Psychvancing

Self-Acceptance Part 1: Brainwaves To understand the effects of self-acceptance we have to first understand brainwaves. Brainwaves are the patterns of electrical pulses from neurons communication in the brain. This communication is the origin of all your thoughts, emotions and behaviours. And there are different types of brainwaves but the one we are focused on is Alpha waves because of all the benefits:... Eases anxiety. Lowers depression. Boosts creativity. Increases pain tolerance. Boosts resilience to stress. In his book Open Focus, Psychologist Les Fehmi conducted a study where he hooked himself up to an EEG to monitor his brain waves as he tried method to produce alpha brain waves. But, after many attempts to produce alpha brain waves via many methods, he gave up. He relaxed trying BUT fortunately fir him he was still hooked up to the machine and voilà, the EEG revealed that he had alpha waves 5 times the amount prior! This is where acceptance comes into play because it involves surrendering to the present moment. You can still act toward improving your situation but you are not resisting and fighting with what is. Acceptance can help in producing this optimal brain state and in part 2 I will explain Acceptance further and an exercise to can use to start the process of improving self-acceptance. #advanceyourmind #sportspsychology #psyche #mindbody #mentalwork #acceptance #resilience #foundation #fundamentals #rejuvenation #renewal #energy #mentalenergy #wellbeing #mind

Positive Psychology "Positive Psychology is the scientific study of the strengths that enable individuals and communities to thrive. The field is founded on the belief that people want to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives, to cultivate what is best within themselves, and to enhance their experiences of love, work, and play. "This field of psychology is perfect for development in sports. Why? Because:... - "Improve normal lives" (WIP) - "Identify and nurture high talent" (WIP) Most fields of psychology deals with: "cure mental illness" which is definitely needed. But what happens when we are not effected by our mental illness anymore? Can we still make mental improvements? Of course we can! In there are Character Strengths that improve the quality of life and sport. With the exercises I recommended in past posts, most of them are for reduction of negative mental symptoms. First, you should work toward reducing mental symptoms that negative effect your life then after that point that's where positive psychology comes in. Within Positive Psychology, there are assessment measure designed to identify an individual's profile of character strengths. One of them is the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS). There are 24 in all and they can be categorized in these groupings: 1. Strengths of restraint (fairness, humility, mercy, prudence)" 2. "Intellectual strengths (e.g., creativity, curiosity, love of learning, appreciation of beauty)" 3. "Interpersonal strengths (e.g., kindness, love, leadership, teamwork, playfulness)" 4. "Emotional strengths (e.g., bravery, hope, self-regulation, zest)" 5. "Theological strengths (e.g., gratitude, spirituality) (CSA, pg 632) Some these can help an athlete on court like teamwork and self-regulation for example and some can help with long-term growth like hope and humility. These strength can be utilized to make difference and they can be the deciding factors in the success of an athlete. #advanceyourmind References 1. Character Strength and Virtues by Christopher Peterson, Martin E.P. Seligman, Book. (CSA) 2. "What is Positive Psychology?" by Positivepsychology.org, Online Article.

Dreams The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. ~ Eleanor Roosevelt Dreams are very mysterious happenings that aren't really given much attention by scientist. But it caught my attention and I found some useful information about it ... What are dreams? Well dreams are a series of thoughts, images, and sensations occurring in a person's mind during sleep. Dreams mostly happen in the R.E.M. stage of sleep. But why do we have dreams? One theory is that "the hallucinatory nature of dreams [gives] the mind a sort of recess each night that could protect it from insanity during the day." Another theory that make dreams useful as an survival tool as a species is the "Threat Simulation Theory," which states that, "your ancestors’ brains adapted to simulate real-life threats in our dreams so that we would be prepared to cope with such dangers in waking life." And also the "Social Simulation Theory (SST) is a similar psychological model that looks at social interactions in dreams, from the friendly to the aggressive... If dangerous situations in dreams exist to prepare us for such threats in the world, then perhaps the many social encounters we dream up could be adaptive measures to aid our interactions as social beings." My next post will be part 2 on dreams and what their purpose can be in your life! #dreambaby #advanceyourmind #mentalhealth #mentaltoughness #dreams #REMsleep #sleep References Dictionary" by Oxford Languages, Online Resource. "The Role of Dreams in Human Survival" by Nicholas Gilmore, Online Article.

Burnout Part 3 You learn what burnout is why it happens and how to tell if you or a teammates is experience it; now what do we do about it? Well we can start with the mental exercises that I use for my anxiety that I talked about and explained in an earlier post. (which I will put a link in my story for you to look it over) There should be one day a week where you actually do absolutely nothingggg or something super light just to get the blood flowing. This might seem counter...intuitive to your growth but it is the other side of the coin in terms of growth so just as much focus should go towards rest and recovery as training and working out! As I mentioned before sleep is the MOST important for improvement because, in your sleep, your hard work in the gym is actualized mentally in the form of strengthened neuroconnections in the brain and physically in the form of muscle hypertrophy. (growth of muscle tissue after a hard workout) With my program, I'm creating, you will be able to log all your information and self-report how you feel. With this information, I will be about to craft a plan that's right for you where you will be able to work harder and smarter to maximize your growth in sports and your overall well being! #advanceyourmind #sportspsychology #psyche #mindbody #mentalwork #foundation #fundamentals #nba #nfl #burnout #rejuvenation #renewal #energy #mentalenergy #wellbeing #mind #selfawareness #meditation #mindfulness #wellbeing

Burnout Part 1 I remember in my last year in university olaying for the Winnipeg Wesmen; I felt like I can take the next step and improve on my previous year and accomplish big goals like helping my team make it to Nationals and becoming an All Canadian. Well what happened was the opposite; physically and mentally I was burnt out trying to constantly will myself to perform. I was listening to what people normally say to athletes instead of my own body and mind (like if your ...not getting the results you want then TRAIN HARDER) Through foundational mental work (better understanding of performance, meditation etc.) and foundational physical work (physio and chiropractor), I am creating a proper FOUNDATION to build upon. It's like the analogy of the Ferrari with the cheap engine, if you don't have a good engine the Ferrari will breakdown, without a good foundation the building will collapse and without psychological and physical groundwork you will burnout! I am preparing to share this information in the future so stay tuned! #advanceyourmind #Usports #sportspsychology #psyche #mindbody #mentalwork #foundation #fundamentals #nba #burnout #rejuvenation #renewal #energy #mentalenergy #wellbeing #mind