Facing the Unknown
As this year of uncertainty continues I have heard from dancers and practitioners alike about their struggles and frustrations with our current situation and how it is impacting their mental health. On This week’s episode of The Dance Docs I sit down with Sports Psychologist Dr. Scott Leydig to discuss how to face the unknown, how to stay motivated, and some thoughts on coping with the loss of identity.
Facing the unknown
When we originally left our studios in March most of us expected that we would be back in a month or two, four months later many dancers, and medical professionals who were working full time in the arts have been furloughed. We receive return dates, but they continue to be pushed back, we understand that we may not be able to return to the theater for potentially an entire season so how do we face the unknown?
Nobody likes the unknown. It has created a recipe for mental and emotional disaster.
Most common emotional reaction to the unknown is anxiety
Be aware of catastrophizing
Thinking of the worst case scenario
“What if” statements → reframe into neutral or positive statements
What if I don’t get to go back to work —>
Depressive reactions (and sadness) → + - or neutral interpretation
How do we interpret things
be aware of our thoughts and emotions surround the current situation
work to bring into a neutral or positive interpretation
Know that nothing is ideal right now so focus on reframing your negative thoughts
“New Normal”- could be considered a long term solution to our current situation
Try reframing to think about our “Current Normal”- this is a short term solution to our current situation. Something that you can work with and not the forever solution.
How to manage your expectations- Many of us are hoping to return to work in some capacity in the fall but how to we manage if our return to work date is pushed back again.
Manage our expectations
Pandemic seems to be pulling the rug out from underneath us
Too high- If your expectations are set very high and it doesn’t happen it can send you into a downward spiral of negative thoughts.
Too low- If you expectations are set too low very pessimistic and in a dark place leading to negative talk
Focus on finding the middle ground
achievable
realistic
Short term
Planning- Don’t create too many expectations, and “what if” statements
general long term goals
specific short term goals
Focus on the process, not the outcome
We don’t know what the outcomes are going to look like 6 months to years out
What am I going to do today and tomorrow to maintain:
elite level conditioning
motivation
mental focus
Try not to get ahead of ourselves in thinking about the future.
Focus on a 1 day at a time mentality
8 count mentality
In a performance you are staying in the moment and focused on the current 8 count and not the end of your variation
Focus on enjoying the time you are in and not worried about a challenge that may be coming up
How to stay motivated/ why should I continue
Kinda along the same lines, how do we stay motivated with things changing so frequently, you don’t know when you are coming back to work, there is a lot of unknown?
Give yourself permission to not be motivated
secondary emotions will pile up, when we are not feeling motivated
mentally and emotionally beat yourself up for not feeling motivated
next day they become even less motivated
Don’t let one down day spiral into weeks by beating yourself up
Unmotivated → guilty → stay in bed all day
Food example- eating healthier will have a snack that is not as nutritious and then use that as a reason to have even more dessert later that day
have a snack that you enjoy but don’t feel guilty about it
Times are not normal right now and try to do something every day that makes you feel good
if class makes you feel bad, or overworked take time to do something that makes you feel good
If you fall off the wagon one day make a new plan and stick to it the next
Maintain motivation and find homeostasis
Right now we are lacking some of the extrinsic motivation that we normally have
friends at the studio, artistic staff pushing you, teachers pushing you
Really having to find a lot of intrinsic motivation
Try finding another activity that can assist you in staying in shape that may not be directly related to dance
Continue to reach out to trusted individuals
we know how challenging times are right now and we are here to support you
Don’t feel like you need to suffer through this alone
Acknowledge the negative emotions, normalize them, and express them
Emotional process and expressing emotions needs to happen
this can be challenging through telehealth, but not to be skipped over
Can also discuss emotions with friends, family, someone you are comfortable with
Be your own biggest advocate- most important thing in today’s world
Self care
Do things that you wouldn’t usually do
meditation <— podacast episode
Spend time outside
Think about touching all of your senses (mindfulness- on the here and now)
Touch
smell
sound
taste
sight
You can’t change what you can’t change
We can only control what we can control
Loss of Identity
This has come up among many practitioners that I have talked to and I think this may be affecting them more than the actual dancers. Many of us went through changing our identity when we transitioned away from a dance career into a medical profession, and now many of us feel that our identity as a dance medicine/performing arts practitioner has been stripped away a bit.
Think about something that you have lost due to the pandemic
can you put a percentage to what you have lost?
Scott 10-20% lost due to sports, 10-20% sports psychology- has lost 20-40% of his identity
Will come with a ton of negative emotions
loss
grief
feeling lost
confusion
Lots of empty space that we have not had to deal with before
Dr Kat- I have felt a huge loss of identity not spending time in the clinic on a regular basis, but through some work I have realized that I have been very fulfilled/less stressed in other areas.
Pizza pie analogy/ Wheel of Stress (see below for chart)
Maybe other areas of your chart are very empty right now, that were very full earlier
Many of us have been in a grieving process, and not sure what this year is going to look like.
Finding a tool that works for you on a regular basis is healthy, and may help you see other areas that are fulfilled.
Reflection
we are on autopilot and always moving forward we rarely stop to reflect on what is going on around us
Take time to examine all areas of your life and not just your career
As a PT I still have a set of skills to continue working, but our dancers who may face more challenges in finding new avenues
Don’t want to feel like you are saying goodbye to your identity but realize what areas of yourself can be embraced right now.
Adapt → think outside the box → create new opportunities
As practitioners we are having to learn to adapt, beginning a virtual support group to maintain community between you and your practitioners
Get creative in what you are doing
try things that you may not have considered before
Scott is offering a virtual support group for MCB company dancers.
find ways to stay involved in the dance community
Kat is teaching conditioning classes- It brings me so much joy to continue working with the dancers and to see how excited they are getting back into the studio and feeling stronger than before
Maintain connection with your co-workers
Please know that we are here to support you during this challenging time. If you have questions regarding the podcast, have concerns about the content or need someone to talk to please feel free to email us at Thedancedocs@gmail.com or directly through our contact page.
Wheel Of Stress
Color in each wedge with how strongly each particular stressor is affecting you right now. The more you color in, the more stress you have in that domain.
