Holly Serrao, Ph.D.
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Numbers

1/23/2023

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“So, I play the numbers game to find a way to say my life has just begun."
“...Don't stop this train, Don't for a minute change the place you're in, and don't think I couldn't ever understand, I tried my hand"- John Mayer


The holiday season is usually filled with so much counting - days till Christmas, hours until the ball drops, numbers on the scale we are told to lose after the New Year.  In our family, it’s also the time of year when both of my children (and myself and husband and now our dog) were born, so it can feel like, for 2 months straight, we are inundated with numbers and dates and counting.
But if I really think about it, the fixation with numbers & counting has been there for me since childhood, far outside of the holiday season. I remember as a kid, feeling if I tapped my foot three times on one side, I’d need to tap the same on other side - because that surely meant good things would happen and bad things wouldn't.  I’d count down the number of days until an important event and then, during that event, the number of days (or hours) until it was over. I used to obsessively think about “how many more years until” when it came to certain events in my life that were important - or scary - to me... how many more years until my sister graduated high school and moved away; how many more days until summer vacation, graduation, 21st birthday; how many more days until the big test/race/etc.  And as an adult, I find myself playing this “numbers game” when it comes to age…how many years could I expect to have left with my grandparents, and then my own parents, and my pets? This type of counting really threw me for a loop when our children were born premature.  Both of our kids now had an assortment of different ages...gestational ages, adjusted ages, “actual” ages; we were bombarded with a whole host of new forms of measurement & statistics...milliliters of milk drunk, exact weight right after these milliliters of milk had been drunk, oxygen levels, breathing rate, temperature; and given pretty strict instructions to KEEP ON COUNTING.  Until …at one very specific (and in my opinion arbitrary) point in time …when we were told in no uncertain terms to simply STOP COUNTING (because age 2 is apparently the “magic number” when your child is no longer allowed to be considered “premature”). Congratulations, based on just one number, your child is now "Normal." And if you can’t or find it hard to adjust to this…. well then clearly there must be something wrong with YOU…let’s just call it postpartum or anxiety shall we?

But how can we be expected to simply stop, and let go, when most of us have been trained and programmed for so long (not only through the experience of prematurity) but as students, athletes, employees - to navigate our lives around such numbers? For so many of us, certain numbers and measurements have formed the backdrop of how we are taught to live our lives and even measure our self-worth.  Grades, scores, times, heights, weights, "normal curves" are all what we are taught to use to determine if we are “acceptable,” capable of “fitting in" and hence, functioning well in the world around us. Humans are a social species, we want to fit in, and if it means crunching the numbers to do it, then you better believe we will.  So, these numbers were not only forced upon my own family from the moment our babies entered the world early (and told that basically our children's lives, and hence our own lives, depended on them); they have been reinforced for ALL of us since the moments we were all born. By the time we are adults, the neural grooves have already been worn down pretty well, and the pathways programmed and familiar.

Recently, I have found myself wondering more and more about not only WHY this is the case, but also IF I even want it to be the case anymore in my life. True, in one sense, numbers provide very useful standards of measurement – a way of making sense of and organizing such a complex world and varied mix of people within it.  And in another sense, from a scientific standpoint, these numbers and measurements allow us to conduct the research and form the theories that quite literally save lives. But beyond that, and even within that, must we always hold onto them so rigidly? For myself, I've realized I hang on to some of these numbers and attachment to counting and measuring to provide a sense of comfort, and even false sense of control, in a world in which I realize we sometimes have very little.  Take our dog, for example; we were never given his definite age when he was adopted– the foster said one thing, the vet said another, and we had our own opinions. So, I found myself constantly recounting and renegotiating the numbers until a found a suitable age range that we could expect him to live until. The truth was, I was just so scared to lose him and hanging onto any (false) sense of control that might make me feel better.  And I think this is, in a sense, what numbers have done and have represented to me (and maybe to all of us) at times – a false sense of comfort and control in a world in which we might have very little. But despite perhaps the immediate or short-term sense of comfort these numbers provided me, left in its wake have also been a whole host of other side effects that were not helpful for me in other ways - anxiety, rigidity, detachment, competitiveness. 

