ANXIETY
Anxiety is one of the main enemies of an athlete's successful recovery after injury. Research shows that a high level of anxiety can seriously hinder rehabilitation.
What does anxiety do?
Meta-analyses confirm it: it lowers motivation, worsens general well-being and pushes people toward harmful coping strategies.
Its dangerous forms:
In the early stages anxiety disguises itself as:
▪️Catastrophising: "The very worst is definitely going to happen to me!".
▪️Suppressing emotion: "I'm strong, it doesn't hurt and I'm not scared" (a lie to yourself).
▪️A route into addiction: an attempt to numb the emotional pain.
The two main faces of anxiety:
- State anxiety — can recede for a while after good physical results.
- Trait anxiety — the main enemy. It stays high even once the body has healed, and can lead to depression, especially if your whole identity is "I am an athlete".
The key point: fear of re-injury (of the knee, say) can live in your head for years. And with low self-efficacy even the pain is felt more sharply.
What do you do?
First and foremost, recognise that working with anxiety and fear is as much a part of rehabilitation as physiotherapy and exercise therapy.
Ignoring it means deliberately slowing your own return.
P.S. Athletes with a history of injury show higher levels of anxiety on average. What you are feeling is entirely normal and, most importantly, it can be put right.