The underlying cause of anxiety is stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system, aka the "fight or flight" response. In today’s society our sympathetic nervous system is no longer only triggered in situations of personal danger. Our minds are complex, social machines and ‘danger' might translate psychologically into 'stepping onto the mat' or 'performing in front of an audience'. Most neuroscientists agree that the effect of long-term anxiety on human cognition is detrimental. A little more contentious, but demonstrated in a few studies is that short-term anxiety also has a negative effect on performance. For example, anxiety makes it more difficult to get into your flow.
Anxiety Inoculation Anxiety inoculation is a three step process:
The first session was the education phase. Subjects were given a talk on how stress occurs and the relationship between arousal and performance in sport. They were encouraged to describe their own feelings and experiences when they were very anxious before and during matches. The remaining seven sessions comprised a series of progressive stages during which subjects were trained to relax, mentally rehearse specific shots, visualize specific situations and to make positive self-statements. This exercise was very effective for the study’s subjects: there was a considerable decrease in self-reported anxiety levels and both players reported that their performance had improved. Performance Breathing: Belly breathing, aka diaphragmatic breathing is done by contracting the diaphragm. Belly breathing activates the relaxation response (the opposite of fight or flight) and provides a tool for athletes to relax and prepare for competition. More oxygen gets carried in the blood which in turn facilitates the muscle endurance. (citation: http://www.amsa.org/healingthehealer/breathing.cfm) A simple way to learn this technique is to place your left hand on your abdomen and the right on your upper chest. As you breathe in your left hand should move out and your right hand should remain relatively still. Acceptance and Inclusion: Simpler said than done, but my favorite approach to dealing with anxiety, is acceptance and inclusion. In simple terms, this means knowing and accepting that anxiety will always exist and including it as part of your pre-match routine. It’s what GSP does before big fights. One of the more life-changing talks I’ve seen is Kelly McGonigal’s on How To Make Stress Your Friend. Kelly McGonigal calls it stress, but I believe that performance anxiety and stress are largely the same thing (a stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system, we talked about that, right?). In this section, I’ll refer to it as anxiety, just to stay consistent with the rest of this post. VIDEO Anxiety is a killer. It’s associated with heart disease, high-blood pressure and a host of other medical conditions. Well, what Kelly McGonigal explains is that anxiety is only bad for you if you look at it as a negative. When we learn to look at anxiety as a positive - all of its negative effects disappear … like magic. Watch the full talk for details, but the takeaway is this: think of pre-competition anxiety as your warrior spirit getting your body ready for battle. Senses are perking up, your muscles are getting ready for action and the aerobic system is revving its engine - that’s all anxiety is - the body’s natural way of getting you ready to win. Be a Warrior. - Gene Kobilansky
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