So, I have made the decision to take a step back from it all.  And I’ve noticed that this decision has instead brought a myriad of health benefits for me - both mentally and physically.  Greater feelings of freedom, acceptance of and allowance to be more myself…and allowance for my children (and dogs!) to do the same. Greater appreciation for the things that aren’t measurable or even tangible – quite literally “stopping to smell the roses,” and greater acceptance of the things/changes/aspects of life that are not within my control – one of those being death.  Being officially “released” from the world of academia, competitive sports, and even prematurity has made it somewhat easier. But it’s still hard. For example, when I recently attempted to re-enter the world of competitive racing, I quickly found myself being tempted to dive right back in again.  And when I noticed the unnecessary stress, and strain, and comparison and rigidity this brought back, I had to make a pretty conscious effort to pull back again. 


So, perhaps we can all take a look at our lives, see how deeply these number grooves have been worn into our brains, and decide whether it could be helpful to let some grass grow in over them and start forging some new paths instead...or even start traveling where there is no path at all.  I have noticed in my own life, that there needs to be more of a balance between the counting and calculating….and the “just being.”  I do best when I learn to “zoom out” and take a look at the areas where I do find myself gripping too hard, attaching too tightly, or basing a disproportionate amount of my self-worth on certain (often arbitrary) standards.  Things like taking up a regular meditation practice; incorporating mindfulness into our regular everyday activities; noticing those tempting, habitual, numbers-driven thoughts and gently steering away from them & replacing them with other thoughts or phrases or focuses; treating ourselves and others with compassion, as fellow human beings and counterparts on this journey, rather than “just numbers;” and allowing ourselves to lean in and become vulnerable when all those thoughts of uncertainty and unpredictability arise, can all prove helpful.  Or, in a more practical sense – run without a watch on, celebrate milestones that have nothing to do with numbers (grades, scores, even dates), and step off the scale. 

My grandmother used to have a magnet on her refrigerator that said “...count your life by smiles, not tears; count your life by friendships, not years.” Lately, I've been thinking about that little magnet and seeing it less as a little cliché saying that a grandmother has on a fridge, and really as more profound words to live by. It's not the numbers on a scale, dates on the calendar, dollars in the bank account that matter most – it’s the relationships in our lives, both with ourselves and others – that truly give life meaning.  And this isn’t just my opinion, science has actually used numbers to prove this!  And maybe we can even go one step further, by not even “measuring our lives” or “counting our friendships” at all, but instead focusing on the quality of those friendships (and other things in our lives), rather than the quantity, and putting more practice into the feelings rather than the counting, and the cherishing rather than the measuring.  Because, in the end (whatever the age, date, or time that comes) will we really be thinking or want to be thinking, “Wow I can’t believe she managed to weigh X lbs. up until the very end. " Or, “82 ½…. she would have been so much more worthwhile if she had made it to 83?” Or “Gosh, we would have loved him/her so much more if only she/he could have kept running those times from college or finished that one race in just a minute faster or made just a few thousand dollars more each year." Can any of us not laugh (or maybe even cry just a little) imagining this? 

And besides, what do we have to lose? If I'm being really honest with myself, no amount of counting, estimating or predicting in the world has ever really cushioned the blow of losing someone I love.  But neither could it also have shown me or allowed me to predict some truly amazing things that have happened in life as well - seeing the healthy and wonderful unique human beings my children have turned into (not matter what their age - adjusted or "actual"), or experiencing how it feels to be running, watch-free, down a path in the redwood forests. It can be humbling (and a bit scary) to realize we have so little control – and that numbers on a scale, scores on a test, time at the finish line really mean so little in the grand scheme of things and to so much else on this planet. But it can also be freeing and liberating to let go - or to at least practice trying to - even if it’s just for a moment at a time, to breathe in the fresh air, feel the fall sun on our faces, listen to our children’s laughter or feel the warmth and closeness of those we love around us - without once looking at the clock.
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Exercise & Travel

1/13/2023

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​I’ve had people give (usually unsolicited) advice to take time “off” form exercising while on vacation.  But exercise doesn’t have to feel like a chore…something you need to take time “off” from in order to enjoy yourself on vacation.  It actually usually adds to my enjoyment of a trip - gives me some time to myself (when I might be with family non-stop), helps relieve stress (yes, even vacations have some) & allows to me explore & experience the places we visit in a whole different way - sometimes even seeing sites I wouldn’t have seen otherwise.  Exercising while traveling doesn’t have to be rigid - it doesn’t have to mean sticking to the exact workout plan you do at home, running the exact amount of mileage you’re “supposed to,” sticking to a strict diet plan - if we did it that way maybe it would feel like a chore & be stressful (& stress out those around us!) Exercise can be fun & functional - These past 10 days in Italy I walked miles around new cities, hiked at a National park, ran among the Apennine mts, stumbled upon a random weight lifting station by the Adriatic Sea and brought my bands & did some modified workouts (compliments of @bwellandfitwithanna). If we allow ourselves to be flexible & adaptive, exercising can actually add to an experience rather than take away from it - & maybe that’s a good lesson to have for most things in life ​
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Self-care (for athletes & non-athletes) over the holidays

