Checking in On Your Wellness, with Dr. Kaye Cole and former member Scott Day

College Sports Communicators

ON-DEMAND Teachable Tuesday Webinar presented by Capital One Checking in On Your Wellness Your emotional, mental and physical health. Panelists: Dr. Kaye Cole – University of Iowa Athletics, Mental Health Therapist and Consultant Scott Day – Sean's House SL24: Unlocke The Light, Director of Communications and Operations / Former CoSIDA member and SID Moderator: Mike Kern – Missouri Valley Conference, Associate Commissioner As we turn the page from the crossover fall and winter seasons and into the new year, we held this webinar to discuss issues facing SIDs around your emotional, mental and physical health. The panelists gave guidance on self-care strategies and ways to help you ask for help if you are struggling with anxiety, depression, frustration, anger, failure to prioritize, and more. These topics were covered and insights were offered for: • helping you recognize warning signs of anxiety, burnout, frustration and depression ... what constitutes burnout? • stop grinding and wearing "the grind mentality and massive hours of work" as a badge of honor • sharing advice and strategies on empowering you to address these issues with colleagues, superiors, family and friends • the danger of viewing yourself through the prism of your job and the dangers of defining yourself primarily through your job • how to do "radical self-care" and truly take charge of your life, not allowing the job to dominate your actions and thinking; the importance of being agressive and radical about taking care of yourself - all the time • taking inventory of your coping strategies, whether they be healthy and unhealthy coping strategies, and how to examine them, set your own personal goals, and push forward in a positive direction ... silencing your inner critic, • setting priorities • how to break through the difficulties of talking to a supervisor about your mental/physical health concerns, and ways to open up a conversation about it • how to help others if you sense they are struggling, or, how to talk to them if they reach out to you and tell you that they are concerned about their mental health • how do you calm yourself/decompress during the holiday season? • the importance of having a "safe space, a corner of safe people" to trust and open up to • how to stop comparing yourself to others and looking to others for validation; presenter Scott Day attributed this quote to college men's basketball coach Shaka Smart, who he worked with at VCU: "Comparison is the thief of joy. Dr. Cole is on the University of Iowa athletics staff as its mental health therapist and consultant and works closely with student-athletes and staff on issues of mental health (depression, performance anxiety, panic disorders, other mental and emotional conditions.) Day previously was a CoSIDA member and athletic communications administrator, serving at the University of Delaware, University of Richmond, VCU and Monmouth. Day speaks openly and honestly about his riveting and personal struggles with depression, weight gain and suicidal thoughts. He currently serves as communications and operations director for the Unlocke The Light Foundation which is dedicated to unlocking the students' light by providing resources for those struggling with depression, self-injury and suicide.