The Uncovering Of A New Strategy??
The focus for this blog is a fantastic psychology strategy called ‘The World Wheel’
Over the years it has evolved and been adapted to meet many needs and scenarios’s. So whilst not produced as a sport / exercise strategy it can be easily applied to any to activity through careful thought and consideration. It’s a strategy to help identify our emotional needs and feelings.
With’ lockdown’ allowing more sports and activity classes to resume over the coming weeks the health and well being of coaches, instructors, carers and of course participants needs to be supported. Some will struggle and some will just transition back without a second thought.
Do you really understand what your participants are feeling right now? Do you as a coach or instructor or carer have a method to give your participants to enable them to express themselves to you so that they can make that transition as easily and as smoothly as possible? Plus how are you feeling?
As participants and we should make a special note here that the focus is on those with long term medical conditions, disabilities and mental health problems, who have possibly been shielding or those in the vulnerable category who have been self isolating for months. This may be a daunting task for all parties involved. This is a general statement but with this strategy very focused on emotions and expressing them I want to ask you this;
Can you guess how many emotions a human can experience?
Through his extensive research Dr Robert Plutchik suggests It’s around 34,000! With so many emotions, how can one navigate the turbulent waters of feelings, without getting lost? The answer: an emotion wheel.
‘Through years of studying emotions, American psychologist Dr. Robert Plutchik proposed that there are eight primary emotions that serve as the foundation for all others: joy, sadness, acceptance, disgust, fear, anger, surprise and anticipation. (Pollack, 2016)
So while it’s hard to understand all 34,000 distinct emotions, we can learn how to identify the primary emotions and act accordingly. It’s especially useful for moments of intense feeling and when the mind cannot remain objective as it operates from an impulsive “fight or flight” response. (Watkins, 2014) https://positivepsychology.com/emotion-wheel/
This was stumbled across whilst researching for the Exercise Alternatives Blog we posted but although our use of it is still at the beginning stage, we all believe this is a powerful strategy and comes with some interesting background and development.
The wheel colours and words really jumped at us. (see the image below). Got us thinking, because it helps to express our feelings in a verbal way to our carers which we find extremely difficult to do. Writing comes easy, expressing ourselves through this is so very important. It’s a much quicker and more easily used tool when time pressure is on or when out of the house (although this is still to be contemplated). With the words already in front of you it allows for a more focused expression of what we are really feeling at any given time.
We have a small version stuck into our diaries that go everywhere with us, yet we will emphasis that this has been used under ‘lockdown’ in the safety and comfort of home with just three trips outside the house and no more than two short drives and one drive and take carer to Tesco and chemist this is yet to be utilised for exercise sessions, but the plan for it is there ready and waiting! Getting used more and more on a daily basis to give it the maximum effectiveness as possible.
The process for using this wheel is more discreet than some strategies so you as a participant or as a coach, probably have a clipboard lying around or just a piece of paper you can pop in your pocket. Then it’s there in case there is a need and it can be brought into vision by either party coach/instructor or participant as a signal that there is a need to discuss emotions and worry. Then it’s a case to get things going. It may even be good to look at it at the beginning of the session and the end. In this climate it could be helpful for anybody to utilise and as coaches could be very helpful as part of your delivery and professional development as a stepping stone to support people with long term health problems into your sessions/ club/ group.
The best way we feel that explains this and how it actually works is to watch the short video below with the chart beside you. It’s been incorporated as part of a great series of sport psychology series that have been launched by Swim England throughout the pandemic.
Through our research we came across a different wheel based on the same emotions. It doesn’t work for us as this one is blue and follows different emotions but it may for you. It’s aimed at Dad’s but you can get the information regardless. If you head to this link it has the option to be sent a downloadable version of the wheel.
There is also a Children’s version that you can download that you could use for those who prefer an image or perhaps someone with learning disabilities and younger participants. We haven’t utilised this or looked at it in depth. However, the best thing to do is follow the link above and see whether it can work for you or someone that you are caring for, or perhaps if you are delivering an inclusive exercise programme. It could help you to find out how some of your participants are feeling throughout the session. You really need to choose the emoticons that are relevant, probably working with the child or participant and/or carer to select the images that mean something to them. Then having ownership and control over this could make it a powerful tool and it will be more effective.
The We Are Undefatables team have done some in depth research based on the way COVID-19 has affected those with long term health conditions.
