The most important thing I have learnt in this journey with Alessia is that I must not be afraid of disappointing people around me; they will love me anyway. I also have learnt to manage my anxiety by focussing on the positives. I have learnt not to think about people's judgment. When I have a competition I am in the zone and I think only about myself.
We all carry weights from the past that do not allow us to fly as high as we would like to. With Dr. Bruno we carried out a precise and targeted work. In a short span of time I was able to find strength and energy I did not even know I had inside of me. Changes were immediate and I achieved goals both in sport, windfoil, as well as in my personal life. I never thought these goals would be possible. Now I know that when the "road gets tougher" I have a powerful ally cheering and supporting me; my inner child who still lives inside of me.
I am twelve years old, and my passion is show jumping. I have grown up around horses and ridden since I could walk. It is my life. It is who I am. Last year, I suffered a severe knock of confidence, which was debilitating. It was so bad that it took my ability to even jump a cross pole. This made me very unhappy; I would even say depressed. It took something very special away from me, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t overcome my fears and get past this point. I continued to train and work with my coach, but I just could not regain the levels of self confidence and belief required for competition at the level I wished to compete. Eventually, my coach suggested trying a sports psychologist. We were sceptical about this at first, it seemed a long shot, but anything was worth a try, as I felt I had nothing left to lose. And if there was a chance of it giving me back what I had lost, it was worth a try. I hadn’t just lost my confidence; I had lost a huge part of myself.
We were put in touch with Alessia, and my sessions began. I had a course of 6 half an hour session, and in the beginning, I was doubtful as I was in such a bad place, I didn’t think anything would help. I saw no way of getting back to the level I was at previously. Alessia was so bright and happy, and put me at ease. Even though I was unsure how it could help, I continued and looked forward to speaking with her on a weekly basis, and by session number 5, I began to think differently, and after my last session, I almost had a moment where I took back what was always mine. I had just mislaid it for a while. Alessia has helped me more than she will ever know and given me back my most precious and most valued thing, show jumping. I am now back out competing, and I think I came back better and stronger, and more able to deal with and process things. Not only with my sport, but in life in general.
I am so grateful and so happy that I did the sessions, as without them, I don’t think I would have overcome my issues and moved forward to where I am today. If you are thinking of trying sports psychology, and you have reached a point where there is no hope, please give it a try, because there is, and it worked for me.
Thank you Alessia.