Addie Part 1: Overtraining & Amenorrhea//Signs, Symptoms, Mistakes

Meet Professional Cyclist Addie Levinsky and hear her story of Overtraining and Amenorrhea over the last several years. This is a very frank discussion where she is brave enough to share her REAL experience with losing her period, training too much, abusing her body, and all of the fears and insecurities in between. Part One in a series, this video will prove yet again: YOU ARE NOT ALONE.
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[@angelJ2023]

I just stood here with my mouth open listening to this lady tell my life story. This is my day in day out struggle I have every single symptom she just listed. Cannot believe this jjust ttold my story. Just found your channel recently! Love it

[@jillcolangelopsych]

Welcome!! Be sure to watch all three parts of Addie's journey. It's pretty amazing stuff. I am happy you found me!!

[@teresab5842]

Me too! It is like Addie is in my head. I have completely torn both shoulders (to the point they cannot be surgically fixed) fractured my back...the list goes on from overtraining. I am wondering if Addie lifted weights as well?!

[@tracicarson305]

I just discovered this video and WOW! I relate with Addie SO much. I love what she said about amenorrhea being ENOUGH to take time off and take care of yourself

[@jillcolangelopsych]

Absolutely true Traci!! YOU are all the reason you need!

[@hanasacura9595]

Just found your videos yesterday and I've almost seen all of them now!!! Honestly so helpful, I can really relate to this one especially, the way she felt it was normal to have amenorrhea! I felt it was normal to have it too before I found you!!!

[@brightlight7349]

Thank you for being so brave Addie and sharing...could realy relate

[@wilson8979]

I just love your hair Jill. Thank you so much for sharing everything you are! Just found your channel. And it is amazing!

[@jillcolangelopsych]

Thank you so much!! XO

[@RachelWFullyLiving]

You ladies are fabulous! Don't call yourselves not very smart though. You just didn't know at that time what you know now. Now you are more in tune with your body and mind. It's a blessing that you are both sharing your journey with others. 😘

[@jillcolangelopsych]

Thank you Rachel! We definitely learn from our mistakes and yes...we are happy to share with all of you!

[@makeskanotwar]

Hi Rachel! Thank you for your kind words and support. As they say, ignorance is bliss...but not in this case! Haha. I'm happy we can continue to share what we've learned, and hopefully help others from falling into the deep end. Thanks again!

[@AbigailBoswellLdn]

Give me part 2! Loved having you two in my kitchen while I was cooking dinner! Addie - I almost forgot about how bad the brain fog was (did I just write that??). I used to work for a marketing agency and a client was paying a significant daily rate for my consulting services and I would turn up to present at the client's office and sometimes my sentences would melt halfway through, especially when I felt nervous. I had to really stop and breathe and almost say the sentence in my head first if I wanted to get it out clearly but on a number of occasions they turned into "...aarhzahuhm" and I'd wonder if it had sounded as odd to them as it did to me. Occasionally I would see a moment of confusion on their faces but they generally really liked me and never said anything. I was terrible with names and I'd say my lookup table had been corrupted, because I had the names and the faces but just couldn't match them up (I worked with data a lot so the people around me understood this analogy!). I also developed a bit of a stutter and I still occasionally struggle with repeating words and getting to the next one even now as I think my brain has gotten in the habit of getting stuck like this. Thank you for the reminder - I'm keen to remember all this stuff and take a note of it as these tiny little things were so easy to overlook the first time around but I want to have a record of them now.

[@jillcolangelopsych]

Same here with the stutter! I would catch myself and say "well...let me get my thoughts together"... And how many times did I become disoriented while driving?? I am truly embarrassed to admit it sometimes, but then I remember that staying silent doesn't help. Thank you so much for sharing this!!

[@makeskanotwar]

Hey Abigail! Thank you SO much for your kind words and support. I relate with this so much - I look back at some of the conversations I had with clients or coworkers and it's straight up embarrassing. Also, I read your blog as recommended by Jill and it's fantastic. Would love to connect. Feel free to reach out directly at [e-mail]. Thanks again!

[@eimearrosenicholl3734]

Loved this! I realised when I was listening to this, nodding at the similarities, feeling compassion for Addie but realising I hadn't been able to view myself with that same compassion!! Why do we do that?? I've really struggled on and off with overtraining, boney injuries and amenorrhea/oligomenorrhea and have done a lot of work getting to the root of it and corrected a lot of the health issues- but I was about to embark on a hard training block, only thankfully I was told this week in no uncertain terms that it was a really bad idea, because I had only just started to get better, and was told I'd probably start to reawaken shitty eating habits and pushing too hard beyond prescribed workouts. I have to realise I've still got that tendency to ignore the warning signs from my body and there is more work to do before I can handle hard training. Deep down I knew I wasn't ready for this but I hadn't the courage to make the right decision for myself, and I was getting really anxious, not sleeping again etc. So thankfully someone else has given me permission to chill the eff out some more! At the moment I actually don't know if I even want to get back into my sport (marathon running) but I still very much identify as an athlete- and I'm now starting to realise that I can still be an athlete without killing myself all the time!! Looking forward to part 2- disordered eating is a big part of my problems with overtraining so I can't wait to hear Addie's story!

