2.2.8. Stress Management Flashcards
Definition of stress
A psychological state produced by perceived physiological and psychological forces acting on our sense of well being.
What causes stress?
- Competition -> strong want for competition
- Conflict -> between team members or opponents
- Frustration -> caused when goal directed behaviour is blocked
- Climate/ heat
- Expectation
- Importance -> want or need to win
- Crowd/ evaluation -> knowing there’ll be evaluation from others
- Pressure -> personal/ parental/ peer/ coach/ team
- Individual characteristics -> age/ personality/ stage of learning
- Injury/ hurt -> previously injured
Cognitive techniques for stress management
- Mental rehearsal
- Positive thinking/ self talk
- Goal setting
- Negative thought stopping
- Rational thinking
- Mindfulness
- Imagery
Somatic techniques for stress management
- Centering
- Progressive muscle relaxation
- Biofeedback
- Breathing control
Mental rehearsal
Forming a mental image of the skill you are about to perform
Example of mental rehearsal
A golfer closes their eyes and pictures themselves making the putt and the ball going in the hole.
Positive self talk
Used to motivate and ‘psyche’ up.
Being positive about past performances, by talking to yourself.
Example of positive thinking/ self talk
A rugby player is kicking for a conversion and tells herself she can do it.
Goal setting
Setting SMART goals can break tasks down and reduce anxiety/
Example of goal setting
A hockey player may set a goal of making 3 interceptions and 2 block tackles
Negative thought stopping
Aimed at halting negative thoughts which goes through a sports performers mind.
Example of negative thought stopping
A footballer stopping feelings of ‘I can’t score’
Rational thinking
Challenging any negative thoughts by looking at logical real aspects of situation.
Rational thinking example
If an Olympic hurdler starts to worry, they will think about their wins and how well they did in qualifying
Mindfulness
A therapeutic technique, often involving meditation, whilst considering the present.
Mindfulness example
A gymnast worrying about the next routine but uses meditation to calm her headspace.
Imagery
Involves formation of mental pictures that are often unrelated to the actual activity.
Imagery example
A boxer is getting nervous before a fight might imagine he’s on a beach
Centering
Requires an athlete to focus on the here and now with concentration shifted to the centre of the body.
Energy is redirected to the centre of the body and achieve a calm, steady state.
Centering example
A tennis player in the locker room focuses his concentration on the centre of his body
Progressive muscular relaxation
Athletes have to learn to be aware of tension in muscles and then let it go.
Muscle groups should be combined until the whole body can be relaxed.
Progressive Muscle Relaxation example
A net baller tenses and relaxes her muscles working from her feet to her head.
Biofeedback
The use of different types of equipment or machines to provide feedback on a number of physiological responses associated with stress such as HR, BR and muscle activity/
Biofeedback example
A swimmer using a heart rate monitor before his race to recognise when he is becoming too anxious to help control his anxiety levels.
Breathing control
Controlling breathing through taking slow, deep breaths to ensure you get enough oxygen and feel more relaxed and in control.
Breathing control example
A volleyball player takes deep slow breaths before taking the serving position.
