Sporting Performance Anxiety Essay

Meditative breathing is specific form of meditative that has been found effective in treating symptoms of anxiety (Vukovic, 2003). Meditative breathing is essentially taking a few minutes to stop and focus on the rising and falling on your breath. A person will do the activity for a specified time limit or number of breaths. The goal is for the person to clear his or her mind of all thoughts unrelated to their breathing. Through this process the person is said to be 'centering' themselves and disengaging from stressful distractions such as racing and/or obsessive thoughts (Murphy, 2006).

The secret lies in being able to gain control over your thoughts. Mindfulness has been shown to lower anxiety and stress as well as the fatigue that it causes. Over time, it has also been shown to improve memory (which is often negatively affected by anxiety) and improve reaction times.

Next, there is going to be an explanation of how anxiety and performance relate among athletes. A lot of sports psychology is related to anxiety. It shapes the way we think and behave prior to an event. “The ability to cope with pressure and anxiety is an integral part of sports, particularly among elite athletes” (Humara, 1999). If one is unable to get through the psychological battle that is going through their heads, it will lead to doing poorly when participating in an event.

This study elaborates on how mindfulness meditation can be used to sooth anxiety. “Mindfulness meditation is premised on stabilizing attention, acknowledging discursive sensory events as ‘momentary’ and ‘releasing’ them without affective reaction” (Zeidan, Martucci, Kraft & Coghill, 2014). For this study specific participants were selected to go through a process form results for the existing hypothesis. Zeidan et al. (2014) “We hypothesized that mindfulness meditation would be more effective at reducing anxiety than simply attending to the breath (ATB) because mindfulness meditation wold recruit mechanisms associated with cognitive control and emotion regulation.”

Hoar cites Graham Jones (1991) as proposing the direction dimension of perceived anxiety, which relates to the translation of perceived anxiety to either debilitative or facilitative behaviour. Simply, athletes differ in the way they handle anxiety, some athletes perceive anxiety as a sign of readiness, and others perceive it as a reason to believe they are unable to perform at a high level. Jones’ proposal is highlighted in an article by Martinant and Ferrant (2007) which aims to find meaning groups of athletes based on intensity, direction, and frequency of anxiety.

In the article Is Mindfulness Good Medicine?, they discuss Mindfulness meditation and its benefits to our health particularly for people with anxiety and depression disorders. This is a quick and easy remedy for people with those disorders. Mindfulness meditation is paying attention

The cornerstone of meditation is focusing on breathing and one's breathing patterns. By becoming more conscious of one's breathing, this can become a mental technique to deal with tiredness and stress. Breathing diverts the focus away from exterior distractions and the often overly emotional and

A team is a group of people who must interact with each other in order

Famous philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard states, “Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom.” Anxiety has removed people from their full potential emotionally, mentally, and physically. The year anxiety started to remove me was freshman year during volleyball season. I didn’t look forward to practice or games. Unfailingly hearing, “get on the line,” after every single slight mistake in the butterfly drill. Being in shape for cross country because we constantly had to run instead of actually doing fundamental drills. Then came Sophomore year, I asked my mom every night if I had to go to school the next day because I dreaded it so much. I had no motivation to study, spend time with friends or family, and I was consistently going through the motions. Depression, anxiety, and fear had taken over my life and was testing my faith to its limits.

My philosophy is based on providing the athletes with an opportunity to enhance their performance and develop their skills in a supportive and enjoyable environment.

At one time or another, we all suffer from anxiety. While experiencing some level of anxiety periodically,

I do believe that meditative exercises can help with anxiety attack. I can give an example of how I use meditation now. In 2012, I was in Atlantic City, New Jersey, my friends and I were visiting a beach, after the beach we decided to go to Rita’s. As soon as we crossed the street shots began pouring out. One of them hit our vehicle. Now moving into the future everytime I hear a woosh sound I think it is gun firing. For instance when a train comes to a stop and then the steam is let out the sound given out is a woosh. I get anxious and scared. But through meditation I let my mind know that the sound is expected in scenarios so that helps draw my attention away from the anxiety. I also enjoyed the drum circle. The whole circle participated and it was very funny. It was funny because we were all expecting someone in the class to make a funny sound so we could all do it. Overall, the circle from last Wednesday was very creative, unique and fun. The reading in the book was also intriguing. I liked how the elders got the local Boys and Girls club to get involved. I thought that it was a brilliant idea. Through the reading I was able to find out the difference between a circle and similar process. Which has been on my mind since I

One way to overcome anxiety is by breathing. Yes, it is that simple. First, take a deep breath. Allow the oxygen to slowly fill the lungs. Next, count to three. Finally, breathe out and allow all the muscles in the body to relax. This technique relieves the stress the body is under due to the physiological effect on the nervous system. This is known as deep breathing, which activates the hypothalamus, or the region in the forebrain that is connected to

CENTRAL IDEA: Anxiety comes in many forms, but the most important aspect of it is being able to identify and manage it.

The therapeutic model I will outline is Deep Relaxation and Meditation, it has been said to “help with psychological stress, anxiety disorders and major depression” (215). For people with anxiety, “the stress system never shut down …. deep relaxation and meditation can help shut down the release of stress chemical into the bloodstream” (Brogaard, 215). It seems by relaxing and taking deep breathes it allows you to focus on the situation that is arising, plus it can help you to center yourself from having an anxiety episode. Plus deep relaxation and meditation can “rejuvenate the brain’s chemistry and leads to a calmer state of mind, even after the relaxation or mediation ends” (216).