Understanding and Managing Stress in Sport Chapter 12 Understanding and Managing Stress in Sport Sheldon Hanton, Stephen Mellalieu, and Jean M. Williams “Nerves can be brilliant because they get your adrenalin going and it means you care and want to do well. There's a fine line, though... ” Rebecca Adlington Olympic & World Swimming Champion Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.

Stress Integral to any athlete’s preparation is some form of stress management Goals = optimal mental and physical state ready to perform AND strategies to cope with any challenges that may present themselves during competition Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.

Cognitive-Behavioral Stress Management Change cognitions and thought patterns to influence behavior Cognitive motivational relational theory (CMRT) The experience of stress as an ongoing evaluation of the demands an athlete faces (internal and environment) TRANSACTION: relationship between the demands of the environment an individual faces and the resources they possess to deal with it Threat = when athletes perceive resources are too insufficient to meet the demands of the situation Threat elevates with the individual’s perception Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.

Causes of Stress Competitive stressors Organization stressors Examples: the level of physical preparation attained; the standard of the opponent; the internal and external pressures and expectations to perform Organization stressors Examples: the performer’s role in the sport organization; sport relationships and interpersonal demands Personal stressors Examples: lifestyle issues, financial demands, the relationships with family or significant others Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.

Responses to Stress Arousal Activation Generalized physiological and psychological activation of the person Activation the overall physical and mental state that is required by an athlete to be ready to perform a respective task or activity Deep sleep Extreme excitement Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.

Responses to Stress (cont.) Competitive anxiety Situation-specific negative emotional response to one’s view of competitive stressors and competition as threats COGNITIVE ANXIETY RESPONSES thoughts experienced in stressful situations Worries Negative expectations Performance apprehensions SOMATIC ANXIETY RESPONSES perceptions of arousal in stressful environments Muscular tension Butterflies Increased heart rate Dry mouth Perspiration Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.

Responses to Stress (cont.) Competitive anxiety An athlete might experience anxiety as positive OR negative The key message for sport psychologists is to understand that how athletes evaluate and appraise the symptoms they experience will influence subsequent efforts and strategies toward maintaining optimal performance states Self-regulatory skills Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.

Responses to Stress (cont.) Measurement of Stress-Related Symptoms Assess the experiences of the stress process and its consequences with questionnaires Trait anxiety - general predisposition to respond across many situations with high levels of anxiety because of typically appraising situations as threatening State anxiety - varies from moment-to-moment and fluctuates proportionately to the perceived threat of a situation trait anxiety, state anxiety Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.

Responses to Stress (cont.) Beware of questionnaires Not all individuals are willing to give open and honest responses Not necessarily objective Sport psychologists should seek a comprehensive range of assessment strategies to fully diagnose stress experiences Also, make sure to explain the relationships between stress and performance! Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.

Early Arousal-Based Approaches Drive theory Increases in drive or arousal are associated with linear increases in performance providing that the task is well learned Debunked – nothing supports it Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.

Early Arousal-Based Approaches (cont.) The inverted-U hypothesis Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.

Early Arousal-Based Approaches (cont.) The inverted-U hypothesis with individual differences Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.

Early Arousal-Based Approaches (cont.) The inverted-U hypothesis provides some useful information BUT it is too simplistic and has too many limitations Fails to consider cognitive anxiety and its interaction with arousal Use in combination to explain the stress-performance relationship or for prescribing stress management strategies Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.

Contemporary Anxiety Theories Zone of optimal functioning (ZOF) Helps athlete establish individual optimal levels of pre-performance anxiety, within which performance levels are proposed to be greatest Criticized for its lack of explanation as to why individual levels of cognitive and somatic anxiety may be optimal or detrimental for performance

Contemporary Anxiety Theories (cont.) Multidimensional anxiety theory (MAT) Makes distinctions between competitive state cognitive and somatic anxiety because they have different antecedents and relationships to performance Somatic anxiety can have positive performance effects Cognitive anxiety cannot Critiqued because it does not consider the beneficial effects of cognitive anxiety on performance Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.

Contemporary Anxiety Theories (cont.) Cusp catastrophe model Describes the interactive effects of cognitive anxiety and physiological arousal on performance The effect of physiological arousal on performance will either be: Smooth and small Large and catastrophic Somewhere in between the two extremes The model has been critiqued and modified Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.

Mechanistic Explanations Processing efficiency theory (PET) When a person is anxious, a proportion of their attentional capacity for the task is filled by task-irrelevant cognitive worry Reduces their working memory capacity, impairs cognitive processing efficiency, and performance Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.

