Mental Health In Dance & Competitive Sports

Being a therapist wasn’t my dream job. Being a dancer was.

But I came to dance late — just before my 18th birthday — ancient by dance standards. Still, I was determined and auditioned to be a dance major in college.

Dance training shaped me more as a person than as a dancer. Dance taught me discipline, perseverance, and the ability to tolerate failure. From the beginning, I knew I had to work twice as hard as everyone else because I started so late.

The mental toughness I learned as a dance trainee is the reason for every success I’ve experienced in my life.

But it wasn’t all good. The dance world can be dark, and I didn’t walk away unscathed. There’s a "tough love" mentality that gets passed down from one generation to the next, leaving many dancers with emotional scars.

The relentless drive for perfection often leaves dancers dealing with anxiety, body image struggles, and levels of insecurity that can follow them for life.

If this sounds familiar to you, it’s because dance shares many of the same pressures and psychological challenges as competitive sports.

Today’s guest knows this all too well.

Dr. Chelsea Pierotti is a former professional ballet dancer turned sports psychologist. She understands the emotional wounds that can come from both dance and sports and is here to talk about the mental health challenges in these high-pressure environments.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• The psychological toll that comes with competitive sports.
• The warning signs that a training environment is crossing into unhealthy territory.
• How athletes and dancers can build resilience without internalizing the message that they need to suffer for excellence.

Xxoo Darcy

CREDITS

“We Need To Talk With Dr. Darcy Sterling” is a Sterling Standard Production. Editing and sound engineering by Bart Migal. Our theme music is by Trending Music. Special thanks to Amanda Cristiani and Preston Smith.

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#BodyImage #WeNeedToTalkWithDrDarcy #Therapy #CouplesCounseling #CouplesTherapy #DrDarcySterling #DoctorDarcySterling #DrDarcy #DrChelseaPierotti

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