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Perfectionism is characterized by unrealistically high expectations of self and a tendency to be over critical of one’s performance (Madigan et al., 2016). Within the last decade, the number of research studies conducted on perfectionism in sports has increased significantly (Vicent, Sanmartín, Vásconez-Rubio, and García-Fernández, 2020). In 2005, Flett and Hewitt coined the term “perfectionism paradox” to describe how the environment of competitive sports encourages perfectionism in athletes (Flett & Hewitt, 2005). Since the emergence of Covid-19, researchers Flett and Hewitt are now referring to the phenomenon of widespread rates of perfectionism among athletes as a “perfectionism pandemic”.
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Imagery: The Action Happens in Your Mind
Imagery is a mental skill that allows athletes to mentally rehearse in their minds using their five senses to imagine or replay the desired experience . The aim of imagery is to train your mind and body to feel calm under pressure situations and influence the outcome of events. Athletes can use imagery to picture what it will look, feel, and sound like to compete under pressure in front of loud spectators and in specific competition arenas. The action happens in your mind.
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Using Routines to Mentally Prepare for Competition on the Road
In a typical season most teams play 50% or more games “away” from home or on the road. And yet, very few teams actually prepare for the differences between competing at home and away. The sheer number of away competitions that athletes can expect to experience demonstrates the importance of mentally preparing athletes to compete on the road.
One of the most effective mental performance strategies to help athletes adjust to discomfort and dysregulation that comes with playing away is for athletes to develop a pre-competition routine. A pre-competition routine or systematic ritual serves to increase athlete confidence and improve concentration (Vernacchia, McGuire, & Cook, 1996). To mentally prepare athletes for away competition, it can also be helpful to ask questions such as: What do you miss the most when you are competing away from home (Gardner & Moore, 2004)?
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Relational Cultural Theory
The American Counseling Association (ACA) defines heterosexism as, “the system of oppression that privileges heterosexual or cisgender identities, whereas LGBTQ+ people experience oppression based upon on their sexual orientation and/or gender identity and gender expression.” The implications of heterosexism on the mental health of the LGBTQ+ community is far-reaching and immeasurable. Heterosexist oppression is often experienced on both societal and interpersonal relational levels (Singh & Moss, 2016). For members of the LGBTQ+ community seeking to overcome internalized oppression rooted in heterosexism, it can often feel like a life-long journey to deconstruct legacy narratives, implicit bias, and social expectations about sexual orientation and gender identity.
[Read more…] about Relational Cultural TheoryRelational-cultural theory provides a rationale to guide therapeutic practice at the same time that it creates a basis for the pursuit of social justice.- Judith Jordan
How to Control Your Energy Level in Competition
Got players that are feeling anxious and stressed? There’s certainly no shortage of things to be stressed out about in today’s world, but sports should be a stress outlet rather than a stress trigger – especially for young players. Unfortunately, that’s often not the case. Now more than ever before, we are seeing a rise in rates of anxiety, depression, suicide, and self-harm among teenagers. The New York Times has coined the term “the inner pandemic” to describe today’s mental health crisis among youth and adolescents.
Athletes and coaches alike experience a fight-or-flight response when their sympathetic nervous system is activated. Physical symptoms of stress can include increased heart rate, stomach nausea, shortness of breath, muscle tension, and unwanted arousal. There are evidence-based muscle-to-mind techniques that you can use to help athletes reduce their levels of performance anxiety and stress.
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Why You Cannot Afford to Ignore Positive Psychology
When it comes to the field of positive psychology, there’s a ton of information and misunderstanding. Many coaches feel resistant to the idea of shifting their coaching philosophy from a deficit mentality to a strength-based one. The most common question that comes up is how will players improve their weaknesses if we only focus on their strengths? In this post, I’ll answer that question, along with the other most common questions about what positive psychology is and why it’s so important to understand.
What exactly is positive psychology?
Positive psychology is a framework based in scientific research that contains formal strength assessments to help athletes reach their optimal potential (Biswas-Diener, 2010). Martin Seligman is considered the father of positive psychology because his research on resilience, happiness, wellbeing, and strengths laid the foundation for a shift from focusing on mental illness, trauma, suffering, and pain to focusing on happiness, wellbeing, flourishing, flow, and strengths (Ackerman, 2022). Positive psychology ultimately asks what’s right with people, instead of what’s wrong with them. (Ackerman, 2022).
[Read more…] about Why You Cannot Afford to Ignore Positive PsychologyPositive psychology is the scientific study of what makes life most worth living.” (Peterson, 2008).