Mechanistic Explanations (cont.) Attentional control theory (ACT) An extension to PET Anxiety influences efficiency but does not influence effectiveness High levels of cognitive anxiety are not inherently negative – it can serve to motivate athletes BUT it is at the expense of using a greater amount of available attentional resources Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.

Mechanistic Explanations (cont.) Conscious processing hypothesis (CPH) A high-anxious performer starts to over-think skills Skills that are normally undertaken with little or no thought become disrupted due to the skilled athlete trying to ‘consciously’ control the movement Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.

Implications for Stress Management Interventions Approaches adopted by sport psychology practitioners Reduction approach to reduce the symptoms associated with stress Restructuring approach to restructure interpretations of symptoms from a negative to a positive viewpoint Energizing function to help athlete’s with an insufficient activation state in relation to their sporting task or activity (i.e., under arousal) Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.

Stress Management Skills and Strategies: Preventative Approaches Removing or reducing the stressor by targeting the causes of stress in practical ways Athlete needs to exert control over their stress Tactics: Advice-seeking Information gathering Planning Problem solving Proactive behavior Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.

Stress Management Skills and Strategies: Reduction Approaches Reducing physiological arousal and the intensity of competition anxiety symptoms Techniques: Muscle-to-mind – focus on the bodily aspects and include breathing exercises and progressive relaxation Mind-to-muscle – focus on the stimulation from the brain to the muscles, and include meditation, visualization, and autogenic training Should target or match the dominant anxiety symptoms experienced in stressful situations Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.

Stress Management Skills and Strategies: Reduction Approaches (cont.) Athletes need to be taught to recognize unwanted tension and to relax or release that tension Why would an athlete want to be completely relaxed (zero-activation level)? Increases sensitivity to tension levels and their ability to regulate levels of tension to match the demands of the performance situation Also facilitates recovery from fatigue, helps sleep, removes localized tension, and creates skills for momentary relaxation Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.

Stress Management Skills and Strategies: Reduction Approaches (cont.) Breathing exercises Athletes who experience stress during a high-pressure performance either hold their breath or breathe rapidly and shallowly Learning to take a deep, slow, complete breath from the belly will usually trigger a relaxation response Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.

Stress Management Skills and Strategies: Reduction Approaches (cont.) Progressive relaxation (PR) A series of exercises that involve contracting a specific muscle group, holding the contraction for 5–7 seconds and then relaxing Differential PR Abbreviated active PR Passive PR The athlete can recognizing unwanted tension wherever it may occur and release it rapidly in practically any stressful situation Initial requires 25-30 minutes - should be done daily Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.

Stress Management Skills and Strategies: Reduction Approaches (cont.) Momentary muscle relaxation exercises These exercises take 10-30 seconds and are best used during performance Quick body scan Neck and shoulder check Sport muscle check Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.

Stress Management Skills and Strategies: Reduction Approaches (cont.) Meditation Helps one achieve a state of deep relaxation and facilitates concentration by disciplining the mind Four basic components: A quiet environment A comfortable position A mental device or mantra A passive attitude Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.

Stress Management Skills and Strategies: Reduction Approaches (cont.) Visualization Imagining you are somewhere relaxing Autogenic training Exercises designed to produce 2 relaxing, physical sensations: warmth and heaviness Autogenic training with visualization Multimodal stress management techniques Stress inoculation training Combines the skills of imagery, self-talk and relaxation to develop a coping skills program Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.

Stress Management Skills and Strategies: Reduction Approaches (cont.) Stress management training Imagery rehearsal – athlete asked to focus on emotional and affective responses to demand(s) being visualized. Rehearsal phase - practitioner encourages strong and intense emotional response through use of verbal propositions. Athlete instructed to ‘turn off’ intense emotional and affective response by implementing coping responses in form of relaxation and self-instruction skills. Skills transferred from imagined rehearsal scenarios to real-life settings of a steadily increasing stressful nature. Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.

Stress Management Skills and Strategies: Restructuring Approaches Athletes gain control over their anxiety by restructuring their mental and physical anxiety symptoms as beneficial optimal performance Advocates combining various techniques into an integrated framework: Imagery to recreate anxious thoughts and feelings Self-talk to challenge experiences Goal setting to provide control over the situation Imagery to emphasize control over emotions and depict successful performance in the stressful situation Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.

Stress Management Skills and Strategies: Energizing Approaches Athletes need to learn how to recognize signs and symptoms of low energy and activation Many of these techniques reverse the focus of reductive interventions so that they become energizing rather than calming Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.

Stress Management Skills and Strategies: Energizing Approaches (cont.) Breathing exercises Energizing imagery Energizing verbal cues Transferring energy Disassociate from fatigue Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.