12/23/2022

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A Parent’s Guide to a Successful Holiday Run Streak
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How do you keep logging the miles during the #RWRunStreak when the light is fading, the responsibilities piling high with parenthood, and your time slipping away?
BY JENNIFER ACKERPUBLISHED: NOV 16, 2022
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Some say it’s the most wonderful time of the year—glowing lights, comfort food, and getting together with family and friends. And if you have children, you can probably count on adding more to your calendar—from concerts and baking cookies, to class parties and festivities around town. There’s often little time left for things like, ahem, running. In a recent Runner’s World survey taken on social media, 90% of respondents surveyed said that, as parents, they have challenges fitting in a run, and 71% of respondents said that, over the holidays, they find managing a consistent running routine to be challenging.
Whether you’re raising toddlers or teens, let’s be honest, while this time of year is filled with lots of fun, more often than not, it isn’t filled with a lot of downtime, aka time to run. So, how do you manage to keep logging the miles during the Holiday Run Streak when the light is fading, the responsibilities piling high with parenthood, and your time slipping away?
“I think as parents, some of the regular pressures we already face—to do it all and to do it all perfectly--can become exacerbated over the holidays—the need to get everything done, get it done on time, and have it all ‘Instagram worthy,’” says psychologist Dr. Holly Serrao, Ph.D. mother of two boys, and lifelong runner who works with athletes in her practice. Add to that maintaining your personal goals, like a consistent running routine, and you may be left feeling depleted before you’ve even started.
During the holidays, Serrao says feeling stressed is common because many parents are faced with increased demands—along with still maintaining all of their regular responsibilities, and oftentimes not having an increase in resources. “We need to do our best to maintain or increase our resources with manageable, reasonable acts of self-care such as running and other forms of exercise,” she says.
And she also points out that the holidays occur during a time of year of increased sickness, waning light, and more social demands, all of which can also play into individual stress levels and overall mood.
Serrao suggests asking yourself these three questions to help manage your stress and have control of your time over the holidays.
  1. Can you lessen the demands you are placing on yourself by doing a little bit less or doing things a little less perfectly?
  2. Can you practice healthy assertiveness, by learning to say no to things that might not feel important or of value?
  3. Can you focus a little more on quality versus quantity in what you do and plan during this time of year?
Serrao reminds runners that you can take better care of your families if you’re taking better care of yourself. “We cannot enjoy all the things we have planned if we are not tending to our physical and emotional health. It is so important to continue with your regular healthcare regime during the holidays.”
Keep in mind that it also might be important to adjust your expectations during this time of year. “If running five miles a day every day between Thanksgiving and New Year’s does not seem realistic and adds to your stress or ‘should’ statements, it can be ok to dial it back and adjust a bit,” Serrao says.
Showing up for your kids and extended familyProfessional runner Sara Hall and mother of four adopted Ethiopian sisters, ages 12, 15, 17, and 22, says, “The way I can be the best mom to my kids is if I’m [feeling] happy and fulfilled myself. That will make me a better parent for the rest of the day. If I have things that make me come alive, and I can model to them what it looks like to do something you really love.”
Hall admits this time of year can bring its own challenges though, “on top of showing up well for my kids, I’m also trying to spend quality time with other family members. At times family members have not been supportive of me taking time to train during the holidays. But I think we can all use a break from being together all day, 24/7. I see my time running during the holidays to get a breather from the nonstop family time and sometimes process family dynamics that are playing out.”
Husband Ryan Hall says the holidays can be more challenging to squeeze in a workout but has found a way around that, “The kids are out of school and usually we are with extended family and I want to be present for all the holiday activities. I almost always train early in the morning over the holidays. I enjoy the day more if I have already gotten in my workout.”
Shortening your workouts for consistencyHall says having a home gym, prioritizing sleep, and utilizing small increments of time are important to successful training. “Early training is key but that requires going to bed early as well, otherwise you are going to fry yourself. Also, I think people under-value little hits of training in just 20-minute blocks. Getting in a 20-minute run or lift versus taking the day off makes a huge difference. To be consistent you have to make it really easy to be consistent.”
Which is why he’s a fan of the 20-minute workout. Last year Hall trained for a challenge that involved running to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, with two empty seven-gallon water jugs, and then filling them up with water and farmer carrying them (weighing roughly 140 pounds total) up the canyon for 10 kilometers and over 5,000 feet of elevation. “The only specific training I did for this challenge was doing 20-minute farmer carries every other day. But I was consistent… because I could never come up with an excuse for why I couldn’t fit in 20 minutes of training.”
Share your goals with your kidsSara Vaughn, professional runner and mother of four children ages 16,12, seven, and three says, “it feels like a selfish endeavor sometimes to train for a marathon or whatever the goal may be, and how I’ve dealt with that is I’ve just literally brought my family into it.”
Vaughn says sharing her goals with her kids and what she’s working toward, brings them on board, “and actually they encourage me; they’re more forgiving and understanding. And I just tend to get more done when I loop them in on what we’re working towards and make it like a common goal for us.”
Vaughn’s children support her by decorating her water bottles and have helped her get her running gear ready the night before. “If I even say out loud at dinner like after this I have to go get my second run done. I’m four miles short on the week, and I kinda don’t feel like it. My kids will go get my shoes, put them by the door, go get my watch, give me a water bottle and be like ‘come on Mom, get it done,’ so they become little cheerleaders too. And your accountability factor is awesome when you share your goals.” And Vaughn’s 12-year-old now rides an E-bike so enjoys logging a few miles alongside Mom.
Sneak away when you canDuring the holidays Vaughn says she takes advantage of having a houseful of family. “We’ve got a big family and we have a big extended family too. So for me, I’ve always tried to take advantage of that—if we have grandparents visiting or even aunts and uncles... it’s like free built-in babysitting whether they were planning on it or not. And I know that sneaking out for 30 minutes and letting them spend some time with the kids is better for everybody. I can come back refreshed and ready to tackle the turkey or whatever I have going on.”
Slow down and practice mindfulnessSerrao encourages runners to take the time to stop and take everything in, rather than rushing through the season at a frantic pace. And says to remind yourself to just be in the moment. So, next time you’re out for a run working to maintain your streak, take it all in and remember why you’re doing it in the first place.
It’s a hectic time of year, but it can also be special if you slow down to notice. “While you are out for a run, feel the cold air on your face, the blood pumping through your body, and smell the fireplaces from your neighbor’s houses as you pass by rather than just rushing. Mindfulness allows us to stop, increase our resources, decrease our demands—even just for a moment and contributes to so many aspects of our health and wellbeing,” she says. And when the run is over, don’t forget to take that mindfulness back home with you.

