EPTI play relatively high level team sports in my country. Not professional by any means, but people including myself practice hard to have a chance at earning the possibility to play in another country where the level of play is higher. I am surrounded by great teammates and friends, and our club team has been successful in the last couple of years. I have less time to play Starcraft (which I was never that good at to begin with), but I have enjoyed the competition in T-Sports as well
However, this has come with a plethera of problems in my physical health, which I have noticed takes a large toll on my mental well-being. I try my best to prepare myself for healthy seasons, but afterwards I often find myself struggling to engage in off-season activities. Elbow ligaments, shoulders, back issues... Every year there's something that plagues me and sets me back from taking that next step forward. There's nothing worse than suddenly like 60% of your free time schedule being scrapped because you can't practice how you want to. I recognize that I may overthink and be oversensitive to a lot of things, but I feel like I have a hard time focusing on my "real life" responsibilities when I'm injured. It haunts me for hours a day that now the thing I should be doing is lying on the bed and doing nothing. In normal situations, I can flip the switch from work to sports to social life etc., but when can't do one of those things I enjoy, physical activities become sort of like a forbidden fruit in worst case scenarios. Simultaneously, every time something starts hurting, I get the fleeting fear that "this is the injury that ends my life as a player".
Another reason for mental fatigue is the financial side of injuries. Seeing a doctor, getting MRI scans or physical therapy are very expensive here, and in my position are not something I can just do when I feel like it. Public doctors are of course an option, but most of them don't really have a grasp on the fact that I in fact need to put stress on this part of my body as part of my activity.
It's hard to stay positive, but I try my best. I have been looking for some new indoor hobbies I could do to take my mind off of my interests, if anyone has suggestions or experiences I would greatly appreciate it.
If there's anything I've gained from experiencing these trials, it's these two things:
1. Be grateful for your health. There's a lot of people that are terminally ill or in a lot worse situation than you are, so don't take your well-being for granted. Even playing SK Terran with no wrist-pain is not something everyone can do
2. Be patient; things will get better in due time.
Thanks for reading if you got this far.
![[image loading]](https://i.imgur.com/4jYP3K0.jpeg)
