Get To Know abby
Abby Dalpe
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Institution: St. Michael's College - Colchester, VT
Sport: Formerly Soccer, Rugby, Ice Hockey
Abby Testimonial:
"I have struggled with anxiety for most of my life, constantly trying to be a perfectionist in everything I do. In playing sports, this came into an affect a lot. Instead of lifting myself up with a positive mindset, I would constantly put myself down just because I missed one goal, or struck out during an at bat. This honestly started to make my relationship with sports more negative as years went on. This especially happened playing soccer. I loved soccer, it was the sport I'd played the longest and has the most fun with. Once high school came around, it started to feel more like a job and less like a hobby. I dreaded going to practice and would even get nauseous thinking about attending practice. This started to make me feel less anxious and more depressed as time went on.
Looking back on past experiences, I have had plenty of teammates and coaches be the brunt of my struggles with mental health as an athlete. For the first three years playing varsity soccer in high school, my coach constantly put me down, telling me I suck every time I missed a shot. It became something that was drilled into my head every time I missed one, even if it was just at practice. I didn't realize how bad it was affecting my mental health until one day I had finally had enough and upon hearing that "You suck" I turned to the goal post and punched it as hard as I could and sttod back and watched while my coach laughed at me. It was then that I hard started to fall out of love with the sport, yet I went on to play a season at college, where my teammates were also not the most supportive people. The first semester of college is tough for everyone and with my already negative mindset about soccer, playing everyday made it that much harder. It was a recipe for a panic attack, which for me look like seizures. Instead of helping, two of my teammates took videos and laughed, while trying to shove food down my throat. The video was sent to the team. It was then that I decided that quitting soccer for good was in my best interest. This being just one example of poor mental health during one sport in my athletic career.
Throughout my journey with mental health, therapy and even medication have proved helpful. I have stopped having frequent panic attacks after games like I used to in high school and I have started to work out with a more positive mindset rather than a degrading one. I have also found that talking about my feelings, even though it may be hard, can be very beneficial to my mental health. In times I don't feel like talking, I tend to write, even if it's nonsense. In times I don't feel like thinking, I go fishing or for a walk with my dogs, something that focuses me but doesn't encourage overthinking."
Sport: Formerly Soccer, Rugby, Ice Hockey
Abby Testimonial:
"I have struggled with anxiety for most of my life, constantly trying to be a perfectionist in everything I do. In playing sports, this came into an affect a lot. Instead of lifting myself up with a positive mindset, I would constantly put myself down just because I missed one goal, or struck out during an at bat. This honestly started to make my relationship with sports more negative as years went on. This especially happened playing soccer. I loved soccer, it was the sport I'd played the longest and has the most fun with. Once high school came around, it started to feel more like a job and less like a hobby. I dreaded going to practice and would even get nauseous thinking about attending practice. This started to make me feel less anxious and more depressed as time went on.
Looking back on past experiences, I have had plenty of teammates and coaches be the brunt of my struggles with mental health as an athlete. For the first three years playing varsity soccer in high school, my coach constantly put me down, telling me I suck every time I missed a shot. It became something that was drilled into my head every time I missed one, even if it was just at practice. I didn't realize how bad it was affecting my mental health until one day I had finally had enough and upon hearing that "You suck" I turned to the goal post and punched it as hard as I could and sttod back and watched while my coach laughed at me. It was then that I hard started to fall out of love with the sport, yet I went on to play a season at college, where my teammates were also not the most supportive people. The first semester of college is tough for everyone and with my already negative mindset about soccer, playing everyday made it that much harder. It was a recipe for a panic attack, which for me look like seizures. Instead of helping, two of my teammates took videos and laughed, while trying to shove food down my throat. The video was sent to the team. It was then that I decided that quitting soccer for good was in my best interest. This being just one example of poor mental health during one sport in my athletic career.
Throughout my journey with mental health, therapy and even medication have proved helpful. I have stopped having frequent panic attacks after games like I used to in high school and I have started to work out with a more positive mindset rather than a degrading one. I have also found that talking about my feelings, even though it may be hard, can be very beneficial to my mental health. In times I don't feel like talking, I tend to write, even if it's nonsense. In times I don't feel like thinking, I go fishing or for a walk with my dogs, something that focuses me but doesn't encourage overthinking."