M4 Management of Stress in Competitive Environments

Stress in Sport and Other Performance Settings

Many athletes experience nerves and anxiety but can convert the associated energy into positive performance

• High-level performers may use pressure to mobilize effort and attention

Normal vs Dysfunctional Stress

Level of stress that results in dysfunction does not have one universal answer:

• A certain level of activation may help and athlete prepare and engage

• Stress may be considered dysfunctional when it impairs performance or prevents effective functioning

• The appropriate level depends on the individual and task

Risk of Unaddressed Stress

When people cannot find a way to manage pressure, they may leave sport—especially when they lack guidance

Double Mini Trampoline Example

Gairdner’s double mini trampoline example:

• Noted how during double mini trampoline, could use all of your ‘nervous energy’ into aggression during the jump

• However, on the big trampoline event, this wasn’t possible because it may interfere with your jumping technique

Stress

A dynamic relationship b/w a performer and their environment

• Performers appraise the demands of a situation and assess whether they can cope with them

Experiencing Stress

When someone believes they lack the resources to meet the demands, they are more likely to experience stress and competitive anxiety

Stress Factors

• Can be additive

• Perceived meaning matters

• No single level for dysfunction

Can be additive

Stress can be additive: difficulties in one area of life can disrupt performance of coping another

• doesn't operate in isolation

• when experiencing multiple stressors, even a small additional stressor can become overwhelming

Perceived meaning matters

The same situation may feel manageable to one person but overwhelming to another

• e.g. a trained navy SEAL may feel confident undertaking a dangerous, practiced task but someone without that experience may appraise the same task as extremely stressful

Competitive Stressors

Includes

• Performance and goal expectations

• Perceived physical and mental preparation

• Expectations from coaches, teammates, family

• Interpersonal conflict

• Financial pressures

• Past trauma or fear or reinjury

• Weather, environmental conditions, crowd noise

Anxiety

Two types of anxiety (can act together)

• Cognitive Anxiety

• Somatic Anxiety

Cognitive Anxiety

Worrying thoughts, including apprehension, doubts about competence, and fear of failure

Somatic Anxiety

Physical sensations associated w/ arousal such as:

• Inc HR and respiration

• Sweaty palms, butterflies, or a sore stomach

• Shaking hands or legs

Facilitative Anxiety

Refers to anxiety or activation that supports performance

• Term is debated:

  • Some use anxiety neutrally to describe an activated state that can help mobilize resources

  • Others use it negatively, to mean an experience that impairs performance

  • This makes “facilitative anxiety” contradictory to some; alternatives include facilitative stress or facilitative activation

• Nervousness and stress are sometimes reframed as excitement because similar activation can be interpreted in different ways

Physiological Stress Response

Short-term response

Chronic stress and inflammation

Short-Term Response

The short-term stress system helps the body respond to immediate demands

• Signals involving the hypothalamus and adrenal glands lead to hormone release including adrenaline (norepinephrine) and cortisol-related activity

• These responses help mobilize resources:

  • Making glucose available

  • Inc pupil dilation and attentional readiness

  • Inc oxygen intake

Chronic Stress and Inflammation

Prolonged activation of HPA axis keeps cortisol levels elevated

• May lead to tissue breakdown, inc inflammation, persistent heightened state of alert

• Higher inflammation can lead to

  • Anxious styles of thinking

  • Difficulty appraising and coping / stressful situations

Linking physiological and psychological experiences

Physiological conditions may influence psychological experiences and performance; symptoms should not automatically be treated as purely emotional or cognitive

Consider physical causes of psychological changes

A sudden decline in motivation or new, unusually intense anxiety may have a physiological component, not just a psychological one

• Possible factors include

  • Burnout, depression, under-eating or disordered eating, hormonal disruption, and inflammation

• In athletes experiencing under-eating or disordered eating, altered hormones and other bodily changes may affect motivation, anxiety, and information processing

Supporting Athletes Under Pressure

Sport psychologist’s approach should be individualized:

• Some athletes benefit from reframing stress and learning to use activation

• Others become unable to function under high pressure and may need help reducing it or developing coping resources

