3. TERMS
Stress and anxiety will be used
interchangeably
A clinical anxiety disorder is different than
performance anxiety and different than stress
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4. AGENDA
Part One
Defining it
Understanding the different elements
Part Two
Creating a Toolbox of techniques to use or help athletes
use to manage performance anxiety
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5. STRESS/ANXIETY
What is it?
Does it really need explanation!?!
Anyone ever feel they don’t have enough
time?!!
We all experience stress at some point: job
interviews, tests, competing
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6. MOST BASIC DEFINITION
Resources don’t match demands
or
Perceived Resources don’t match demands
(I don’t have enough time, money, skill, ability,
others are better than me, etc.)
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7. HOOSIERS CLIP
GOOD EXAMPLE OF PERCEPTION
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ugkzk2l2ZpM
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9. ANXIETY
But for athletes there is a delicate balance on
an individual level for the “right amount”
Too much anxiety
(angst, almost panic, focus is scattered)
Too little anxiety
(boredom, decreased focus)
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11. THE “ZONE”
Known by athletes as a “special place”
The “right amount of anxiety” helps
performance be more consistent, automatic
and flowing
The athlete is able to ignore the pressures
(does not overthink) and lets the body deliver
the performance that has been learned so
well.
Shane Murphy, Ph.D.
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12. EXERCISES
1. Small Group discussion about signs and
symptoms of performance anxiety
What are symptoms of excitement?
Debrief
2. Plate exercise
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13. TOO MUCH: WHAT HAPPENS
1. Somatic (Body) Symptoms: Let’s look at our
list
2. Emotional: Psych out
3. Behavioral: Freeze, Rush, Panic
4. Cognitive: Think too much! Or interpret our
body symptoms as BAD
Biggest fear the propels performance anxiety
is………..??(Guess)>>>>>>>>
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14. TOO MUCH…
Embarrassment!
I don’t want to make a fool of myself
So then what, we sometimes>>>
Overthink
OR………………………………………………..
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17. (LOSE AUTOMATIC RESPONSES)
Freeze…
FREEZE
“Never let the fear of striking out
get in your way.”
- George Herman “Babe” Ruth
(Baseball Legend)
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18. LET YOUR BODY PERFORM
“Your hands are wiser than your head
will ever be”
Will Smith in The Legend of Bagger Vance
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20. DIGRESS FOR A MOMENT
Panic Attacks
They are real
Let’s just pause for a moment and review
http://www.mensjournal.com/health-fitness/
health/the-pro-athletes-anxiety-relief-
20130405
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21. • Panic Disorder/Panic Attack: People with panic disorder experience
white-knuckled, heart-pounding terror that strikes suddenly and
without warning. Since they cannot predict when a panic attack will
seize them, many people live in persistent worry that another one
could overcome them at any moment which can lead them to feel
anxious about being anxious.
• Symptoms: Pounding heart, chest pains, lightheadedness or dizziness,
nausea, shortness of breath, shaking or trembling, choking, fear of
dying, sweating, feeling of unreality, numbness or tingling, hot flashes
or chills, and a feeling of going out of control or going crazy.
• Formal Diagnosis: Either four attacks within four weeks or one or
more attacks followed by at least a month of persistent fear of having
another attack. A minimum of four of the symptoms listed above
developed during a least one of the attacks. Most panic attacks last
only a few minutes, but they can go longer. They can occur any time,
even during sleep.
• Treatment: CBT and medications such as anti-anxiety drugs. A
combination of therapy and medications is often the most effective.
22. PERFORMANCE
ANXIETY IS REAL
Can be related to the YIPS (Yikes, I’m probably screwed!) by Darald
Hanusa
Can be related to an athlete who practices well but then does not
compete well
Can be related to an athlete talking themselves out of a race/competition
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24. WHAT HELPS?
LETS’ PUT TOGETHER A TOOLBOX
First: Help Athletes Change Focus to
ACTION (Process focus)
Action Focus (S. Murphy, 1996) means:
Being able to concentrate effectively on what you want
to accomplish (not how): “Quick feet” (Hockey Tough by Saul
Miller)
Not wasting your time worrying about results
Action Focus is likely the most basic mind/body
skill for success!
The most basic action focus is BREATHE (When In
Doubt, Breathe Out… do it and say it )
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25. TOOLBOX
Second
Cognitive Skills: Self talk. How athletes talk to
themselves, or how others talk with them, can have
a big influence on ramping up or ramping down
anxiety
Thoughts = Emotions = Actions
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26. How to Change Self Talk
“What you think about you bring about”
Reframe: anxiety and excitement are connected so consider the
possibility the symptoms are related to excitement (Tim Herzog, PhD);
http://hprc-online.org/blog/anxious-or-excited
Also Harvard Studies Research
“Go, go” ; “Explode” ; “Say, this is what I want you to focus on ……………
I want you to use your “anxiety” as good energy, channel it…..
Or, Be neutral and nonjudgmental: keep going, focus on this…..(quick
feet)
Dig, tell them what TO DO, not just be pissed at what they did not do
Why? When someone is anxious they do not think well.
