Anika Wrestles Anxiety & Wins!

SUPPORT ANIKA IN HER SPORT & SHARING HER MESSAGE OF HOPE
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Please leave a message below if you’d like Anika to speak or if her message has moved you. All donations support Anika's costs for coaching and competitions.
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CTV News Athlete of the Week:

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Video of Anika Training and Her Pan Am Bronze Medal Win:
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THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN ANXIETY ATTACK AND A PANIC ATTACK:
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An anxiety attack is caused by a trigger and ends soon after the the stressor goes away. A panic attack is unprovoked and unpredictable. It can take hours to subside.
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Both come on suddenly with symptoms of sweating, shaking, shortness of breath, a choking or suffocating sensation, an irrational fear that you’re dying, a racing heart, and feeling unusually detached from yourself.
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These are not the same as being anxious about ones circumstances or the challenges that everyone must face in life. The feeling is amplified exponentially and results in hyperventilating, desperate crying, and what can look to the average observer to be a psychotic episode.
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Some people manage the symptoms with practices of meditation or focused breathing. Many use prescription medication. A significant number use non-prescription drugs, nicotine and girls in particular are at risk to self-harm by cutting.
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ANIKA'S 1st WRESTLING COMPETITION (vs Robyn Fisk, Canada's current 65 kg Bronze Medalist)

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Over the past 5 years Anika has utilized all of the recommended management practices for her Anxiety and Panic attacks and avoided the temptation to ever use unhealthy shortcuts.
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For most teens, these symptoms are often hidden or misunderstood as ‘acting out’.
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Although it can often take 3x as long for Anika to master the skills of her sport, she pursues it with passion to prove that any challenge can be overcome with understanding and support.
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Now Anika needs your help to keep moving towards her goal of Wrestling at the Olympics. Even though she is the top high school wrestler in the country, it is not a sport sponsored like many others.
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Travel for training, coaching and the other costs of being an elite athlete are not covered for her. She works part-time, but the travel and training grow faster than she can keep up with.
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Your support makes it possible for her to continue growing and passing on the excitement of her sport to young people she shares her story with.
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Your support enables Anika not only to compete, but to share her remarkable story with schools and clubs and help other young people know they’re not alone and that they can succeed despite life’s challenges.
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ANIKA'S WRESTLING JOURNEY:
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Anika began wrestling as a way to manage her ADHD and anxiety condition that led to panic attacks that became severe by the time she started Junior High.  With help from her family, teachers and coaches she was able to turn her invisible disability into fuel for her sport and by Grade 9 won the Gold Medal at the Alberta Winter Games.
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She would go on to win the Provincial Gold Medal in 2018, be chosen to represent Team Canada, win Bronze at the 2018 Pan Am Games, and Canada’s highest placing at World’s.
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Anika is the wrestler chosen to represent Women's Freestyle Wrestling for Canada at the Youth Olympic Games Oct 12-14, 2018.
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Anika’s first wrestling coach, Jr High Phys Ed teacher Trish Kirk, was a catalyst in helping Anika develop a belief in her potential and a love for the sport.
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The past two years Anika has been training at Robert Thirsk high school with 6x World Champion and former Olympian Christine Nordhagen who encouraged Anika to reach for goals even higher than Provincial titles.
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Coach Mike Dunn from The ROC club https://wrestlingcalgary.ca/  has contributed with an individualized strategy that has resulted in spectacular results this year for Anika.
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Anika also works with conditioning coach Jenn Swagar at MOST Gym http://mostphysicalprep.com/  who has a unique understanding of athletes who must manage anxiety.
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Video of Anika winning her Bronze Medal Match at the Pan Am Games:
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Anika Winning her First Match at 2018 Cadet World Championships in Croatia:
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Anika now must travel farther and more often to work with competitive training partners.  She also wants to bring on a conditioning coach to improve her cardio.  Donations to Anika will contribute to her ability to work with the elite coaches, trainers and competition as she prepares for this exciting opportunity.
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Please help Anika take her competition to the next level and demonstrate to other young women that with the right support they can overcome their challenges and achieve their dreams!!!
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Thank you ❤️