‘The outbreak of COVID-19 and the measures introduced to tackle it have affected people with LTHCs in a range of different, and sometimes disproportionate, ways. For example, over the course of the pandemic people with LTHCs have been experiencing emotional ups and downs and be prone to heightened fear and anxiety’ (Insight Pack, Health conditions and physical activity). The impact of COVID-19, June 2020 (https://weareundefeatable.co.uk). You can view the complete findings on their website but it highlights just how much emotional needs have to be met to help us all move forward.
Of course this word wheel is just one of many strategies that you can tap into. Building on the above research a simple idea from Active Essex is this fun idea posted on Facebook and Twitter. Employees may be staying home for work right now but Zoom is helping them keep in touch and exercise together. Great way to start a meeting! You can watch them dancing away happily here!
They have put down a challenge to see how many will follow! So if you can ‘Zoom’ (still one for us to conquer) or Microsoft Team then this might be good especially if you are a ‘shielder’ or an employer with staff who are shielding. A great way to start back on the road to going to work which has so many uncertainties and concerns. Helping people back to meetings and seeing colleagues, improving their emotional needs to the next stage of transition as they/you await the Governments personal letters to you with the next steps, could be vital for emotional wellbeing.
The Pituitary Foundation state that ‘Fear and loss are the most notable psychological aspects of pituitary conditions, and can occur at any time. One cause of fear is the anticipation of loss’.
'This again shows how important it is to look at our emotions’ (Diagnosis & treatment The psychological impact of a pituitary condition, )
We are beginning again and of course fear will be there so it’s sensible to think about your diagnosis in the past and how you accepted it, the emotion you felt and the impact a diagnosis can have on you. Reflection can produce some powerful results if worked on carefully. Read the full publication here;
The Swim England series are fantastic and would recommend any coach / instructor/participant who is concerned about their route back to exercise to have a watch and encourage others to give it a try as well. It’s where we first found the Word Wheel. Remember these videos may be directed to swimmers but the background and what goes with it are just the same. It’s all about emotional well being and returning to sport and exercise.
This latest video is fantastic as it takes swimmers through the process of returning to Swimming which will aid you further.
Other videos include;
Grounding and staying present are the focus of this session. It looks at the way we normally plan to be great at what we do and how with so much uncertainty we can overthink things too much. Grounding is about trying to stay in the moment and have some control, highlighting how this can be used not just now but in the future as part of your mental health toolbox as the strategy looks at your emotions using senses to help you stay in the present.
This one is great as it uses the skills and strategies that have already been identified and how to utilise them for right now and in the future.
The full playlist can be found at this link;-
You’ll be getting used to my ‘normal’ favoured contributors to all round better health and well being and they won’t disappoint you here either! There are so many ways to support those with Long Term medical conditions and rather than search too far it’s important to find the places that are safe to access and ensure your safety and well being are always being looked after. Not only that, if the content of a site resonates with you please go with that. We have just scratched the surface with this particular technique and the videos launched by Swim England.
So in conclusion please think carefully about what might and might not help you. Everyone is different and needs to find their own way back. These are challenging times and we have become good at exercising at home or going out for our one & then additonal exercise time for the day. But the next step is a huge one and eventually we will find the right balance for ourselves.
‘Being undefeatable is understanding that how you feel can change from day to day, that everyone is different, and moving more when you can is just as important as accepting when you can’t’.(from leaflet We Are Undefeatable’s (‘Damn Right I’m Stretching Myself’ https://weareundefeatable.co.uk)
Taking that quote into consideration, Just don’t rush, do what feels right, don’t overload on strategies and try to enjoy the process. Once we get to where we want to be we will be able to really pat ourselves on the back and once again enjoy sport and exercise in whatever format, setting or type we did before this battle and we have been of a voyage of discovery trawling through new experiences and trials and errors which can lead us to be healthy in mind and body.
Plus If you aren’t ready to go back out there just yet and you need to get a good balance on your health, mental health and being ready emotionally and having something that works for you. Don’t worry about ‘running out of internet content. It’s going to be a long haul for leisure centres and community centres to be up and running again so there will still be the weekly Active Essex Activity Programmes available alongside others such as We Are Undefeatables who have re-launched this week.
We sincerely hope that all goes well for you…………….
Take care, stay safe alert, stay safe, stay well……………..
Next week look out for what sports and activitiy sessions can learn from COVID-19...