Many people confuse the terms of arousal, stress, and anxiety. For the purpose of Sport Psychology they need to be looked at as three different and distinct entities. Arousal can be defined as a general physiological and psychological activation of the person that varies on a continuum from deep sleep to intense excitement. Anxiety on the other hand is the negative emotional state with feelings of nervousness, worry,and apprehension associated with activation or arousal of the body. Stress is a state of tension that is created when a person responds to the demands and pressures that come from work, family and other external sources, as well as those that are internally generated from self imposed demands, obligations and self-criticism.

Anxiety has two components the cognitive anxiety or state anxiety, and the somatic anxiety or trait anxiety. State anxiety is temporary and always changing state of subjective, consciously perceived feelings of apprehension and tension, associated with activation of the autonomic nervous system. Trait anxiety is behavioral disposition to perceive objectively nondangerous circumstances as threatening, and respond accordingly. Trait anxiety is directly related to the personality of the individual.

Anxiety can be caused from a number of determining factors. Different athletes from differnt walks of life, have different forms of anxiety. An athlete from a third world country maybe performing in competition to feed his family, thus causing a great deal of stress on the athlete to perform to the best of his potential. While the athlete from another country is performing just for the sheer excitement of the sport.

The sources of most stress however, can usually be broken down into two categories. First is that of personal or natural sources, and what is termed situational sources.

• Some natural causes of anxiety include: Cognitive anxiety, Somatic anxiety, and Behavioral anxiety. Cognitive anxiety can include worry, and uncertainty. Whereas Somatic anxiety includes movement changes in the perceived physiological arousal. And last is Behavioral anxiety. This is if your attention field is narrow you have a high level of arrousal, and if it is too broad you have a low level of arousal.
• In the topic of situational sources of stress, Event Importance and Uncertainty are the two main underlying categories. Event Importance is where the idea of "clutch" performer has come into play. Where the indiviual athlete does not appear to have any physiological changes in his performance during the regular season as compared to the championship of the event. Uncertainty has a key also in the performance of the athlete. It is one thing to play in another state, but how about another country? Or how about being knocked uncousious in a game and waking up with a cast on your arm and being told that you are unable to perform in that event ever agian. These are just some of the uncertainties that face an athlete on a daily basis.

In some sports, we find that controlling the arousal is necessary for the performance of the sport. Such is the case for basketball, gymnastics, diving, football’s skilled players, target shooters, and other such sports. However, there are sports such as shot put, javelin, and the hammer throw that just require the raw strength to achieve the goal of winning.

There are limits that are placed on ones' self that may work to the disadvantage of the athlete's performance. Training stress syndrome is one of these problems that could be manifested. Training Stress Syndrome effects many people in all areas of life, not just the sports world. If you are learning to recognize the signs of this syndrome, you can get help early and prevent the final result: BURNOUT. Everyone feels tired and unmotivated at times but this should not be a persistent feeling. Physical overtraining can lead to feelings of fatigue and a lack of excitement for the sport. Sometimes a day off can do more for your success in a sport than anything else. It is important to find the line of maximum improvement but take caution not to fly past the line too far and too long. Drive Theory is another relationship that effects ones performance. The drive theory is proposed as individual's arousl or state anxiety increases, so does their performance. This is a positive effect of ones arousal working toward a better performance.

Traditional Stress Management Techniques

• Hypnosis and Suggestions (Bechterev 1920, Moss 1965, Berger 1970, Gorbunov 1975-1996)
• Mental Practice (Lars-Eric-Unistal 1979)
• Positive Thinking (Beck's technique)
• Catastrophic Thought Techniques (Ellis 1973)
• Cognitive Behavioral Modification (Wolpe and Lazarus 1976)
• Progressive Relaxation (Jacobson 1932, Benson and Kipper 1976)
• Autogenic Training - Biofeedback (Schultz 1959)
• Attentional Control Training (Nideffer 1978)
• Visual-Motor-Rehersal (Suinn 1980)
• Psychotherepy of Self-Efficiacy (Bandura 1970)

Progressive Relaxation

• Impossible to be nervous or tense when the muscles are relaxed.
• Anxious mind can't exit in a relaxed body.
• Goal of technique - to relax entire body.
• Method - progressive relaxation following progressive muscle tension.
• Start - with left arm and hand, go to right arm and hand, then go to left leg , then go to right leg, then go to trunk ,back, and face.
• Isometeric vs Isotonic muscular contraction - both effective.
• Resistance technique (Greenberg 1990).
• Combination of relaxation and imagery

Biofeedback

• Basic principle - a person's ability to control the autonomic nervous system functions at will - voluntary control of their own body.
• Instrumentation
1. EMG - feedback.
2. EEG - feedback.
3. SGR - Skin Galvanic Reaction.
4. Heart rate and blood pressure
• Alpha - relax EEG - 8-12Hz - peaks/sec.
• Beta - beta activity - 15-30Hz - peaks/sec.
• Skin - the less skin resistance, the more stress on athlete

Biofeedback and Performance

• Landers - Heart rate deceleration in shooting (decrease in heart rate results in a increase in accuracy).
• Landers and Frue - EEG (alpha activation).
• Dewit - EMG feedback in basketball free throws.
• French- Stabilogrophy and EMG in ballet.
• Slobounov- Stabilography and EMG in Diving and Gymnastics.
• Slobounov- EEG feedback for sleep disorders.

