Psychological strategies to enhance motivation and manage anxiety

1. Psychological strategies to enhance motivation and manage anxiety

2. Mental rehearsal/visualization/imagery • Involves developing skills and performance or the environment in which the athlete peforms in their mind. The visual image can help the performer focus on the movements required to produce an optimal performance, increase concentration and confidence. Mental imagery can enhance both competition performance, and the skills required for the athletes activity. It involves the mental repetition of a movement or sequence that will increase the minds understanding of the certain motion. Mental imagery relies solely on the power of the mind as there is no physical movement. It also involves reliving the execution of a skill or performance.

3. A major factor of mental imagery is to replicate the feelings of anxiety that the individual will experience during performance allowing the athlete to visualize success. Mental rehearsal also allows the brain to work out problems and propose alternative solutions and decisions. It works by improving the neural connections between the brain and the muscles to create the movement.

4. Relaxation Techniques • Many often under estimate the need for relaxation techniques in sport and how much it can benefit and athletes performance • Relaxation Techniques may assist the athlete in control of arousal • Without the use of relaxation Techniques an athlete may be unable to reproduce what they have been learning in training in competition

5. Techniques Used • Progressive Muscular Relaxation- involves relaxing muscle groups using special exercises • Mental Relaxation- Which involves relaxing the body through controlled breathing, relaxing the mind and gaining a ‘floating’ feeling • Self hypnosis- which involves using the power of suggestion to have the mind accept a particular level of anxiety in a specific situation • Mental rehearsal- which involves concentrating on rehearsing the performance of the task rather than how you feel about it • Meditation- which involves narrowing ones thoughts using simple repetitive image and sounds • Centred breathing- which involves controlling breathing to release tension before performance

6. Note: • It is important that each athlete finds the relaxation technique that suits them personally. Some may respond best to physical techniques while others will benefit from techniques with a mental focus

7. Goal Setting • The Establishment of goals is important to improve both individual and team preparation. By empowering athletes with the responsibility to set their own goals they are more likely to seriously attempt to fulfill them. • Goals Can be categorized into 4 Ways: • Short-term Goals; These are goals that can be achieved in a limited period of time; For example ‘I will complete three endurance sessions this week.’’ • Long Term Goals: These goals can be achieved only over a long period of time; For example to complete a marathon • Behavioral Goals: These goals relate to improved behavioral expectations in training, competition or both. For example an athlete may aim to be more punctual to training. • Performance Goals: These goals relate to an athletes desired level of success. E.g. a state, national or even Olympic Medal. Ideally these should be wrote down and put somewhere they can be seen everyday

8. Remember • Situations Arising from personal circumstances and possibly injury may interfere with the timeframe over which an achievement of a goal or goals is sought. In this case, discussion and renegotiation is a preferable solution rather than reinforcing feelings of failure and disappointment • Sports Psychology Video 2012 Olympics • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8DSzLpEru0