INDIANAPOLIS — Psychologist Elaine Gilbert knows a thing or two about the mental health of an athlete.
“We can think about training as not just training our bodies, but how do we train our mind,” Gilbert said. “How do we look at the controllable?”
Gilbert threw Javelin at Purdue University before pursuing a career in pediatric psychology.
Today, she works at the Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis.
During her time, Gilbert has studied the mental health of Olympians. In her findings, the coping mechanisms used on athletes can also be used by everyone.
“When we start to back up and really kind of think about the critical sides of how they're preparing and what they're doing to be successful, I think we can learn a lot as it's being modeled before us,” Gilbert shared.
Former Team USA olympian Erin Gilreath knows that first hand.
“The gravity of the situation is, that you had one opportunity to do it, so you want to capitalize and maximize on that opportunity," she said.
Gilreath competed in Hammer Throw during the 2004 games in Athens. She didn’t place but says she carries the lessons she learned.
“The thing that I take away from my experience the most is my Olympic experience was a single day in my life when I was 24-years-old,” Gilreath shared. “You can't ever fear failure because we're all so much more than our experiences.”
Gilreath now works to pass along her wisdom to the next generation of athletes.
“How are you going to cultivate your personality or your life in a way that reflects who you want to be?” she asked. “I think those are all important things to take going forward.”
Gilbert hopes everyone watching the Olympics takes a step back and applies the perseverance that it takes to compete at the world stage and apply it to their own lives.
“It's okay to invest in ourselves,” Gilbert said. “Keep pushing and keep going. And I think resilience is the key. So, how do we persevere and keep trying in spite of the hard?”
