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Hi Reader,
When you think about your body, where does your mind go first?
For most athletes I work with, it goes straight to how we see ourselves. How your body looks in the race photo. How it compares to everyone else on the start line. Whether it looks the way it “should” for someone who trains as much as you do.
Researcher Niva Piran has a name for what happens when we get stuck in that evaluator seat: disrupted embodiment. Viewing your body through everyone else’s eyes instead of experiencing it from the inside out. And diet culture hands athletes a double dose, wrapping appearance pressure in the language of “fueling” and “performance.”
Confidence in sport grows from trusting what your body can do and that trust gets built from the inside, not from the mirror.
Three small ways to start practicing that today:
1️⃣ Run an attention audit: In your next workout, notice each time your mind jumps to how your body looks. Then redirect to one sensation: feet on the ground, breath, effort in your legs.
2️⃣ Ask a better question: Swap “how does my body look?” for “what is my body telling me?” Hunger, fatigue, and soreness are data. Athletes who read the data recover better than those who don’t.
3️⃣ Name the diet-culture voice: When your brain says, “I earned this meal” or “I have to burn this off,” label it: that’s diet culture talking, not your body. A voice you can name is a voice you can understand and intentionally respond to.
The relationship with your body is always being affected by your world, and those in it: social media, family, coaches, teammates, and yes, diet culture. In my humble opinion, I don’t think it’s realistic for any of us to suddenly heal our relationships with food and our body without actually changing the world we’re living in. What we can do is better understand the systems, how they affect our thoughts and feelings, and how we respond to them so we can be more intentional with our actions and behaviors.
Oh, and one more thing, we’re on Substack now! 🎉
Think of it as the mental training your coach never gave you: evidence-based sport psych, plus the culture, identity, and body stuff nobody puts in a training plan for athletes and coaches at every level.
NEW ON SUBSTACK
To keep up on the latest research, hot takes, and sport psychology for women and gender-expansive athletes, from someone who’s also standing in the parking lot after the race.
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MORE THIS WEEK
🎙️This week on the Feisty Women’s Performance Podcast, Dr. Carole Oglesby and Dr. Phyllis Solon reflect on why “the master’s tools won’t dismantle the master’s house” and how feminist praxis can improve the sport psychology field from the inside out. If you’re ready to shift from tokenism to real impact, listen now on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
🤸♂️ Laurie was recently featured in a piece I hope every parent and coach of a student-athlete reads: From fun to fear: How harsh coaching affects mental health for student athletes. The environment around a young athlete shapes their confidence more than any pep talk ever will.
💚Happening inside the Skadi Community this month!
On November 9, I’m hosting a Body Image + Diet Culture workshop inside the Community. We’ll dig into what researcher Niva Piran calls disrupted embodiment, the disconnect between what your body can do and how you actually experience it, and you’ll build your own Embodiment Map across 5 dimensions to start reconnecting with your body from the inside out. It’s a working session complete with guided reflection, practical tools, and time for Q&A.
Interested in joining, join the Skadi Community for the month to gain access to this and so much more!
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Ready to strengthen your mindset and perform at your best?
Explore our mental health therapy and performance coaching services, and book a free consultation to get started today.
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Til next time,
Dr. A
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