​https://www.runnersworld.com/training/a41967355/run-streak-tips-for-parents/?fbclid=IwAR0ZJtcmuZG3J6wwl4AL9Azvc48uj9s8lqNDAqPV4Y7Dx--tgk1NknRPZko


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"Fall Behind" means increased rates of SAD.  Know the Signs and Treatments

11/6/2022

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​Albany HD 11-05-2022 06-00-00-000.mp4 - Google Driv
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The Changing Shape of Our Goals

11/2/2022

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"I used to believe making an Olympic Team was going to define my running career, until I didn’t make one, 4 times.  I wondered what more is there in running than simply success measured by a number or a place? It’s who we become striving to be our best. For me its sharing the journey from start to finish with all the messy in between.  It means leaving a mark on the sport in wherever my passion lies. Even if it’s a different path than how most people are doing it, my mom likes to say, “Stand for something, or you’ll fall for anything.”  Stephanie Bruce, American long-distance runner
 
I was lucky enough to come across this quote by Stephanie Bruce right when I needed it.  It resonated with me so much as a runner, athlete, mom, woman, and just overall human being.  We all have goals & hopes & dreams for our futures - ways we envision our lives going and how we think things "are supposed to be." But sometimes, if we cling too tightly to how we think things "should” be, we run the risk of missing out on SO many other possibilities of how things "could" be. 
 
Sports can absolutely be about winning, times, places, scores…but they can also impact and contribute to ours and others’ lives in SO MANY OTHER WAYS, ways in which we might not have known or pictured...and ways which we might entirely miss out on if we become too narrowly focused on our own (often short-sighted) vision of things.
 
