Mental Health Takes Priority in Crisis
Jan 04, 2023 2:06 pm
Hi,
Many of you know I am an avid Buffalo Bills fan. The excitement of the Bills versus Bengals for the #1 seed in the playoffs quickly turned dark when Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest on the field and needed CPR for 9 minutes to get his heart beating again. He is in critical condition at the hospital.
As I watched, I was able to see growth in our care and concern for the hearts and emotions of all involved. Finally, mental health has been prioritized.
And humanity has shown support and generosity, as fans across the country have donated to Damar's charity, raising more than $5.8 million in the first 24 hours!
If you would like to support Damar with a contribution, please visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/mxksc-the-chasing-ms-foundation-community-toy-drive
Together we heal,
Dr. Eddie
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Spotlight on Player Mental Health
The media, NFL and players showed respect for mental health in the short time since Damar Hamlin was critically injured on Monday night. All showed genuine love, care, concern and raw emotion for each other during and after the incident. The media continued to keep conversations focused on the human being, not the sport and the NFL cancelled the game out of respect for mental health. Additionally, the NFL is taking action and providing the teams with resources to access mental health. I encourage those affected by the incident or any injury, stress or anxiety of their own to seek help as mental health is now being promoted, embraced and prioritized. ... Watch the video here.
If you have concerns about your mental health, I am here to support you.
Click here for more on individual tele-health consultations.
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Strategies for Anxiety
Many of your sport fears are likely to come true. I join The Sports Project Radio Show to talk about the best way to handle all the “what if…?” questions that flood our minds.
Strategies include:
- answering the question and recognizing that we can handle the consequences
- interpret your anxiety as excitement
- accept that hard is a basic requirement for entry into sport
- use difficulty as a training opportunity
- adopt a growth mindset
We debate what you “should” be able to do and “if you are cut out” for sports.
** Listen here **
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Dr. Eddie O’Connor
