ANXIETY & STRESS​

WHAT IS ANXIETY?

It is the situation of facing an uncertain existential threat. It happens once the resources available to deal with this situation are analysed. (Lazarus, 2000) It is composed of psychological changes, subjective experiences and tendency to action.

​ ​ HOW DOES IT HAPPEN? ​ ​

As a momentary response to a certain situation. It manifests as reactions that can last a few seconds or minutes.

​ WHAT ARE THEIR CHARACTERISTICS?

1) ANXIETY OF STATE: immediate emotional state manifested by issues related to fear and increased physiological activity. Eg: increased heart rate.

2) TRAIT ANXIETY: context situation that can be interpreted as dangerous, thus responding by increasing state anxiety.

3) COGNITIVE ANXIETY: mental manifestations caused by fear, negative social analysis, loss of self-esteem and failure. ​

4) SOMATIC ANXIETY: physiological responses of the body, such as increased heart rate.

5) SELF-CONFIDENCE: Despite not being a direct measure of anxiety, it refers to the degree of security that a person believes to have when testing their abilities and achieving success. Low levels of self-confidence lead to high levels of cognitive anxiety.​ ​

INVERTED "U" THEORY Establishes that the relationship between sports performance and activation is manifested in a curvilinear and non-linear way. Establishes the relationship between sports performance and activation. Yerkes and Dodson (1980) attempted to interpret the relationships between activation, task difficulties, and sports performance. The goal is to find the optimal activation levels, since above and below the optimal are not related to positive levels of performance. THIS IS WHAT THEY DEFINE AS "INVERTED".

+ TASK COMPLEXITY               - LEVEL OF AROUSAL - TASK COMPLEXITY               + LEVEL OF AROUSAL WHAT IS PRE-COMPETITIVE ANXIETY ?

It is related to the experience or personal experiences of each athlete added to the coaches' resources to work at such times. ​ ​

ANXIETY DIRECTIONAL INTERPRETATION MODEL

- Jones, 2003 - ​

​ - ANXIETY LEVELS and IMPACT ON SPORTS PERFORMANCE are NOT determining factors, but what matters is how this is perceived by the athlete in terms of FAVORABLE or UNFAVORABLE for performance. 

- EXPECTATIONS by athletes to achieve good sports performance are related to the interpretation of their ANXIETY LEVELS.​

- Athletes who trust in their MOTOR PERFORMANCE CAPABILITY and in achieving GOOD SPORTS PERFORMANCE have TASK-ORIENTED LEVELS OF ANXIETY.​

- This model is related to variables such as: MOTOR SKILLS of the subjects, PRACTICED SPORT, and GENDER. ​

- Athletes with high levels of competitive state anxiety are more likely to increase their STRESS LEVEL prior to competition.  

- STATE ANXIETY levels are increased according to the perceived DANGER LEVEL in terms of LACK OF ABILITIES to resolve certain situations. (Hammermeister & Burton, 2004)

Factors that lead to the generation of an ANTICIPATED STATE OF ANXIETY to a SITUATION OF ACHIEVEMENT (Endler, 1983): 

• Fear of failure during the task.

• Fear of negative social judgement.

• Fear of physical injury.

• Ambiguity in the decision making process.

Interruption of your practice once started. WHAT IS STRESS ? 

It is a non-specific bodily manifestation oriented towards any type of demand. ​ - Seley,1983 -​

General Adaptation Syndrome

a) ALARM REACTION: The organism puts defense mechanisms to overcome different situations. b) RESISTANCE PHASE​: This is where the search for adaptation is generated. c) EXHAUSTION PHASE​: It is when the adaptation phase cannot manifest itself.

WHAT ARE THE SIGNS TO BE INTERPRETED AS ANXIETY OR STRESS ?

- Increased respiratory rate

- Upset stomach

- Mental distraction

- Nausea

- Diarrhea

- Need to urinate

- Loss of attention

- Lip movement

- Physical tiredness or fatigue

- Increased heart rate

- Irritability

- Dry mouth

- Sweaty hands

- Trembling legs

- Decreased voice

- Increased body temperature

- Increased muscle tone

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ANXIETY AND STRESS ?

STRESS - Does not generate a specific type of non-verbal communication.

- The coping or 'coping' (cognitive and behavioral effort that is carried out to control, reduce or learn to tolerate threats that lead to stress) that is triggered is generally versatile and proactive.

- Physiological activation is frequent as a result of their processes.

ANXIETY - Non-verbal communication is very poor.

- Coping is emotional and focuses on solving the current situation.

- Subjective feeling associated with distress (negative stress) along with others such as tranquility and aggressiveness. (Miguel - Tobal & Casado, 1999)​

Sports proficiency, the athlete's motor skills & experience are resources that collaborate in managing anxiety & stress levels.

TECHNIQUES USED TO IMPROVE STRESS STRATEGIES

One of the most effective techniques, and I realise that, that we train for stress management and coping is self-dialogue or internal dialogue.

INTERNAL DIALOGUE​

- Dialogue that the athlete maintains with himself during sports practice or competition.

- It can be positive or negative.

- The intention is that positive internal dialogue predominates to transform it into a coping strategy to overcome anxiety, improve technical skills and levels of self-confidence.

- Athlete self-analyses his perceptions, feelings and convictions.

Associated with 3 categories:

1) Related to the task to be performed and the way to perform the technique.

2) Words of encouragement and effort.

3) Mood improvement.

ADVANTAGES​ - Generation of belief of overcoming and self-confidence in carrying out a task

- Learning of new motor skills.

- Modify & generate states of mind

- Management of intensity during training and competitions

- Ability to focus attention & concentration.​ ​

Source: Zonsser, Bunker & Williams (2006)

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