 As a personal anecdote, recently, I decided to start training again.  After a “brief” 10-year+ hiatus 🙄, my hope was to see what I might be able to accomplish in the all-mighty Master’s division.  My plan was to start training again at age 40.  But then...the pandemic hit & all my supposed newfound freedom vanished. So, I shifted my sights to age 41.  But then...apparently a year of so much stress & sitting & staring at my computer for work wreaked havoc on my already out-of-practice and now mom-of-two-kids body and a nagging injury interfered with my plan yet again.  A year of rehab - consisting of PT, chiro, sports massage, and mind-numbing exercises and stretches - & I was finally feeling back on track, ready again now at the ripe age of 42.  This time though I was feeling more fit, strong, focused, surrounded by some great camaraderie, and feeling encouraged by some great workouts. I entered my 1st race - which I thought of as more of a lets-see-how-this-goes training run - since 2011.  It was a far cry from the times I used to run but, running just under 7 min pace in my 40s had me feeling pretty damn happy & hopeful.  Until, again...a serious of unfortunate events...another injury…& feeling back at square one.  I’m kind of embarrassed to admit how devastating this felt to me at the time & what it did to my mood for a bit.  I had goals, dammit! Times I "should be hitting," races I was "supposed to be running."   My hopes of finally "feeling like a runner" again and being able to "contribute to my sport” once again felt like they had vanished.  Was I even a runner again if I wasn’t racing?  Can you be part of a sport if you are no longer competing or even on a team?
 
This quote by Stephanie Bruce- who by the way is a 38 yo mom (of 2 sons born 15 mths apart!) with diastasis recti, Celiac disease & a congenital heart condition - reminded me that sports can be SO MUCH MORE THAN THAT.  Sure, our contribution for a period of time can be defined by the times we’ve run, the places we’ve come in, the points we’ve scored - but that comes to an end at some point in time for EVERY SINGLE ATHLETE no matter what the age or level.  And sadly, we've been seeing more & more of the devastating effects that can occur when athletes are unprepared for this “ending,” don’t know how to translate what they have learned into other areas of their lives,or have little else they identify with besides their success as a competitive athlete.
 
So, if you are involved in the world of sports or athletics in any capacity, can you begin trying to imagine what ELSE it means to be "an athlete" outside of the competition? What other ways are there to contribute through sport besides just as a competitor?  If you are an athlete yourself, could you maybe one day become a coach....and if you are a coach, rather than coaching at a costly, private youth sports league that attracts mainly privileged families, could you find a way to help coach under-served, at-risk populations? ​ (Side note, my cousin Chris Serrao has found a way to do this through the NYPD Police Athletic League and it is nothing short of inspiring).  Can you use your platform as an elite athlete to raise awareness of or provide resources for a cause you are passionate about? Can you enter races or competitions that benefit a worthy cause (or create one of your own)?  Can you find a way to connect with, help or use whatever expertise you have to help address the mental health crisis affecting so many of our young athletes today? Could you focus on the process, experience, relationships built, & lessons learned through sport rather than just the final outcome?

Stephanie Bruce reminded me that there are so many ways we can leave our mark as an athlete - & these can morph & grow & change throughout our lifespans...if we let them.  If we cling too tightly to our one set plan or strict set of goals, we might lose sight of this & miss out on SO many other things the world of sport has to teach, offer & contribute.  I am constantly changing & adjusting what it means for me, personally, to be "an athlete". It's not always easy (or voluntary) and it's oftentimes pretty humbling, but I can honestly say I don't know if I'd be the person I am, in the career I am in, or have had the privilege of getting to meet & connect with & learn from all the amazing people I have, if I had clung so tightly to my original plans and followed so rigidly along the path I thought I was "supposed to” go down when I first started out.

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Mental Health Awareness for Athletes - Spectrum News Interview

10/20/2022

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​https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aSMyvd-952EpAU-q9SGjeY9v55uXDYJ2/view?usp=drivesdk
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What Do Sport Psychologists Do??

9/24/2022

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How to win at life: what sports psychologists can teach us all | Life and style | The Guardian
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The Case Against Grit

8/23/2022

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David Epstein's 'Range' Makes the Case for Dabbling - The Atlantic
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Effects of Exercise on Depression

7/24/2022

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Meta-analysis of 15 studies on depression suggests significant mental health benefits from being physically active (psypost.org)
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It's Okay to Leave Your Headphones at Home

6/16/2022

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Learning to Run Without Headphones - The Atlantic
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