By Diaphragmatic breathing, systematic desensitization and attention training are some of the most commonly used techniques in sports psychology to control nerves in athletes.
Anxiety is one of the most feared setbacks in sport. When it manifests itself in the form of nerves, it is a threat to performance and the work done . Therefore, controlling it is a priority objective that every athlete should learn.
Before putting tools into practice—such as visualization and positive self-talk—it is necessary to know its symptoms. Only in this way will we be more efficient in identifying and dealing with it.
For all these reasons, if you are a fan of exercise, this article will interest you. Below, we will look at the main manifestations of anxiety in sports and the best ways to reduce it.
Symptoms of anxiety
When we talk about anxiety, we do so in a generic way; however, this label does not feel the same to everyone. In fact, it is a construct that encompasses a multitude of different manifestations .
Psychologist Peter Lang was the first to develop the triple response system to refer to the three vectors in which anxiety manifests itself. These are the following:
- Physiological : Physical symptoms such as palpitations, sweating, muscle tension, difficulty breathing, or sweating.
- Behavioral : nail biting , shaking, stuttering, or withdrawing from the situation; that is, anything that is observable by others.
- Cognitive : negative thoughts, worries, fears , difficulties concentrating, negative beliefs about oneself, and so on.
How to control nerves in sports
Nerves can betray us all at times, but when it becomes habitual, we must find a solution . Therefore, below we will see the techniques most used by sports psychologists.
1. Diaphragmatic breathing
If there is a star tool to lower a person’s level of activation, it is diaphragmatic breathing . Above all, athletes use it in moments when the physiological component becomes very strong.
In short, it consists of performing breathing cycles by activating the diaphragm, or the upper part of the abdomen, instead of the lungs. This results in slower cycles with longer exhalations . In addition, it activates the vagus nerve, which causes feelings of relaxation.
According to a study conducted with soccer players by the Autonomous University of Yucatan , training in this technique proved to be effective in reducing stress levels. In addition, one of its strengths is its ease of learning and application.
2. Visualization
The power of imagination is widely used in sports psychology to achieve better performance. Among the techniques that use imagination, visualization is the best example and the one that has been most researched .
Visualizing involves creating a specific mental scenario as realistic as possible. Once created, the athlete can review movements, anticipate situations and successfully deal with them.
The event in which visualization has been used the most is in the control of pre-competition anxiety . Similarly, it is used when nerves before a competition threaten the work done.
In this regard, an article published in Acción Psicológica states that a training program for wrestlers that included this tool proved to be helpful in reducing anxiety before a competition.
3. Systematic desensitization
When it comes to facing fears, one of the most common and effective pieces of advice is to confront them. Gradual exposure to what scares us is one of the most solid remedies for reducing symptoms .
However, this is not easy to do, as we are used to avoiding it. It is therefore useful to combine exposure sessions with techniques that reduce the level of activation, such as diaphragmatic breathing, which we have mentioned.
In these cases, systematic desensitization is used. This is an intervention that has been around for many years, but is effective for anxiety in sport. This is confirmed by a study by the Catholic University of Murcia , carried out with athletics professionals.
4. Positive self-talk
The language we use with ourselves often determines our behaviour. The demands of sport encourage us to speak to ourselves with excessive criticism and harshness, which causes us to act with insecurity and doubt .
On the contrary, if we made an effort to examine and change our self-talk , we would discover that it is possible to gain confidence in what we do. This also leads to a decrease in the feeling of anxiety and, as a consequence, to optimal performance.
5. Attention training
When nerves are on edge, the rest of the cognitive processes are inevitably affected. The most illustrative example is attention. When we are anxious, it is common to have lapses of concentration, as we focus on irrelevant things and ignore what is happening in the game.
For this reason, an effective tactic to combat anxiety is to improve attention . This is not intended to stop feeling the symptoms, but rather to focus on what is important despite their presence. In addition, this works as a distraction from worries and ruminations that feed back into the discomfort.
6. Learn to set priorities
A common source of stress is trying to take on too much in too little time. As the saying goes, “He who takes on too much, accomplishes little.” For this reason, you need to keep your head as clear as possible and start organizing your responsibilities.
Within everything we have or want to do, there are tasks that need to be attended to urgently and others that are routine. Learning to identify them is a way to relieve stress and be able to complete them with less stress .
Keep anxiety at bay in sports with the help of psychology
You should never underestimate the ability of emotional distress to cause poor performance. It also doesn’t help to look the other way and hope it goes away on its own . If you really want to get rid of this burden, you have to take an active approach and work to identify and overcome it.
The techniques described above to deal with anxiety in sport are the most well-known and used by sports psychology professionals. If you want to maximise results, accept the help of specialists and you will notice that discomfort will not affect your performance.