[@jillcolangelopsych]

We are always more forgiving and compassionate to OTHER people, but we seldom extend those feelings to ourselves. I believe it's this constant drive to hold ourselves to some standard that we think is "high". For me, it was just due to insecurity and mistrust of myself. Sadly, we will always have to watch for our tendencies to ignore warning signs or explain them away. You don't have to know what you want to do in the future. Addie and I will both tell you that taking time away...even indefinitely...doesn't make you LESS of an athlete. YOU make your own story!

[@eimearrosenicholl3734]

acaseofthejills yeah, I just couldn't face telling people I was taking more time off from racing. But I'm looking forward to how much better I'll feel with more time to rest and heal. I'm also excited about what comes next! I've actually taken the time to swim while I haven't been running. I always dismissed swimming because I was so bad at it, scared of putting my head under water, so just told myself it wasn't really hard enough anyway, seriously fucked up thought, it's an Olympic sport! I can't go hard enough at it to risk over training but getting good at something different is keeping me sane and opening up possibilities for the future that were way out of my control freak runner comfort zone!!

[@makeskanotwar]

Hey Eimear! First, I just want to say THANK YOU so much. I cannot tell you how much I identify with approaching other's with compassion but not myself. I was coaching a few athletes in both training and nutrition, and I always thought "if only I practiced what I preached..." I think many of us assume we don't need to approach things with the same care as others because we're not "like everyone else", at least I know I was guilty of that. The truth is, even some elite athletes need to do even less than the average person, we are all different in what we can handle. I really cannot tell you how much I resonate and empathize with what you're going through - I was in the exact same place. What I can say is the most courageous thing you can do is just DO IT (...not in the Nike kind of way). You're absolutely right, if you're not ready to make the decision, there's ultimately nothing or anyone that can convince you otherwise, however, it can help you really start to see the reality of the situation. It sounds like you know exactly what you need to do, so I highly encourage you to just rip off the bandaid and commit. I'm one week in and feeling great. You'll always be an athlete - recovering is arguably the most important component of that identity. Best of luck!

[@eimearrosenicholl3734]

addie levinsky you're so right about recovery being a huge part of what makes you an athlete. I made the mistake of thinking what set athletes apart was hard work but getting better is absolutely about adequate recovery. Self compassion is required for real improvement, because it's about believing you're worth looking after, that your athletic ability is deserving of investment. Fundamentally not giving myself enough recovery and nutrition was all tied to low self-esteem. At times it still feels weird and even indulgent to rest and eat well but the outcome feels amazing!!

[@maggieoconnor9054]

Great video, really resonated with me . Oh god the brain fog & insomnia, So I'm not the only one ...was starting to think I was loosing my mind lol 😂 Looking forward to part 2 xx

[@jillcolangelopsych]

Maggie, you are so not the only one. Check out my other videos on overtraining and you will see that I was telling myself that I was "too tired" to read books...yikes, insert eye-roll right here. So glad you liked this one!!

[@makeskanotwar]

Hi Maggie! Addie here. Apologies for the delay in my response - as I told Jill I'm a bit of a YT newbie. I just wanted to reach out and say thank you for the comment, and I'm glad (well, not glad you had to experience it...) you can relate. It's crazy how when we're in the thick of it, we don't even consider why it's happening or that there is need for concern. Thanks again for watching!

[@maggieoconnor9054]

addie levinsky aww thank you Addie for the lovely reply , stay strong and focused on getting healthy again. You and Gill have given me lots of tips and encouragement from watching your videos 🤗 xxx

[@thynchyca]

I just love this comparison: broken bone vs. amenorrhea ... my boyfriend just pointed out, few days ago:'' hey you can still do some sport, is not that you are incapable of doing it, you dont need to become a couch potato now!''' i was kinda dissapointed because he still thinks i am perfectly healthy. But honestly, i kinda dont have any lust to do sport right now.

[@jillcolangelopsych]

Yikes. I am sorry to hear that you got that feedback. I am sure that you must know that people tend to make comments out of their own fears and judgements than any logical assessment. You should absolutely not listen to anyone who encourages you to NOT listen to your body or go against your instincts to achieve health and peace in your body. I support you!

[@makeskanotwar]

Hi! First, thank you so much for taking the time to watch the video and share your experience. I'm sorry to hear that kind of feedback, and I have absolutely experienced the same. I recently shared with a handful of people what I was doing to finally recover once and for all and someone responded with, "well you don't need to stop ALL exercise." and I just stared at them blankly. Amenorrhea and overtraining affects every single system, mentally and physically. Arguably more than a broken bone. That's to say, the recovery plan/time is not concrete or entirely systematic, which is frustrating, but you just need to focus on taking the very best care of yourself you can, and treating yourself with the utmost compassion. One last thought, I'm in the same boat (not having any lust to do sport) and that is the NUMBER ONE indication you need to really chill and focus on recovery. I experienced every overtraining symptom in the book and it wasn't until I simply didn't want to do my sport anymore that I knew something was really wrong. You got this!