Does the fear of getting re-injured hold you back? Don’t let it!
As a sports hypnotist and football performance expert, I know that football sports psychology is extremely important for recovering from an injury. Nobody likes to see an athlete get hurt at any time, especially a top NFL player like Michael Vick of the Philadelphia Eagles. However, when a football player is injured, his primary focus tends to be on physical recovery. Most players don’t realize they need mental and emotional recovery as well.
An injury brings more than physical affliction. (See Recovery Basics.) It also causes mental and emotional trauma, which often isn’t obvious until the player returns to the game. Maybe you’ve experienced this yourself, like after a concussion being scared to go in for the tackle. Another issue: when a player’s first game back doesn’t go well, he attributes it to the time off; but if the next few games are also poor, the player typically begins to fear that he may never get his game back, and he might even lose his starting job. (How to deal.)
I see this all the time with athletes looking to improve their game, especially football players. Upon discussion, they realize that fear is the big culprit holding them back. If you’re facing a similar issue, I can assure you that fear can be overcome. Read on to learn about the different types of fear you will face when returning from injury and how you can work to overcome them.

Fear of Pain and Re-injury

Injuries that sideline football players are usually pretty serious. But once they have rehabbed their bodies, they also need to rehab their minds to overcome the intense fear of re-injury. With tools like hypnosis and neural linguistic psychology, players can use the power of their mind to reduce or minimize pain. Most of my athlete clients have commented that their minds are clearer and their bodies tend to heal faster after using these or similar techniques.

Fear of Embarrassment

Mediocre play is considered embarrassing, especially for pro football players of prominent status. You may feel low after a dropped catch or poor pass. But can you put the embarrassment behind you and play good football? If it’s not dealt with, this fear can strip a player of his confidence. Without confidence, many players hang up their cleats and leave the game with a damaged heart. Banish the embarrassment and adopt your former attitude of having fun and loving the game. It will catapult you back in the right direction again.

Fear of Inconsistency

Football is a game of consistency, knowing when to strike, managing mistakes and working as a team. Whether the players compete with themselves or not is a troubling question. Without a winning belief that’s in tune with the other ten men on your team, it can be challenging to make the magic happen. Re-syncing a winning football mindset with focused training is a powerful tool, one that can propel a player with the right intention to recover from an injury.
At Philly Hypnosis Sports Performance, I’ve helped top football players like Peyton Manning and David Ackers win the mental game and succeed at their sport. I’ve done this by creating core confidence, honing the ability to release mistakes, focusing on correct thoughts in the moment, and cultivating a winning belief to produce “in the zone” results. We have helped hundreds of athletes turn up their game with The Stofka Method.