Write your search in the input below and press enter.
Esc to close.

The Sports Doc Chalk Talk with Dr. Chris Stankovich

Peak Performance:
Not Just for Sports, for Life

  • Products
    • Toolkits
    • Audio
    • Videos
    • Books
    • Apps
  • Services
  • Chalk Talk
    • Recent
    • Athletes
    • Coaching
    • Sports Parenting
    • Sports Administrators
    • Life
    • Administrators
  • About Dr. Stankovich
  • Testimonials
  • Contact
  • Products
    • Toolkits
    • Audio
    • Books
    • Videos
    • Apps
  • Services
  • Chalk Talk
  • About Dr. Stankovich
  • Testimonials
  • Contact

Hello. Sign In

My Account
  • Login
  • Register
0
The Sports Doc Chalk Talk
Subscribe
The Sports Doc Chalk Talk with Dr. Chris Stankovich
  • Recent
  • Athletes
  • Coaching
  • Sports Parenting
  • Life
  • Administrators
Home / Blog / Don’t Worry, You Won’t “Catch” Mental Illness

Don’t Worry, You Won’t “Catch” Mental Illness

By: Dr. Chris Stankovich | @DrStankovich | May 06, 2019

No Comments

Often when I talk to people about mental health I will hear comments like “I have anxiety/depression.” When I listen to the ways in which people speak about their personal struggles with mental illness, they will describe it as though it’s a tangible thing that you either have or you don’t.  It’s important for people to understand that you don’t contract conditions like anxiety or depression the same as you might “catch” a cold.  When we understand mental health, only then can we begin to develop specific, unique ways to improve and enhance the overall quality of our lives.

“He has anxiety”

To begin with, nobody “has” anxiety.  Actually, perhaps a more accurate statement is that we all have anxiety, especially as this applies to our bodies natural defense warning system.  Specifically, all human beings are hard-wired with a nervous system that reacts to stimuli that we perceive as dangerous — the reaction we experience is what we call “anxiety.”  For example, if you were suddenly given a huge school or work task that has to be completed by tomorrow, you might immediately respond with anxiety in the form of frantic thinking, sweaty palms, increased heart rate, and shallow breathing.  Your unique perception of a daunting task with little time often results in — you guessed it — anxiety.

Now, are there differences with respect to how we each experience anxiety?  Absolutely.  We all know someone who seems to always take life in stride, and we likely know others who struggle to stay calm in the face of seemingly any life stressor they face.  These are known as individual differences, and they suggest that how we experience anxiety is as unique as we are as people.  It’s important to understand that we all have the potential to experience anxiety, and that none of us lives a life completely devoid of anxiety.  The same is true of depression — we all experience mood state changes, and none of us are immune to feeling depressed.  Here again we don’t “catch” depression, but instead we all experience various fluctuations in mood states on a daily basis.

It’s not what you “have,” but what you do

Since we are all susceptible to challenges with anxiety and depression, it’s important that we not frame the discussion as one that looks at whether we “have” something or not.  Our minds and bodies will continue to react and respond to life’s challenges, but we can channel and direct our thinking and behaviors if we choose.  For example, we don’t have to panic when given a task to complete – even if it’s a challenging task.  Rather than immediately assume you will fail, try and refine your focus and frame the situation as one that you can win.  When we begin to think in positive ways, our bodies follow by experiencing less anxiety and better mind-body synchrony.  If we want to experience less anxiety in life, then it’s important that we frame situations in ways that allow us to set goals and succeed.

Final thoughts

When I hear people talk about “having” anxiety or depression, I become concerned that they may prisoners of their own thinking.  By setting up assumptions and expectations that we will experience specific things in life, we often end up doing just that, but this has to do with self-fulfilling prophecies, not our own short-comings.  Instead, it’s important to accept that mood states and anxiety shifts are part of the human experience, and that we all have to work on a daily basis to address our worries and insecurities.

drstankovich.com

 

 

anxiety, depression, emotions, health, illness, mental, psychology

  • Author
  • Comments
  • Details
Get to Know the Author

Dr. Chris Stankovich

Dr. Stankovich has written/co-written five books, including Positive Transitions for Student Athletes, The ParentsPlaybook, Mind of Steel.

Latest Blog Posts

  • December 4, 2023 Turn off the Noise for Improved Mental Health
  • November 28, 2023 Understanding Psychology: The Backfire Effect, and Why Facts Don’t Always Matter
  • November 28, 2023 Artificial Intelligence is Delivering Your News More Often than You Think
  • November 20, 2023 Experiencing Depression isn’t a Bug, it’s a Feature of the Human Condition
  • November 15, 2023 If You’re Tracking Stats in Youth Sports, You Might be Doing it Wrong

PREVIOUS POST

NEW Summer Sport Courses for Coaches, Teachers, and Administrators!

NEXT POST

Can Sports Parents Create Superstar Athletes?

Category

Confidence , Continuing Education , Emotional Intelligence , Focus , Habit Change , health psychology , Life , Mental Disorders , mental illness , Uncategorized

Tags

anxiety, depression, emotions, health, illness, mental, psychology

  • Recent Posts
  • Most Read
  • Turn off the Noise for Improved Mental Health
  • Understanding Psychology: The Backfire Effect, and Why Facts Don't Always Matter
  • Artificial Intelligence is Delivering Your News More Often than You Think
  • Experiencing Depression isn't a Bug, it's a Feature of the Human Condition
  • If You're Tracking Stats in Youth Sports, You Might be Doing it Wrong
  • Increasingly More Student Athletes Make it to College -- Then Quit
  • Rather than Focus on Youth Sport Results, Try Embracing the Power of Play
  • Exercise Patience with Growing Kids Working Hard for Sport Success
  • Here's What Your Kid Might Not Tell You, But Tells Me
  • The Impact of Psychological Identity Development on Young Athletes
  • The Sports Doc on TV

    Catch Dr. Stankovich’s tv, radio, and print interviews and columns here!

    Dr. Chris Stankovich Watch Videos
  • Sport Performance Assessment

    Dr. Chris Stankovich Quickly and accurately test your level of mental toughness in just a few minutes using the Sport Performance Assessment.

    (SPA), an easy-to-use sport psychology system specially designed to help you REACH YOUR FULL ATHLETIC POTENTIAL.

    learn more
  • SportsSuccess360

    Life strategies for performance and character development for coaches, parents, and student athletes competing in youth and interscholastic sports.

    Life Strategies learn more
  • Contact Dr. Stankovich

    1207 Grandview Ave., Suite #218, Columbus, OH 43212

    (614) 561-4482

    Media & General Inquiries

    information@drstankovich.com

    Sales & Product Support

    sales@drstankovich.com

  • About Dr. Stankovich

    • Media
    • Blog
    • Testimonials
  • Products

    • Toolkits
    • Videos
    • Books
    • Audio
    • iPhone Apps
  • Services

    • Athlete Performance Training
    • Parent Community Forum
    • Coach Education & Development
    • Athletic Crisis Response and Intervention
    • Drug & Alcohol Assessment
    • Life Success Programs
    • Counseling & Consulting Services
  • Blog
  • YouTube
  • twitter
  • facebook

All rights reserved © 2023 Advanced Human Performance Systems™

↓ ↓