The term anxiety is from the Latin word anxius, to choke. Every athlete and individual gets worried, anxious or stressed from time to time. Some athletes get anxious more than others and anxiety may lead to performing below par more than often. In the worst case scenario, if the performance anxiety is severe enough it may cause the athlete to withdraw from performing altogether depending on the importance of the sporting event.
Just like the emotion of excitement, anxiety or worry is similar only that it is accompanied by the fear of failure, fear of self-doubt and a type of uneasiness before an event.
Without an intervention the athletes' performance anxiety disorder becomes persistent and habitual over time. It is like most things we do in life, the more we practice them the better or worse they become.
Athletes who suffer from performance anxiety are not to be mistaken with those athletes who have the occasional feeling of worry or self-doubt. While one athlete may feel threatened going into a performance another athlete may feel challenged and the difference between both is their thought process. (Cognitive State Anxiety) One athlete feels that something may go wrong or that performance failure maybe experienced while another athlete feels that this is an opportunity to demonstrate his skills and true character. The athletes who are able to overcome their anxiety interpret their symptoms as challenging, desirable and favourable.
The good news for those athletes who suffer from anxiety is that intervention strategies can help reduce it. However these interventions are sensitive to different athletes in different circumstances.
Another cause of anxiety can be brought on by excessively thinking about an event or performance which results in what we call Paralysis by Analysis. This happens when the athlete analyse their performance too carefully and meticulously. This can result in the athlete trying to hard and in turn can cause the athlete even more anxiety.
As humans we have what is called an automatic anxiety programme. This is where the body produces adrenalin and prepares us for 'fight or flight'. It is sometimes important for the body to go into this state of automatic arousal, where we can get an extra energy boost to lead us into performance. The secret is to be able to recognise, evaluate, control and modify your automatic thinking process in response to performances that have set off anxiety in previous events.
0Why not visit me at http://www.elitemindsets.com and download my Free Championship Mindset E-book. If you are a Coach or a Sports Parent there is a Free E-book there for you also. Enjoy and I wish you every success in life and in your sport.
Yours in Sport
Denis Coen Peak Performance Mind Coach
0 comments:
Post a Comment