Today's guest is Olympic gold medalist Kasia Gruchalla-Wesierski. After years of competing in World Cup events and making the national team, Kasia qualified to be in the women’s 8 event for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. With just over a month until the Olympics, Kasia had a horrific bike crash where she broke her collarbone and had to get several stitches. With everything considered, she still competed in the Olympics and earned the gold medal no less.

Specific topics include;

• How she was able to recover so quickly
• What to do when doubtful thoughts creep in
• How to mentally prepare for big competitions

Guest Links

Kasia's Instagram: @kasiagdub
AG Sports Agent: agsportsinc.com/team/kasia

Let's Connect!

Follow the Podcast on Instagram: @barrierstobreakthroughspodcast

Please reach out if you want to be featured on the podcast + any questions you have: emmapwoodhouse@gmail.com OR dm me through the Instagram page above!

Rate + Review on Apple Podcasts

If you are loving the podcast, please consider leaving a review! It helps the show to support other athletes << just like you >> to feel less alone with what they're going through! Click here or scroll down, tap to rate 5 stars, and select "Write a Review"! Be sure to let me know what you love most about the episode! 

Today's episode is with marathon runner and OCD and mental health advocate Cali Werner! Cali is a former D1 track athlete out of Rice University where she received a National Honorable Mention in track! Cali now has a master’s degree in social work from Baylor University specializing in OCD, she’s an author of a Children’s book called Anxious Annie (which we get into in the episode) AND to add more to her amazing life resume, she competed in the Olympic trails in 2020 in the marathon! 

Cali opens up about her life and athletic experiences with OCD and how those OCD behaviors really affected her performance! She also gives a great description of what OCD truly is, the different subtypes and common misconceptions. Get ready to learn and understand what it's like to have OCD!

Other topics include:

• Recognizing certain OCD behaviors especially in competitions 
• Some advice she would give her younger self
• What it was like to write a book about her experiences

Links

Follow Cali on Instagram: @caliroperwerner
Check out her Book - Anxious Annie here!

Learn About OCD:

• iocdf.org
• peaceofmind.com

Let's Connect!

Follow the Podcast on Instagram: @barrierstobreakthroughspodcast

Please reach out if you want to be featured on the podcast + any questions you have: emmapwoodhouse@gmail.com OR dm me through the Instagram page above!

Rate + Review on Apple Podcasts

If you are loving the podcast, please consider leaving a review! It helps the show to support other athletes << just like you >> to feel less alone with what they're going through! Click here or scroll down, tap to rate 5 stars, and select "Write a Review"! Be sure to let me know what you love most about the episode! 

Today's episode is with professional hockey player Reagan Rust! She is a former D1 hockey player who played for RIT and then Boston University where she was inducted into the Beanpot Hall of Fame and was actually the first women’s D1 hockey player to come from Mississippi! Reagan is also a mental health advocate, podcast host of the Unpaved Path Podcast, and founder of the Female Athlete Society.

This episode is filled with amazing stories that are both heartwarming and shocking! She talks about her childhood hockey trips where she would have to drive MANY hours just to get to the one hockey rink in the state! She goes into detail about her mental health struggles especially in the darkest moments of her life, and then she brings that all together to talk about what she’s up to now and how she’s advocating for people who deal with their mental health battles every day.

Other topics include:

• Advice on going to therapy 
• Getting out of your comfort zone
• Shifting your beliefs on mental health

Trigger Warning! Topics of suicide and suicidal thoughts are talked about in this episode so if that is triggering for you, please do not listen to this episode.

Links:

Reagan's Instagram: @rea.rust
Listen to her podcast: The Unpaved Path Podcast
The Female Athlete Society: @femaleathletesociety

Let's Connect!

Follow the Podcast on Instagram: @barrierstobreakthroughspodcast

Please reach out if you want to be featured on the podcast + any questions you have: emmapwoodhouse@gmail.com OR dm me through the Instagram page above!

Rate + Review on Apple Podcasts

If you are loving the podcast, please consider leaving a review! It helps the show to support other athletes << just like you >> to feel less alone with what they're going through! Click here or scroll down, tap to rate 5 stars, and select "Write a Review"! Be sure to let me know what you love most about the episode!