Interview with Clinical Psychologist, Dr. Guy Oram
Dr. Oram is a clinical psychologist based out of Washington. He focuses on anxiety and depression in teens and young adults and he has a special interest in anxiety in sports.
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Why do you think people experience sports anxiety?
"People who are predisposed to anxiety are likely to experience it when they are participating in sports because of the performance-related aspects of the activity. A person can become anxious about the possibility of making errors during competition or having a negative outcome from the performance (e.g., losing a game or event, letting their coaches or teammates down).
A certain level of psychological activation is important for optimal performance, so an athlete who is unconcerned about the outcome may underperform, while an athlete who is mentally-focused and excited to compete will perform better. However, too much stress or fear/worry will inevitably cause deterioration in athlete’s performance, sometimes to the point that their performance is well below their optimal abilities. This is akin to “stage fright” in a musician. The concept of an athlete in a state of “flow” is the optimization of stress and performance, and activation management (conscious effort to reduce excessive stress and focus on successful performance) is critical for peak performance.
Just like there are different types of anxiety outside of sports, athletes can experience particular kinds of anxiety-related difficulties. For example, athlete can develop obsessive-compulsive behaviors (e.g., obsessive, negative thougths about the potential of a negative outcome), panic episodes, phobic avoidance (e.g., avoiding a particular sports-specific skill to reduce anxiety). Negative self-talk, the anticipation of a negative outcome, perfectionism, and fear/avoidance of failure all may be present in sports-related anxiety."
A certain level of psychological activation is important for optimal performance, so an athlete who is unconcerned about the outcome may underperform, while an athlete who is mentally-focused and excited to compete will perform better. However, too much stress or fear/worry will inevitably cause deterioration in athlete’s performance, sometimes to the point that their performance is well below their optimal abilities. This is akin to “stage fright” in a musician. The concept of an athlete in a state of “flow” is the optimization of stress and performance, and activation management (conscious effort to reduce excessive stress and focus on successful performance) is critical for peak performance.
Just like there are different types of anxiety outside of sports, athletes can experience particular kinds of anxiety-related difficulties. For example, athlete can develop obsessive-compulsive behaviors (e.g., obsessive, negative thougths about the potential of a negative outcome), panic episodes, phobic avoidance (e.g., avoiding a particular sports-specific skill to reduce anxiety). Negative self-talk, the anticipation of a negative outcome, perfectionism, and fear/avoidance of failure all may be present in sports-related anxiety."