Photo credit, property of Ezra Shaw via Getty Images, fair use
Since my youth, I’ve enjoyed watching females perform at the Olympics in beach volleyball, track and field, and gymnastics. Regarding the latter, I was excited to observe Simone Biles having reportedly become the most decorated United States (U.S.) gymnast in history.
Congratulations to her!
I can only imagine the amount of stress an Olympian faces when performing on the world stage. A demand for perfection from a fallible human being seems like the sort of pressure from which irrational beliefs would wreak havoc on emotions and behavior.
I suspect that if I were able to compete at such a high level I’d benefit from use of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) in order to reduce the level of self-disturbance caused by such unproductive beliefs. For clarity, it may be useful to briefly describe REBT techniques.
REBT theory uses the ABC model to illustrate how when Activating events (“Actions”) occur and people maintain irrational Beliefs about the events, these unhelpful assumptions – and not the actual occurrences – are what create unpleasant cognitive, emotive, bodily sensation, and behavioral Consequences.
In particular, there are four predominate irrational beliefs which people use: demandingness, awfulizing, low frustration tolerance (LFT), and global evaluations. Addressing these, the ABC model incorporates Disputation of unhelpful assumptions in order to explore Effective new beliefs.
From a psychological standpoint, people disturb themselves using a Belief-Consequence (B-C) connection. Of course, this isn’t to suggest that in the context of the naturalistic or physical world there is no Action-Consequence (A-C) connection.
As an example, when Biles slipped and fell off a balance beam (Action), she was drawn to the floor (Consequence). In the physical world, gravity pulls a person downward toward the ground in an A-C fashion.
Still, if Biles were to unhelpfully Believe, “It’s unbearable that I didn’t earn a gold medal,” then she would likely have disturbed herself into an sorrowful disposition (Consequence). LFT narratives of this sort cause unpleasant B-C outcomes.
Thus, when working with people using REBT, I help individuals to stop upsetting themselves through use of B-C connections, though I can’t fully resolve their A-C connections. Gravity still works even when its effects may be inconvenient for Olympians.
Furthermore, REBT uses the technique of unconditional acceptance to relieve suffering. This is accomplished through use of unconditional self-acceptance, unconditional other-acceptance, and unconditional life-acceptance.
Regarding demandingness, people often use absolutistic forms of should, must, and ought-type statements which cause self-disturbance. However, not all should statements of this sort are rigid or will create an opportunity for people to upset themselves.
For instance, I recently learned of a recommendatory should-type statement used by Biles, as she expressed, “[Y]ou guys really gotta stop asking athletes what’s next after they win a medal at the Olympics.” Use of “gotta” in this context represents a should-type narrative.
Describing her statement, one source clarified, “Simone took to social media to express her frustration with the line of questioning reporters are opting for in Paris.” Rather than a self-upsetting belief, Biles ostensibly issued a recommendation to reporters.
Apparently, reporters didn’t focus on Biles’ immediate accomplishment (Action), the Olympian used a recommendatory should-type statement (Belief), and as a result of her non-disturbing assumption Biles issued what could be considered a helpful social media post (Consequence).
This recommendation from the top U.S. gymnast isn’t something representative of self-disturbance. Unsurprisingly, the highly successful athlete has apparently received mental, emotional, and behavioral health care, and it shows.
According to one source, “Biles, who has talked about the importance of taking care of her mental health during these Games after each of her golden performances, has said she’s speaking with her therapist every morning before competition and religiously every Thursday.”
Excusing the comment on religiosity, because I don’t view mental health care as that which regards religious experience, I applaud Biles’ apparent advocacy for mental health care. Looking after her B-C connection seems to have benefited the Olympian quite a bit.
If you, too, would like to engage in healthy beliefs which impact the way you feel (emotions and bodily sensations) and behave, REBT may be a psychotherapeutic modality that could work for you. If you’d like to know more, I look forward to hearing from you.
If you’re looking for a provider who works to help you understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life—helping you to sharpen your critical thinking skills, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.
As a psychotherapist, I’m pleased to help people with an assortment of issues ranging from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters.
At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply helping you to feel better, I want to help you get better!
Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW
References:
Biles, S. [@Simone_Biles]. You guys really gotta stop asking athletes what’s next after they win a medal at the Olympics [Post]. X. Retrieved from https://x.com/Simone_Biles/status/1820027555270754717
Buhler, A. (2024, July 31). Simone Biles becomes most decorated U.S. Olympic gymnast, leads Team USA to women’s team gold. NBC Universal. Retrieved from https://www.nbcolympics.com/news/simone-biles-becomes-most-decorated-us-olympic-gymnast-leads-team-usa-womens-team-gold
Feldscher, K. (2024, August 3). Simone Biles spent years working on her mental health after Tokyo. It’s made her an unstoppable force in Paris. CNN. Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/03/sport/simone-biles-rebeca-andrade-vault-final-paris-olympics-spt-intl/index.html
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NBC News. (2024, August 5). Simone Biles falls short of podium after beam slip-up. NBC Universal. Retrieved from https://www.nbcnews.com/video/simone-biles-misses-podium-after-falling-during-balance-beam-final-216422469735
Salt, O. (2024, August 4). Simone Biles fumes over Olympics habit which needs to ‘stop’ after winning third gymnastics gold medal at Paris 2024. Daily Mail. Retrieved from https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/olympics/article-13707221/simone-biles-olympics-2024-paris-gymnastics.html
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Wikipedia. (n.d.). Simone Biles. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simone_Biles
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