Anxiety

what is anxiety?

This is a negative aspect of experiencing stress and can be caused in sport by worry or apprehension or due to fear of falling in a competitive situation

what is state anxiety?

• anxiety with a particular situation

• often linked to competitive anxiety where the individual will feel anxious in most situations

• e.g. before an important game

what is trait anxiety?

• is a stable personality trait where the individual will become anxious in most situations

• can happen in any situation as it is more innate rather than linked to a particular situation

• e.g. feeling nervous without having any preconceived worries

anxiety can impact performance in many ways, it can cause an athlete to….

• Lack concentration

• Become demotivated

• Have poor control or become overly aggressive

• Have poor technique and mistakes

what 2 categories can the response to anxiety be divided into?

• Somatic - what happens physically in the body and therefore is a physiological response

• Cognitive - refers to the way we think and feel psychologically

what are some cognitive effects of anxiety?

• Worry

• Negative self-talk

• Doubt/fear of failure

• Difficulty concentrating

• Moody/irritable

• Overthinking 

• Decreased confidence

• bad decisions

• drop the ball

what are some somatic effects of anxiety?

• Sweating

• Nausea

• Shakes

• Increased heart rate

• Shallow/rapid breathing

• Dry mouth

• Temperature change

• shaking makes fine skills harder

• nausea may distract you from what you are doing

what is the zone of optimal functioning? (key definition)

The zone of optimal functioning is when an athlete's arousal/anxiety levels are the optimum level and therefore they will give their best performance.

what are some characteristics of a performer who is in the zone of optimal functioning may have?

• Focused/concentrating

• Play is more natural

• Enjoying/satisfied

• Effortless/automatic

• Confident

is the zone of optimal functioning the same for all performers?

• no this zone tends to be different for performers as some may react better to pressure than others

• some might link performance to emotions for example they perform better when angry

• and for some it could be factors outside of performance such as injury or training not going well.