While athletes often focus on things they perceive they can control to improve their performance (weight), that hyper-focus can actually negatively impact performance and contribute to increased rigidity, compulsive behaviors including exercise, heightened anxiety, and lower mood. Reaching a certain number creates a lot of pressure, stress, fear, and anxiety.

Paris 2024: Takeaways from a Licensed Sport Psychologist

Paris 2024 has been an Olympic Year marked by female athletes redefining rest, age, beauty standards, motherhood, and how we talk about mental health in sport.

Let's talk about Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDs).

When an athlete is not meeting their energy needs whether intentionally or unintentionally, their body has to compensate to conserve energy. In a state of energy deficiency or where there is low energy availability, the body goes into survival mode to conserve energy. While an athlete may experience an initial increase in performance, ultimately their body cannot sustain being in a state of energy deficiency and performance declines.