• Avoid pushing an athlete beyond what they can manage

Supporting Athletes Under Pressure Aside

Gairdner describes becoming more willing to explore the source of anxiety and help athletes face stressful situations

• Anxiety can be contagious in a session. Practitioner needs to pay careful attention not to adopt the athlete’s catastrophic interpretation

Supporting Athletes Under Pressure Example

Gairdner notes a young athlete panicked about competing at Worlds in 3 weeks, fearing she could not perform her skills and would embarass herself

• Response was to distinguish what she could and could not control

• She could not simply force a mental block to disappear by trying harder

• Focus shifted from guaranteeing success at Worlds to building persistence and resilience in practifce

• Encouraged to try strategies such as breathing, counting steps or skills, and other approaches to mental blocks, and to continue practice even if she could not complete every pass

• Practitioner should not promise an outcome; the athlete can still make meaningful progress through the process

Supporting Athletes Under Pressure Takeaways

Reframing should fit the individual. If an athlete rejects a proposed perspective, find another truthful and personally meaningful approach

• Goal is generally to adjust the work with stress, not to eliminate all anxiety

• Breathing exercises may not be effective during an acute panic attack

Reframing Arousal Example

Study of students taking the GRE compared:

• A standard test-taking group

• A group that read a brief message explaining that anxiety-related arousal need not harm performance and may help

The message encouraged students to remind themselves that arousal could support performance

The reframing group performed significantly better on the quantitative reasoning component; it did not show the same benefit on verbal reasoning

Illustrates how interpreting bodily activation can affect performance

Theories of Arousal and Performance

Drive Theory

Inverted U Theory

Catastrophe Theory

Drive Theory

Introduced in 1970s. Proposes that inc arousal and anxiety leads to inc in performance

• Limitation: Implies performance continues to rise regardless of how high arousal becomes

Inverted U Theory

Proposes that moderate arousal produces the best performance

• Too little activation may leave someone sleepy, unfocused, or unmotivated

• Too much may impair performance

Limitation: Curve is more realistic than drive theory, but it may not capture abrupt performance breakdowns

Inverted U Theory Task Specificity

The optimal point may shift depending on the sport and task:

• Power-based or less technically demanding tasks may tolerate or benefit from higher arousal

• Precise, technically complex tasks—such as golf or pool—may be better performed at lower arousal

Catastrophe Theory

Links arousal with cognitive anxiety

• When cognitive anxiety is high, rising arousal can bring an athlete to a threshold beyond which performance drops suddenly and dramatically, rather than declining gradually as in the inverted-U model

model highlights that choking may involve a sharp collapse in performance

Zone of Optimal Functioning and Individual Differences

Later models add factors that influence an individual’s optimal arousal, including personality, task demands, and learning stage

Extroverted vs Introverted Arousal

Extroverts

• Perform better with higher arousal (require more stimulation)

Introverts

• Perform better with lower arousal (require less stimulation, due to lower resting stimulation levels)

Task Complexity

Task complexity matters regarding arousal:

• Simple, gross-motor tasks may be performed better at higher arousal

• Complex, fine-motor tasks may be performed better at lower arousal

Learning Stage

Learning stage matters regarding arousal:

• At autonomous stages, well-learned movements may work well under higher arousal

• At cognitive or associative learning, athletes must consciously think through movements and thus lower arousal may be preferable

Zone of Optimal Functioning and Individualizing

The zone of optimal functioning approach supports individualized assessment, but adding many variables makes broad generalizations difficult

Choking

A sudden, substantial performance breakdown under high pressure

• For a well-learned skill, the motor cortex has an established plan that can run on automatically

• Under pressure, an overactivated prefrontal cortex can interfere with automatic movement by disrupting motor and cerebellar processes

• Athlete may consciously analyze movements that were previously automatic, becoming overwhelmed by questions about where to place their arms or legs

• Can make well-practiced skills feel unfamiliar and may contribute to paralysis or failure

• Understanding the brain mechanism is informative, but practical support must also address what the athlete can do to manage the situation