athlete supportConfidenceinjury recoveryMindsetPsychologyTrust
Trusting the Process: The Missing Piece in Injury Recovery for Teen Girl Athletes
“Oh no!”
I stared at the blank screen.
Everything I had just written was gone.
Hundreds of words. Thoughts that had been flowing effortlessly. Ideas that felt important and meaningful. Lost in an instant when my mouse froze and my screen stopped responding.
My first reaction was frustration and panic.
And then I caught myself.
Trust.
Trust that the words weren’t really gone.
Trust that the message was still inside me.
Trust that I could begin again.
As I sat down to rewrite, I realized this experience mirrored something I see all the time in my work with teen girl athletes recovering from injury.
Recovery requires trust.
And trust is often one of the most overlooked parts of healing.
The Recovery We See and the Recovery We Don't
When an athlete gets injured, there is usually a path forward for physical recovery.
Appointments are booked.
Exercises are prescribed.
Treatment plans are created.
Athletes connect with physiotherapists, athletic therapists, chiropractors, physicians, massage therapists, and other skilled professionals who help guide the healing process.
These professionals play an incredibly important role. Physical rehabilitation is essential and remains the gold standard of injury recovery.
But there is another side of recovery that often receives far less attention: The psychological and emotional side.
For many teen girl athletes, an injury is never just an injury. It can feel like losing a piece of yourself.
The Hidden Emotional Impact of Injury
When a teen athlete is injured, she isn’t simply recovering from a physical setback.
She’s also navigating:
- Fear about whether she will fully recover.
- Worry about losing her position on the team.
- Anxiety about falling behind.
- Frustration with physical limitations.
- Disappointment about missed opportunities.
- Isolation from teammates and friends.
- Pressure to return quickly.
- Concerns about letting others down.
- Uncertainty about who she is without her sport.
And often questions such as these begin to surface:
What if I don’t recover?
What if I’m never the same athlete again?
What if I lose my spot?
What if everyone moves on without me?
Who am I if I can’t play?
These thoughts can be frightening. And while they are incredibly common, they are not talked about openly. Instead, they often stay inside. Adding weight to an already difficult recovery process.
Why Mental and Emotional Recovery Matters
Our minds and bodies are constantly communicating with one another. When fear, stress, self-doubt, frustration, or isolation build up, they influence how we experience recovery. An athlete may begin avoiding rehabilitation exercises because she feels discouraged.
She may push too hard because she’s afraid of falling behind. Or ignore signals from her body because she feels pressure to prove she’s ready.
It’s easy to become disconnected from yourself entirely. This is why supporting emotional recovery is not a luxury.
It is part of the healing process.
When teen girl athletes feel emotionally supported, they are often better able to cope with setbacks, stay engaged in rehabilitation, advocate for their needs, and navigate the uncertainty that recovery naturally brings.
The Role of Trust in Healing
One of the most important skills a teen girl athlete (or anyone for that matter!) can develop during recovery is trust. Deepening trust in yourself, body, experience, and intuition can help you navigate challenges one step at a time.
And in a world full of external opinions, recovery can become noisy. Because advice comes from every direction including:
Coaches.
Teammates.
Parents.
Social media.
Other athletes.
Healthcare professionals.
While guidance is valuable, there is also wisdom that comes from learning to listen inwards. Recovery isn’t just something that happens to an athlete. It is something she actively participates in.
And trust helps you become an active participant in your healing process.
For many teen girl athletes, an injury is never just an injury. It can feel like losing a piece of yourself.
Learning to Listen to Yourself
Trust begins with awareness. Before you can trust yourself, you need to be able to hear yourself.
One way to begin is through intentional check-ins throughout the day.
Pause for a moment.
Take a breath.
Ask yourself:
- What am I noticing right now?
- How am I feeling?
- Which sensations are present in my body?
- What thoughts keep returning?
- What do I need in this moment?
You might be scrolling your phone or talking with a friend or completing those leg exercises your physio added to your treatment plan.
The practice doesn’t need to be complicated. It simply requires tuning your attention. The more often you pause and listen, the easier it becomes to recognize what is happening within you.
And the easier it becomes to respond with care.
Writing Your Way Back to Yourself
Another powerful way to strengthen self-trust is through journalling. In your way. Getting thoughts out of your head and onto paper (or on your phone) creates space.
Sometimes it can help you understand what you’re feeling more clearly when you see it written down. A journal can become a place to explore fears, celebrate progress, process frustration, and notice patterns.
Often athletes discover thoughts they didn’t even realize they were carrying. Awareness creates understanding. Understanding creates clarity. And clarity strengthens trust.
The Power of Being Heard
Trust can also grow through connection.
Talking with someone who feels safe can be incredibly healing.
This might be:
- A parent.
- A coach.
- A trusted friend.
- A therapist.
- A mentor.
- Another athlete who understands.
The key isn’t finding someone with all the answers. It’s about finding someone who can listen without judgment. Someone who creates enough safety for you to speak honestly.
Often, when you say things out loud, you can gain new insights that you didn’t notice before.
Sometimes being heard helps to hear yourself more clearly.
Keeping Small Promises to Yourself
One of the most practical ways to build self-trust is surprisingly simple. And I love this one because it works, it challenges me, and it works! (Yes I said it works twice on purpose)
Keep promises to yourself. All of them, big and small. The kind you can consistently follow through on.
If you say you’re going to do your rehab exercises for 5 minutes in the morning, do them.
If you say you’re going to stretch before practice, stretch before practice.
If you say you’re going to take a recovery day, take a recovery day.
If you say you’re going to get that chore done before 4pm,….well you get the idea!
Each time you follow through, you send yourself a message:
“I can count on me.”
Trust is built through repetition. One small act of integrity at a time. Just like strengthening a muscle, self-trust grows through practice.
You Are The Most Important Part of Your Recovery
One of the greatest misconceptions about recovery is that healing is something that professionals do for us. The reality is that recovery is a partnership.
Your healthcare team provides one part.
Your coaches another.
Your family and friends yet another.
And you bring something extremely important.
You bring your lived experience, awareness, voice, and your ability to listen, advocate, and participate in your own healing. This matters tremendously. Injury recovery is about more than healing tissues, restoring strength, or returning to sport. It is also about healing fear while rebuilding confidence, navigating uncertainty, and learning to trust yourself again.
Physical rehabilitation will always be a vital part of recovery. But when we also care for the emotional and psychological aspects of healing, we create space for something deeper than recovery alone.
We create opportunities for growth and self-discovery. And perhaps that trust becomes one of the most valuable things you carry with you long after the injury has healed.
Because you’ve begun to learn, one moment at a time, that you could trust yourself to move through hard things and come out stronger on the other side.
Let’s Keep Walking Together
If this message resonated with you, you’re already part of the community.
I appreciate you!
I’d love to invite you into our email community, a caring online space where we share 2–3 thoughtful notes each week with resources, tools, and real-life encouragement for raising (and being) resilient teen girls.
No pressure. No perfection. Just support, insight, and a lot of “oh wow, that makes sense.”
Let’s walk this path together with presence, courage, and a little more ease.
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With gratitude,
Chantal
