Doctors at the hospital and even
athletes in the Olympics reminding us the
importance of putting mental health first.
That's a big part of this component.
If you don't, then you're not
going to enjoy your sport,
and you're not going to
succeed as much as you want to,
so it's OK sometimes to even sit out the
big competitions to focus on yourself,
because it shows how strong of a
competitor in person that you really are.
Now we saw this week.
Team USA gymnast Simone Biles
withdraw from team competition on
the world stage because she says
she wasn't in the right headspace.
She's not the first superstar to make this
kind of move on an international stage.
Naomi Osaka stepped away from
the French Open this year,
citing depression and anxiety.
Doctor Allison Chase is a clinical
psychologist with Pathlight mood
and anxiety center here in Austin.
Thanks for being here with us.
Sure, thanks for having me.
What was your reaction when
you saw Simone Biles?
Step away from competition
this week. You know it was twofold.
On one hand, my my heart went out to
her 'cause there's no doubt she must
be suffering significantly and as well.
I was so glad that she was highlighting
and illuminating the fact that
mental health and challenges
emotional challenges impact everyone.
Even the greatest of all time, right?
So it's it's really important to
recognize that nobody can escape it,
and it is so important.
To be able to to bring attention
to it so that there are many,
many millions that are suffering
all the time.
And so I really,
I really applaud those that are willing
to take a stance to talk about it.
There are so many people under
increasing pressure right now stresses
the thought of wearing masks again
with school getting ready to start.
How do we help our kids through all of
this, it's it's really hard.
Well, you really need to give here your
children also a space to talk about it,
and I think that that is always an
important conversation to have technology.
The fact that the anxiety, the stress,
that the wariness of it all is is very real.
And it's very scary.
At the same time.
So super important to be able.
To have a conversation and to talk about it,
and it's really important,
especially with your kids to be looking for
the kind of signs that that we worry about.
Which is significant change in behaviors.
So that might be sleeping.
It might be eating their mood might shift
their interactions with their peers.
I know it's been an odd sort of year,
year and a half,
so I I know what is normal is
a little bit different now,
but it's really important to to
clue into those factors 'cause you
do not want to miss early signs.
Of a mental illness.
Is
it important to? I mean I,
I think about like our news business.
It's hard for us sometimes to get
away from it in this business.
It's hard for medical
professionals to get away from it.
What kind of recommendations
do you have for people who
are in that bubble all the time?
It is really hard. So yes,
I think when you can sort of put down,
put down all the extra information
for a moment is is really,
really important.
I also think it's really important
for self care and whether what do
I mean by that is being able to.
Utilize those that you support your
your network to be able to talk to,
to be able to take it to have enjoyable
time in conversation with where you're
allowing yourself just to sort of take
a minute to revive yourself again,
right, to be able to gain the strength
that you know I heard earlier that
you know speaking to frontline
workers that are just exhausted
and and we get that in the mental
health profession we were seeing.
We're seeing so much as well,
and so it's really important
when you can take a minute to.
To take care of yourself,
because that's the only way that
you're going to be able to do the
job that needs to be done to take
care of those that need you to.
I know adversity is kind of an important
thing for us to learn how to deal with.
There's been some discussion that
maybe we as parents are partly
to blame for how our kids kind
of handle situations like this.
So is there a way for us to kind of
set up those situations that will
make them be able to, you know,
better prepare for events that
may come into their life in
the future. You you've asked a magical
and such an important question,
and I say that because
I could not agree more.
About how important it is for
parents to be thinking about setting,
setting their children up to be
successful as they move into adulthood
and that starts at a really young age.
So what it means is is having kids
try things out right?
Try out the things that
make them uncomfortable,
that maybe make them a little bit
nervous that you know even even simple
things like you know having to go
sort of ask a question by themselves
or having to do something of that
nature where they're being supported.
And they're being guided,
but they're doing something
that's a little bit scary.
What it does is it ends up teaching
children that they are capable and
that they are able to handle these
really uncomfortable situations,
and you continue to do that at
what we would call developmentally
appropriate stages, kind of,
depending on the age they are.
But you'll find that you will end up
with children that are much better
able to handle what we call emotional
tolerance when situations are really,
really really challenging,
as opposed to.
Shutting down and and and not
wanting to to fulfill it,
Doctor Allison Chase,
a clinical psychologist with
Pathlight here in Austin.
Thanks so much for joining
us. Thank you. Great information.