Welcome back to the NCS podcast! I was stoked to get this episode request as it's such an important topic, which is why it's the longest episode yet. I not only share my lived experience with social support through my NCS process in this episode, but I also go full professor mode sharing the research regarding social support as it pertains to "injury", which, in this case, regards being diagnosed with and subsequently treated for NCS.
As a friendly reminder, I am also a sport psychology professor. Prior to becoming a professor, I worked in an applied setting doing mental performance consulting with injured athletes. While NCS is not a sport-specific injury, the research pertaining social support within that space applies here. In this episode, I provide more specifics on how the social support person's personality, history of stressors, and coping mechanisms might interact with that of the NCS patient's. What you can do to act as a buffering effect for the NCS patient. And, in what ways you can approach the conversation on how best to support the NCS patient. As always, if you have questions and/or additional information to share, please leave a comment.
