s3/e46 Conquering Performance Anxiety with Dr. Leah Avery, DPT

Are you derailed by performance anxiety? Are you pinning your self-worth & whether your training cycle was "worth it" on if you PR'd or not? Dr. Leah Avery, DPT, joins the show today to talk about her experience in healing from debilitating performance anxiety and her relationship with athletic performance. Leah was a D1 All-American swimmer and competed at the Olympic Trials, but her relationship with sport and performance was anything but healthy; when she started running during her graduate work, she found herself stuck in a cycle of performance anxiety that culminated in panic attacks during not one, but two, different marathons. Determined to make a change in her relationship with performance, sport, and running, Leah has spent the past few years intentionally freeing herself from the expectations of performing in a certain way and re-finding her love of running and sport! Leah has been a practicing PT for nearly a decade which is also when she began here running career. Prior to that she was a competitive swimmer starting at the age of 8 and retired her senior year of college. During her career she was a D1 All-American and competed at the Olympic Trials. Leah’s athletic career was anything but linear and she faced many hardships which originally lead her to a career in physical therapy. However, after starting her running journey, it was clear she had an unhealthy relationship with athletics. Her mission is to help runners reach their potential in a healthy manner by treating the person, not just the runner. And help them understand that running adds value to our lives but it is not what makes us valuable.