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Sidelined!

What to do when the cold & flu season strikes

By: Carrie Cheadle, M.A., Sports and Exercise Mental Skills Coach

It’s winter time and not only does the old north wind bring a chill to the air, but all too often it can bring the cold and flu to your front door. You’re feeling good, training hard and suddenly you feel that little tickle in the back of your throat. Nothing is worse than being sidelined from training or competition because you are sick. Here are some tips on how to deal with being on the sideline.

Listen to your body

Right now your job is to get better. Most athletes want to keep training and push through being sick. Athletes are often afraid of falling behind in their training and losing fitness. Part of being an athlete is knowing when to rest. Pushing yourself through training when you’re sick can prolong your illness and make it worse. You need to adjust your training so your body has energy to recover and repair itself.

Relax

In addition to trying to muscle your way through being sick, stress can also prolong illness. If you want to recover as quickly as possible, you need to relax. That means letting go of the frustration of being sick and focus on getting better. Take this opportunity to work on your imagery skills with some active recovery.

Go lie on the couch and take several deep breaths. Each time you exhale, let your body relax more deeply. When you are nice and relaxed, use your imagination to see yourself fighting off those germ invaders. (My imagery typically involves sword wielding germ fighters in metal armor!) Or go the scientific route and imagine your body is creating more white blood cells to fight off the invading virus. Not only will you be practicing your imagery skills, but you’ll be helping yourself de-stress and heal as well.

Performing while you’re sick

If you compete in sports long enough, there will come a time when you have to pull out the performance of a lifetime when you are sick. It’s important to listen to your body and know when to stop. However, if you are fighting off a cold and about to go into an important event, you may be called on to perform when you aren’t feeling in peak condition. One of the keys to dealing with this situation is to control your thoughts.

Repeat after me: I do not have to feel 100% in order to pull off a good performance.

The more you think about how horrible you feel - the more horrible you feel! In addition to paying attention to your hydration, sleep, and nutrition, controlling your thoughts in this situation can help take the edge off those aches and pains. Let go of the fact that you are sick. There is nothing you can do about it in that moment. Focus on what you need to do in order to perform to your potential. AND give yourself a break! A great performance on a day that you’re sick might not have the same result as a great performance when you are healthy.

When you relax your training or take time off or in order to get well, you have to trust that you are doing the right thing. Setbacks are a part of being an athlete. How you choose to deal with these setbacks, and how you bounce back from them can make or break the rest of your season. Your training season is like riding on a rollercoaster. Sometimes you’re on your way up, sometimes you’re at your peak, and sometimes you’re barreling down towards the earth. Getting a cold is just a small dip in the rollercoaster. Don’t let that dip derail you completely. Get off the rollercoaster and head to the merry-go-round until you’re recovered from being sick and you’ll be back on the uphill tracks in no time!

Carrie Cheadle, M.A. has a private practice in Northern California consulting with teams, organizations, and individual athletes, helping to improve performance through increasing self-awareness and strengthening mental skills. Carrie has taught Sport Psychology at Dominican University of California and works for John F. Kennedy University supervising graduate student interns for their Sport Psychology program. She also runs the sport psychology program for Diabetes Training Camp; a fitness and multi-sport training camp for people with diabetes.

Carrie Cheadle received her B.A. in Psychology at Sonoma State University and her M.A. in Sport Psychology at John F. Kennedy University. She is a member of APA Division 47 and a Certified Sport Psychology Consultant through the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP). For more information about Carrie, visit www.carriecheadle.com.