CH 12 – Arousal Regulation
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Stress is a part of our lives – we need it to survive
Athletes who has too much stress have a poor performance and may also have mental
distress and even physical illness
Each athlete responds differently to stress
The task or sport will also affect how they react to stress
Why regulate arousal?
 Athletes who don’t effectively cope with stress may experience decreases in
performance, as well as mental and physical distress. Athletes need to be able to
regulate arousal to stay focused and in control.
Self-Awareness of Arousal – the first step to controlling arousal
 You must increase your awareness of your psychological states before you can
control your thoughts and feelings.
 Once you are aware of your optimal arousal, you can employ arousal regulation
(reduction, maintenance, induction) strategies.
 How individuals cope with anxiety is more important than how much anxiety
they experience.
 “It’s not a case of getting rid of the butterflies, it’s a question of getting them to
fly in formation” – basketball coach Jack Donahue
 Compared to non-athletes, elite athletes see their anxiety as more facilitative as
opposed to debilitative.
 The most important thing is to understand the relation between how you feel on
the inside and how you perform on the outside.
Trying harder is not always better:
 See page 266 – text box
 Besides affecting muscle tension, excess anxiety can also produce inappropriate
thoughts and cognitions.
Anxiety reduction techniques
1) Somatic anxiety reduction techniques
2) Cognitive anxiety reduction techniques
3) Multi-modal anxiety reduction techniques
1)
a)
Somatic Anxiety-reduction Techniques:
Progressive Relaxation (Jacobson) involves tensing and relaxing specific muscles.
Has a few assumptions:
 It is possible to learn the difference between tension and relaxation
 Tension and relaxation are mutually exclusive – you can’t be relaxed and
tense at the same time
 Relaxation of the body through decreased muscle tension will decrease mental
tension
Purpose of progressive relaxation – help people learn to feel tension in their
muscles and then be able to let go of this tension. (pages 268)
A procedure in which the athlete learns how to control anxiety by completely
relaxing the mind and the body. The athlete in the beginning should practice the
procedure at least 30 minutes. Once the relaxation procedure is perfected, the
relaxation response can be achieved in minutes. Doesn't help performance, just
stops the spiral.
b)
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Breath Control – one of the easiest and most effective ways to control anxiety and
muscle tension.
When you are calm, confident, and in control, your breathing is smooth, deep and
rhythmical
When you are under pressure, breathing is short, shallow and irregular
Breathing in and holding breath increases tension – breathing out decreases
muscle tension (grunters)
(see handout)
c) Biofeedback – teaches people to control physiological responses
 Uses an electronic monitoring device
 Gages muscle activity, heart rate, skin temp.
 If tense, a noise occurs
 The athlete learns to relax the muscles
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Does not enhance performance but does reduce anxiety and muscle tension
Increases awareness of tension levels and provides a way to cope with precompetitive anxiety
2) Cognitive-Anxiety Reduction – to relax the mind
Relaxation response – teaches you to quiet the mind, concentrate, and reduce muscle
tension.
Four factors are necessary to elicit relaxation response:
1) Mental device (e.g., word, phrase, object, or process) used to shift attention inwardly.
2) Passive attitude
3) Decreased muscle tonus
4)
Quiet environment
Autogenic Training – a series of exercises designed to produce sensations specifically of
warmth and heaviness.
Multi-modal anxiety reduction:
 Teaches a person specific integrated coping responses, using relaxation and
cognitive components to control emotional arousal.
Multi-modal stress inoculation training
An individual is exposed to and learns to cope with stress (via productive thoughts,
mental images, and self-statements) in increasing amounts, thereby enhancing his or her
immunity to stress.
Matching Hypothesis
Anxiety management techniques should be matched to a particular anxiety problem.
 Cognitive anxiety with mental relaxation
 Somatic anxiety with physical relaxation
 If you are not sure what type of anxiety is most problematic, however, use a
multimodal technique.
Coping:
What is coping?
“A process of constantly changing cognitive and behavioral efforts to manage specific
external and/or internal demands or conflicts appraised as taxing or exceeding one’s
resources” (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984)
Coping Categories:
1) Problem-focused coping – efforts to alter or manage the problem that is causing
the concern.
 May use: information gathering, goal setting, using time management skills,
problem solving, and following injury rehab program
2)
Emotion-focused coping – regulating the emotion associated with the problem
 May use: meditation, relaxation, and cognitive efforts to change the meaning
of the situation.
Use problem-focused coping when situations can be changed.
Use emotion-focused coping when situations cannot be changed.
When you face a difficult situation:
 Change the situation
 Change your perception of the situation
 Leave the situation
Strategies for Coping with Adversity in Sport
 Athletes need a broad spectrum of coping strategies to use in different situations
and for different stress sources.
 Coping strategies frequently used by athletes include:
 Thought control – block negative thoughts
 Task focus – narrow focus and concentrate on goals
 Rational thinking and self-talk – take a rational approach to oneself and
the situation.
 Positive focus and orientation -focus on belief in one’s ability, changing
negative assessment of the situation to positive one
 Social support – encouragement from family, coach, etc.)
 Pre-competitive mental preparation and anxiety management (mental
practice, pre-competitive routines, narrow focus, relaxation strategies
 Time management – make time for personal growth and daily goals
 Training hard and smart
On-site relaxation tips:
 Smile when you feel tension coming on
 Have fun – enjoy the situation
 Set up stressful situations in practice
 Slow down, take your time
 Stay focuses on the present
 Come prepared with a good game plan
If you are below optimal arousal level, you may:
 Move slowly, not getting set
 Mind wondering, becoming easily distracted
 Lack of concern about how well you perform
 Lack of anticipation or enthusiasm
 Heavy feeling in the legs, no bounce
To increase arousal:
 Increase breathing rate
 Act energized
 Use mood words and positive statements
 Listen to music
 Use energizing imagery
 Complete a pre-competitive workout