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! 

Today's is with Miranda Bacon, former D1 Swimmer from the University of New Hampshire where she was a 9-Time All-America East recipient, a 2-Time inductee into the National College Athlete Honors Society, and she supported her team to 3 America East Championships out of her 4 years!

Miranda talks about her mental health journey from noticing her mood shift in high school, being sexually assaulted during her spring break freshman year as well as being diagnosed with depression, anxiety, and PTSD.  Miranda gives us a glimpse into her mind and everything she has learned along the way with taking care of her mental health!  

Other topics include;

• Her panic attack experiences
• How she felt about her diagnosis
• Advice about going to therapy + getting the help you need

Trigger Warning: Topics of sexual assault and trauma are talked about in this episode so if that is triggering for you, please do not listen to this episode!

Links

Connect with Miranda on Instagram: @mirbacon

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 all about slowing down. As an athlete, we are told to always push through and keep working until we win but is that really benefitting us? Throughout my career, especially at my lowest points, I felt like I just needed to work harder, and then it would finally click but it didn't.

When we are told to slow down by coaches or even our parents, that's the last thing we want to do! After feeling defeated day after day, I finally stopped and realized that I needed to go back to basics, and look at the stress and pressure I was putting on myself. Looking back, I can see why I wasn't performing at my best.

Points I'll dig into in this episode are;

• What I used to believe about being a successful athlete
• Why slowing down is so important to do especially when stressed
• Tips on how to slow down and figure out what's making you anxious

Links

Follow the Podcast on Instagram: @barrierstobreakthroughspodcast

Contact me 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 & Spotify!

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 features former track and field athlete Amanda Whitham! This high jumper and hurdler competed for Bryant University where she's a Top-10 Bryant record holder in pentathlon + 60m hurdles! Amanda also served as co-president for the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), and was a Senior Service Commencement honoree!

Amanda had so much momentum going into her junior year until it ended abruptly after a serious ankle injury. With the universal adjustment to COVID in Spring 2020, Amanda faced the absence of her season & her confidence. Facing chronic self-doubt + anxiety, her final 2 years at Bryant were filled with major self-discovery above all.

Themes throughout this episode will be around motives, why it’s important to know your WHY of competing, identifying who you are as a person outside of sports and why exploring your identity in different facets of life makes sports more fun! 

Topics include;

• Her daily struggle with self-image & worthiness during injury recovery 
• Mantras & strategies to break through the trap of “self-limiting beliefs”  
• Ways to push past “imposter syndrome” & make an impact in your community 
• Advice on where to start with finding your identity, from small steps to big leaps

Links

Connect with Amanda

Instagram- @amandawhittt
LinkedIn- Amanda C. Whitham
TikTok- @mindfulmandi

Amanda’s Essentials

1. For girl boss vibes: playlist link here!
2. For self-discovery: The 4 Agreements - Don Miguel Ruiz 
3. For deep sleep: playlist link here!

Follow the Podcast on Instagram: @barrierstobreakthroughspodcast

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! 

My mental health has not been great these past few months. Feeling stressed about all the things I want to achieve, and feeling guilty when I want to rest (which makes me more stressed)!

This was an episode that I've been wanting to do and at the same time, I've been talking myself out of doing it. I want to be open and honest about what I'm going through and how I'm feeling like my guests have each week. 

I hope you'll feel heard during this episode and know that I understand how you feel! 

Specific talking points include;

• Negative beliefs from being an athlete that show up in life
• Noticing what triggers me
• What I've learned about myself in 2021

Links

Follow the Podcast on Instagram: @barrierstobreakthroughspodcast

Rate + Review on Apple Podcasts & Now on Spotify!

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 features Sofia Borea, a former D1 soccer player who played for the University of New Hampshire! During her time at UNH, she played in every single game, and achieved the America East All-Rookie Team honor in her freshman year!

In this episode, we talk about many important topics athletes face during their careers and especially when they retire from their sport. Sofia first talks about her time at UNH where she struggled with her anxiety, body image, and perfectionist tendencies that affected how she felt about herself. She then goes into how the covid pandemic affected her career and mental health where she went through depression after losing her sport.

Sofia shares some amazing advice from what she wanted to hear as an athlete to ways you can show yourself more self-love on and off the field!

Specific Topics Include:

• Receiving comments about her body and how that made her feel
• Craving external validation from people during and after sports
• Losing motivation to workout as a retired-athlete
• Creating a fitness account inspired by those difficult times

Links

Follow Sofia on Instagram: @sofiaborea + @sofboreafitness

To all my former athletes out there... follow @sofboreafitness to get inspired to workout again! I love how real and honest she is about how she's feeling and lets you know that you're not alone if you're not motivated! Go check it out here!

Follow the Podcast on Instagram: @barrierstobreakthroughspodcast

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!