As a competitive athlete for twenty years, my sole focus was working to be better than other people. Then my body broke down and my mind and identity soon followed. Lost in the abyss of post-competitve depression and unable to find the help I needed, I set out to fix myself, both physically and mentally. The start was a mindshift to cooperation, and a mission to share what I once would have greedily hoarded for myself. This site is a living document to what I’ve figured out, with hopes that it makes for a little less hurt in the world.
– Christine Ruffolo
Three simple steps towards a state of satisfaction: 1. Get hurt. Physically, this is a no brainer. That skill or peak performance will not seem as important as getting out of pain. Mental-emotionally, this might be even more obvious.… Read more ›
My previous post got into the shame and embarrassment that prevents many of us from addressing issues with parts connected to sex or excrement. This one is more objective, looking at anatomy and physics. When you seek to understand the… Read more ›
This feature photo shows an unstaged photo of the top drawer of my filing cabinet in my locker room office. Note the bounty of certain items (that aren’t snacks). Shorts, pads, some extra underwear — all tell tale signs… Read more ›
I define performance for the purpose of this article as, “the peak execution of a skill at a particular point in time.” Though sometimes cooperative, there is most often an element of competition involved. For most athletes and artists, the… Read more ›
