“MENTAL SKILLS IS something that came into my life the hard way,” explains Alan O’Mara.
“I’ve always been very open and honest about my journey, that I didn’t have these skills. I didn’t have things like self-awareness, resilience, self-compassion.
“The good thing about them being a skill… I grew up playing soccer all my life; taking kicks, for example, he only got better if he practiced them. I couldn’t tell you how many hours I spent kicking a soccer ball through pillars in my garden, just practicing, over and over again.
“But I never did that from a mental skills perspective.”
The former Cavan goalkeeper talks about his latest project, the wellness series Real Talks with SOSAD Ireland.
Now, as a performance and wellness consultant living in New York, you may also know O’Mara as the founder of Real Talks and author of ‘The Best Is Yet to Come.’
A tie-up with SOSAD Ireland recently occurred, all parties involved came together to create an online wellness hub to promote positive mental health.
Then there are the powerful conversations with inspirational Irish figures, which have a common thread through guests like Leanne Kiernan, Rory O’Connor (Rory’s Stories) and David Balfe (musician, For Those I Love).
O’Mara would like to highlight the invaluable work and important services that SOSAD Ireland provides: a 24/7 helpline, crisis support, free advice for people in need and a message support service. of text.
Font: real talks/Youtube
“In addition to raising awareness about mental health, we also wanted to go a deeper level,” he explains.
“We really wanted to promote and highlight the real, tangible and practical services that SoSad provides for free to people.
“Then we also wanted to share trustworthy and empowering information with people who can help them. We are very fortunate with the quality and caliber of people who were willing to contribute.
“Rory’s Stories, Leanne Kiernan and David Balfe came to talk to me about various aspects of wellness. As well as getting people to talk about the struggles they are going through, there is also a focus on sharing what helped them deal with them.
“Those are the familiar faces exploring their life stories, their personal experiences. then around those chats I’m doing mental skills mini-masterclasses, which are really short and concise videos and podcasts that go through specific mental skills.
“Mental health awareness is very important. It’s so crucial that we keep doing that. But the next level of that is empowering people on a day-to-day basis and also highlighting services and support.”
O’Mara’s own story is well documented, her past struggles often intertwined with the sport. Mental health in sport is something that is being discussed more and more.
Leanne Kiernan is one of O’Mara’s guests on the podcast.
Source: Ryan Byrne/INPHO
Most obviously with Kiernan, an international and professional footballer for the Republic of Ireland at Liverpool FC, and to a lesser extent with O’Connor and Balfe.
“Sport is absolutely a huge part of all of their lives in different ways – Rory was the junior captain of Meath when he was younger, and that is something that kept him together in his teens because it gave them a sense of purpose and identity.
“Leanne, you have the opportunity to go to the UK when you were young. She’s a brilliant athlete, an extraordinarily talented soccer player, but then injuries come to her door and begin to chip away at her confidence. He opens up and tells us about the supporters he relates to, the struggles he’s been through, and basically how he rebuilds it back to be what it has become: a star and a shining light in the middle of one of the clubs. world’s largest soccer
“I know, as we speak, she just had a serious injury. In a way, she’s going to be lucky now because she’s experienced some of these things before. We talked about resiliency, and while I have no doubt that Leanne is being challenged right now, she can go back to what helped her before.
“I guess David’s is a little different. David might not be known for being a sportsman, but he is very much associated with Shelbourne FC. David’s best friend Paul committed suicide, he was an incredibly passionate fan of Shelbourne. David has spoken publicly about how sports was a place he could go after losing his friend, if only to reconnect and feel closer to him. Sport provided a place of positive escapism.”
Source: RealTalks/SOSAD/Alan O’Mara.
Self-awareness, resilience, self-compassion, authenticity, growth mindset, courage.
They are the master classes in mental skills and tools that can be referred to again and again.
Resilience is something O’Mara, like Kiernan, leans heavily on.
“It’s about looking back to try to find the crumbs that we could scrape together to help you embolden your resilience and know, ‘Okay, I’ve got some of that in my pocket that when life asks me to use it, I can use it. .’
“And if ever that’s not enough, what’s happened to me and basically everyone who appears on the show is, ‘I’m really struggling here. A bad day has turned into a bad week, maybe a bad week has turned into a bad month.
“I always say that once a bad week turns into a bad month and you start going up that ladder, it’s, ‘Okay, who can I talk to? Where can I communicate?
And that’s where SoSad Ireland comes in.
That’s the enduring message O’Mara wants to drive home.
O’Mara used to play in goal for Cavan.
Source: James Crombie/INPHO
“If anyone ever needs help, if they need support, if they need someone to talk to, SoSad Ireland is there. I’m pretty sure the show promotes that message of ‘We’re all human, we all have thoughts and feelings, we’re all challenged in different ways. Mental health is very important, wellness is very important. Here are some mental skills and here are some services to turn to.”
***
For more information see www.sosadireland.ie/real-talks/
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