Edmund "Eddie" O'Connor, PhD

“This is not a job; it is a mission. It is why I am here. Mental health is only recently getting the attention it deserves, breaking through stigma and stereotypes. Athletes have suffered for too long, mistaking toughness for stuffing emotions. I am on a mission to help athletes change the way they interact with stress, anxiety, anger and sadness, all emotions that are a part of playing any sport.”

Eddie O’Connor is a clinical sports psychologist focusing on performance anxiety and injury rehabilitation. He holds a doctoral degree. He is the chief sports psychologist at Atrium Health Behavioral Health Interventional & Neurocognitive Psychiatry. He is a member of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee Mental Health Registry and the NFL Players Association Clinician Directory.

O’Connor has been fascinated by the mind's influence on performance ever since he was an 800-meter runner in high school. A strong fear of failure prevented him from hitting his personal best for over a year. Embracing that fear and being willing to risk the feared consequences of failure enabled him to set a new PR by 1 second his last race senior year. But how much faster could he have been had he been trained in how to handle these difficult thoughts and feelings? This inspires O’Connor to help other athletes overcome their unique stressors and struggles so that they can consistently be their best when it matters most.

He is the author and host of “The Psychology of Performance: How to Be Your Best in Life” through The Great Courses.

O’Connor received his doctorate in clinical psychology at the Illinois Institute of Technology and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in pain psychology at the Pain & Rehabilitation Clinic of Chicago. Additionally, he is a certified mental performance consultant (CMPC) and fellow through the Association for Applied Sport Psychology.

O’Connor is married with 6 grown children. He stays highly active doing CrossFit 4 times a week, and he has played flag football every Sunday for the past 17 years in all kinds of weather.