What Pressure and Peer Pressure Can Feel Like
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Pressure to prioritize the team’s success over your own health
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Pushing yourself to “overcome” symptoms rather than take care of them
Tips
Avoiding overexertion
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Figuring out your routine: Staying hydrated, taking snack and water breaks that are healthy for your body
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Making sure you are getting enough nutrition and nutrients
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Physical stress adds to other stress (academic, mental, etc.)
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Prioritize health and school over additional stress from sports
Advocating for yourself in team situations
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How to talk to coaches or athletic teachers - Get doctor’s note
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Communication - Do not be afraid to speak up
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Eating with your team - Team dinners or provided snacks at games
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Make sure to know in advance what they have vs what you want to bring for yourself​
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Athletics and IBD
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Competitive Athletics: Perspective from Kathleen Baker - Olympic Swimmer with Crohn's
![Kathleen_Baker.jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/fb6259_9f50c17d45b64c6f8c65185e1507af61~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_401,h_401,al_c,lg_1,q_80,enc_auto/Kathleen_Baker.jpg)
Source: Kathleen Baker's Official Twitter Page
Her practice plan:
"They designed a unique practice plan that cut against everything Baker had come to believe. She would practice once a day, not twice. She would go home on weekends and be with her family and see friends — all those normal things. After treatments, she took more time away from the pool. Marsh would watch her very closely to see if Crohn’s was crushing her, and on those days he would tell her to stop."
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Her mother, Kimberly said, "She had been raised to believe that hard work is what gets you places in life. And now we were telling her that hard work doesn’t work for her. And it doesn’t – in her case, it’s the opposite. She has to work smarter. She has worked on her technique, on perfecting her turn, on things like that."
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Source: NBC Story on Kathleen Baker
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