If you resist it persists (beach ball example)
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27. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THIS?
“FAIL HARDER”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEVd0QMjCc8
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28. SELF TALK THAT RAMPS UP
PERFORMANCE ANXIETY
What if…………….?
I don’t want to make a mistake…
If I do bad this will happen………..
What will coach think of me if……………..
My heart is racing, I don’t want to have anxiety
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29. SELF TALK EXAMPLES THAT HELP
(SAUL MILLER, HOCKEY TOUGH)
I’m the boss of my mental show
I am a tough, aggressive checker
I enjoy a challenge
My mind is force; I use it to create
I get stronger with each shift
Action oriented, need to be somewhat true
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30. SWIMMER EXAMPLE
Master’s swimmer on blog said he was getting
anxious prior to meets……
Answer: You are getting anxious about being anxious
There are many ways out of that, but what doesn't
work is to try not to be anxious. If you do that then
what is on your mind is being anxious.”
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31. TOOLBOX
Third
Mind/Body Skills:
Use the Three A’s:
Awareness
Admit or Accept it
Action steps or focus
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32. TO MAXIMIZE FLOW FOR ATHLETES
Be in the present moment(immediate moment)
Concentrate on specific targets or steps (ACTION)
Have a game plan; Have a Word that is cue to refocus
Eliminate in game evaluations and self judgments
Say cliches: “When in doubt breath out”
Heart Breathing (talk about this)
Cue within sight (wristband, tape on stick or bat)
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36. TOOLBOX
Fourth
Routine can help decrease anxiety; the athlete knows
what to do and think prior or during competition
Develop a consistent or routine approach (Habits!) to
high level performance training
Stick with this approach when challenges occur
This applies to physical and mental skill training
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38. WRITE YOUR PLAN AS A WAY TO
REHEARSE IT (SIAN BEILOCK, CHOKE)
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39. TOOLBOX
Fifth
Emotional Management
Emotional Power Skills
Learn to Psych Yourself UP and not OUT, when you need it
most
Energy Management Skills
Use energy for what you control and not for the things out
of your control, like the person you are playing or what
someone else thinks
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40. TOOLBOX
Focusing attention on what you want
research indicates that successful athletes are both
relaxed and exquisitely alert at the same time when
they are in the zone
Time seems to slow down
Increased control
Less self-consciousness and worry
Performance becomes “automatic / flowing
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41. EMOTIONAL POWER
Keep It Simple!
When you feel strong emotions, don’t automatically respond
Learn the skills to step back (Hockey Tough)
Then, use that emotion to power up and give yourself one focus,
an action step (converting negative energy to positive) Psych up
and not psych out (ask yourself which one you are doing)
The POWER of PACE and TIMING instead of Panic (example)
(miss a lay-up and foul, rush the game to immediately make up
for mistake
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42. TOOLBOX
Visualize what you want to have happen
Research shows that imagining being successful before competing can
have a positive effect on performance
Visualizing or body poses help to elevate testosterone and decrease
cortisol (stress hormone)
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43. TOOLBOX
Butler (1996) suggests a mnemonic device called PRESSURE for use with athletes
experiencing problems with performance anxiety:
Prepare - Athletes must psychologically prepare for what they will face
Relax - Diaphragmatic breathing exercises, may be necessary prior to competition in order to
prevent over arousal
Externalize - the belief that problems are not within me. This can help athletes when they
feel there are too many demands on them.
Stay Positive - Acknowledgement of the importance that individuals should have
confidence in their abilities.
Single Minded - Stay focused on the task at hand. This can be used both in training and
competition.
Unite - Particularly useful within the framework of teams sports, this component encourages
athletes to consider what roles others will fulfill and the importance of working together as a
team throughout the competition.
Re-evaluate - How important is this event in the real world?
Extend yourself - Give your best performance every time no matter how important, or
unimportant, the competition is.
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44. TOOLBOX
Techniques…Park First, Visualize Second
Park your embarrassment or fatigue
In your head say “I can be tired later, when I have the time to be.
Right now I’m going to ‘park’ my fatigue here
Focus on the desired result: Visualization
A vivid thought or image about what you want to accomplish
A quick and energizing reminder of what this is all about
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46. ENERGIZING
Techniques….
Focus on things within your control
Sounds basic but it’s easy to forget
Execution, technique and effort
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47. REFERENCES
Balague, G. (2005). Anxiety: From pumped up to panicked. In Shane
Murphy (Ed.), The handbook of sport psych handbook, pp. 73-92,
Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Beilock, S. (2010). Choke. New York: Free Press
Hays, K. & C. Brown (2010). You’re on! Consulting for peak performance.
Washington D.C.: American Psychological Association
Herzog, T. (2014). Blog. http://hprc-online.org/blog/anxious-or-excited
Miller, S. (2003). Hockey Tough. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
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48. I will dock some of these clips on my web page in articles with
performance anxiety in the title.
www.psychologyofsport.net
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