understanding what his patients were going through. One conclusion is that our minds are ‘gifted fault-finding machines’. Another is that compassion and gratitude are more likely to improve happiness than the pursuit of happiness itself. The result is a seven-step plan running over 10 weeks.
Summary
Medical interventions may still be required. Especially if you have a condition such as pituitary insufficiency or Addison’s disease. Stopping medication would be life-threatening. The need for more than the basic daily dose could be lowered. If stress and anxiety are less then so is the need for additional cortisol. Resilience building is a welcome addition to our medical support network. Sits well within pain and sleep management plans.
And if you trust in Robbins — he has been walking over hot coals for 35 years — then just look out for The Pituitary Foundations ‘walking over hot coals’ event for those fundraisers out there who fancy a mental challenge. Need some help — then check in on his Firewalking Facts Blog for some more top tips.
*Please remember that these blogs are very real to us. We are on the same journey. It’s tough, slow and frustrating. Most of the Scenarios we face ourselves. Sometimes we find what we print useful. Other times we don’t. It’s included because everyone's journey is different. We have passionate perseverance to help others. To dispose of all content would be a waste and a disservice to our readers.
Links
The Mayo Clinic - Book For Happiness
The Mayo Clinic - Resilience Training
Toby Robbins - Firewalking Facts
The Pituitary Foundation - Fundraisers Page
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