Dr. John F. Murray shares the latest in sports psychology research and practice and gives his expert interpretation on how this can help.
Interesting video above on table tennis and psychology
English Institute of Sport
The aim of Performance Psychology is often to assist athletes to prepare psychologically for the strain of competition and training. Performance Psychology helps people and groups establish a winning mentality to develop, enhance and maintain optimum performance. Rather than always reacting to issues, performance science helps athletes develop mental toughness far in advance. A good working relationship with the coach is essential for performance psychology to be effective. The more the professional is immersed into the programm, the easier it is to enhance performance of the individuals competing. The psychological ‘wellness’ of the athlete and coach is also of huge importance, with the overarching goal being to boost results through proactive performance enhancing psychology.
Sports psychology: How to Stop the nerves
Cognitive behavioural therapists outline techniques to stop negative thoughts from affecting performance. Feelings of anxiety, stress and worry before competition can be caused and worsened by dysfunctional and ingrained thoughts about self or situation. These thoughts can also affect future performance. It can help a person to become more aware of their unhelpful thought patterns and understand the entrenched beliefs that are causing them to think and feel a certain way. CBT works to address and interrupt any negative thought patterns while offering the opportunity to learn new ways of thinking.
Some of the good work in this endeavor involves monitoring daily thoughts, feelings and behavior, taking notice of any particular patterns, and pinpointing any that are unhelpful, unrealistic and impacting how you perform. You then work on changing these thought patterns through strategies that allow you to replace negative thoughts with positive ones. You carefully reflect on why a particular thought is unhelpful and what will happen if you continue to think that way. You jot the unwanted outcomes. You then challenge the initial thought you had in order to demonstrate to yourself that it’s unrealistic. Rather than impacting your self-esteem like the negative thought will, the reframed thought will give you motivation and spur you on to perform well.
When you start to think negatively, go back to this place, even for a minute, to redirect yourself away from these thoughts which could intensify. Don’t instantly become critical – instead take time to praise yourself for any achievements you made.
DR. JOHN F. MURRAY’S TAKE: INTERESTING MIX OF ITEMS TODAY TO HELP THE COACH OR ATHLETE FURTHER UNDERSTAND THE VITAL ROLE OF PSYCHOLOGY IN PERFORMANCE AND SUCCESS. TABLE TENNIS IS AS COMPETITIVE AS ANY SPORT AND THE VIDEO IS INTERESTING. I PARTICULARLY ENJOYED THE DISCUSSION ABOUT WHAT SOME ATHLETES FEEL BEFORE COMPETITION AND HOW COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL APPROACHES CAN REALLY HELP GET THOSE NERVES UNDER CONTROL. LEARN MORE ABOUT WHAT THIS FASCINATING FIELD CAN OFFER! SEE ALL THE EXCITING UPDATES AT MY MAIN PAGE AT JOHNFMURRAY.COM AND THE DEVELOPING NEW SITE AT SPORTSPSYCHOLOGY.COM.