Meditation (Bob Nideffer 1976)

• Goal - an attempt to uncritically focus a person's attention on a single thought, sound, or object.
• Prerequisites: quiet environment, passive, attitude, decreased muscle tone.
• Mental devices - silent repetition of a mantra "OH" or "AHHOM"
• Mandala - geometrical figures
• Nadam - imagined sound
• Pranayama - breathing technique (Benson's approach)

Benson's Approach

• Mental device - word, phrase, object - process to shift attention inwardly
• Passive attitude
• Decreased muscle tone
• Quiet environment

Hypnosis

• Hypnosis defined as uncritical acceptance of verbal suggestions. (Ulett and Peterson 1965)
• Hypnotic Trance - results in relaxation accompanying oxygen consumption, respiration and heart rate reduction.
• Four events accompanying hypnosis:
• Relaxation - lethargy and drowsiness.
• Responsiveness to verbal suggestions.
• Changes in the body awareness, feeling, and sensation.
• Subject knows that they are hypnotized - consciousness is intact

Theories of Hypnosis

• Trance vs Cognitive behavioral viewpoint (Berger 1974)

a) Trance as a state of cortical inhibition.

b) Positive attribute, willingness to be Hypnotized.

• Achieving the Trance
• Preparation phase - fear relief.
• Induction process - attentional focus and imagery
• monotonous verbal suggestions "you are feeling sleepy".
• Hypnotic Phase
• Neutral Hypnosis
• Waking up - alert trance - posthypnotic suggestions.

Autogenic Training (Schultz)

• Aim of training- voluntary control of physiological function.
• Target of control- heart rate, blood pressure, muscle tone.
1. Mental device, verbal suggestions, and visualization.
• Autogenic training as a process
1. heaviness in the arms and legs.
2. warmth in the arms, legs, chest, face, etc.
3. perception of reduced heart rate.
4. calm and relaxed breathing.
5. warmth in the solar plexus area.
6. sensation of coolness on the forehead.

Why Psychological Skill Training is Neglected

• Lack of knowledge
• Psychological skills are viewed as unchangeable
• Lack of time
• PST MYTHS
1. PST is only for "problem" athletes
2. PST is only for the "elite" athletes
3. PST provides "Quick fix" solution (I need this by tomorrow)
4. PST is not useful

PST is Knowledge Base

• Elite athlete research - more successful athletes have better concentration, higher confidence, more task oriented thoughts, lower anxiety, and more progressive thoughts.
• Athlete and Coach Experience - Topics found most useful: arousal regulation, imagery/mental preparation, confidence, attention/concentration and self talk
• PST effectiveness - educationally based PST enhances sport performance.

Three Phases of PST

1. Educational Phase - Psychological skills need to be learned and practiced. Expect improvement as you develop the skills and refine them over time.
2. Acquisition Phase - Tailor training programs to meet individual needs. You can provide general information to the group or team, but be specific when developing an individual PST program.
3. Practice Phase- Learning psychological skills should progress from practices and simulations to actual competitions.


Implementing a PST Program

• When to implement? In the off season.
• How long? 10-15min/day; 3-5 days/wk.
• Who should administer? sport psychologist or coach.

Designing a PST program

• Discuss your approach
• Assess athlete's mental skills
• Determine psychological skills to include
• Design a PST schedule
• Evaluate the program

Ethical Consideration - Sports psychology consultants should respect the dignity and worth of the individual, and honor the preservation of fundamental human rights.

Common problems in implementing a PST program:

• Lack of conviction - dedication
• Lack of time
• Lack of sports knowledge
• Lack of follow-up

Imagery

• What is imagery?
• Does imagery work?
• How does imagery work?
• Uses of imagery?
• Types of imagery?
• Basics of imagery training?
• Developing an imagery training program.
• Visualization "what you see is what you get" video exercise.



What is Imagery?

• Imagery aliases: visualization, mental research, mental practice.
• Imagery involves: creating or recreating and experience in your mind.
• Imagery involves all the sense: Visual, kinesthetic, auditory, tactile, olfactory, and ideomotoric training = steps of training.
• Imagery involves moods and emotions.

Does Imagery Work?

• Anecdotal reports: Jack Nicklaus, Chris Evert, Greg Luganus, etc.
• Case Study: college kicker, basketball, Olympic ski team.
• Experimental Evidence: Scientific evidence supports imagery's effectiveness. However, the nature of the task and the skill level of the performer affect how imagery will enhance performance. Novice and highly skilled performers who use imagery on cognitive tasks show the most performance effects.

How Imagery Works

• Psychoneuromuscular theory - in imagery the same physiological function works as if they are doing the movement (EEG feedback).
• Symbolic Learning theory - Proving a image and contemplating it before competitive competition.
• Psychological Skill Hypothesis - Abrupt changes, or catastrophe...the individual will not allow it to interfere.

Use of Imagery

• Improve your concentration - focus on the key elements of the performance.
• Build Confidence - An ability to continuously produce skill.
• Control Emotional responses.
• Practice Sports Skills.

Types of Imagery

• Internal Imagery - the execution of a skill from your own perspective.
• External Imagery - View yourself from the perspective of an external observer.

The key is whether a person uses an internal or external image appears to be less important than choosing a comfortable style that produces clear controllable images.

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