Anxiety is part and parcel of performing in sport for a majority of athletes and being able to manage your anxiety can really help you produce a better performance. Under pressure, some athletes can produce a ‘clutch’ performance where they actually perform better, however for others they can be overcome with nerves or anxiety. Having […]
How can anxiety affect performance? There are many theories and models that explain anxiety in a sporting performance, an early theory implied was the inverted-U theory. Yerkes & Dodson (1908) theory states that anxiety’s relationship with performance is similar to the inverted-U shaped continuum, low level of anxiety leads to a decrease in performance and […]
Athletes spend much of their time mentally and physically preparing for athletic competitions in hopes of improving playing performances. However, many athletes are inconsistent with their athletic performances due to anxiety, lack of self-confidence, and other barriers (Mamassis & Doganis, 2004). Athletes who experience sport related anxiety may also suffer from feelings of worthlessness, physical/emotional […]
Its the week of the big game, exam or even a job interview, you start to feel ‘butterflies’ in your stomach, you start to think “I’m Nervous” or “Something’s not right” you ‘freak out’ and you eventually under-perform or freeze under the spotlight. Well the good news is… everyone, whether athletic or not will have experienced […]
In sport we often assume that elite athletes are super human. We watch the likes of Ronaldo, Jessica Ennis and Andy Murray all perform at such high standards, producing skills and using psychological strength to overcome challenges and adversity. Within the media we hear about the lavish lifestyles which these athletes live, with buying Ferraris, […]
Given the high demands of life in our fast moving society, we are all vulnerable to experiencing feelings of both stress and anxiety. Feelings of nervousness, worry and fear are therefore common symptoms, which are normal emotions to feel from time to time. Panic attacks, however, are more than just feelings of stress and anxiety. […]
Football has been described as “more than just a game” (Jones, 1995). As a result, footballers are experiencing psychological distress despite achieving great sporting success. To attest to this point, more than one quarter of professional footballers suffer from symptoms of depression and anxiety (Gouttebarge, 2014). Football is a highly pressured environment where emotional experiences […]
Anxiety is both a psychological and physiological phenomenon. Anxiety is related to emotions such as fear, and negative thoughts such as not being able to cope. The physiological aspects of anxiety include sweating, not sleeping, feeling tense, headaches, raised blood pressure and problems with eating/digestive functions. What is Anxiety? Barlow (2002) defines anxiety as an […]
1 in 4 of us will suffer with poor mental health at some point in our lives. Anxiety can affect around 16% of the British population at any one time with depression affecting around 1 in 10 adults. Anxiety and depression are generally controlled through medication and, for the fortunate who have reached the top […]
Anxiety is an unpleasant motivational state (Lundqvist et al. 2011) comprising of cognitive (worrying thoughts) and somatic (oneself perception of physiological arousal) anxiety (Englert and Bertrams 2012), commonly measured by the CSAI-2 (Martens et al. 1990 cites Edward and Hardy 1996); hardy individuals believe they are in control of events and reportedly have reduced levels […]