Coping

“Proactive coping is really important. So, not waiting until after you’re experiencing the transition to deal with it, but to have some pre-retirement planning.” (Erin Reifsteck)

“When the athlete is faced with an extreme lifestyle change such as retirement, it can produce psychological effects similar to grief. Because competition took on the psychological leg work for creating a sense of purpose or served the role of a coping mechanism for processing trauma for example, once competition is removed, it may create a proverbial hole in the retired athlete’s psychological ability to process emotional adversity.” (Rachel Fintzy Woods, MA, LMFT)

Coping Strategies:

• Take some time to grieve the loss of your sport and all the benefits that have gone with it
• Leverage your sport experience to help build new identities
• Embrace the idea that you are capable of many things
• Use professional services to cope with anxiety and depression

Sources:
http://www.ncaa.org/static/champion/when-the-playing-days-end/
​https://blogs.psychcentral.com/cultivating-contentment/2017/11/coping-with-identity-loss-an-athletes-life-after-sport/