Conquering Fear: The Unseen Battle in Sports

admin January 24, 2024 0 Comments

In the world of sports, where physical prowess, skill, and determination often take the spotlight, there exists an unseen adversary that challenges even the greatest athletes – fear. The fear of failure, of letting down teammates and fans, or the fear of injury can haunt athletes and impact their performance on the field. Today, let’s delve into the realm of fear in sports, exploring its nuances and discussing how an athlete can understand and manage fear better. 

Fear is a natural human emotion, and athletes are not exempt from its grip. It can manifest in various ways, from pre-game jitters to the fear of making a critical mistake during a crucial moment. Athletes may fear the expectations placed upon them or the uncertainty of the outcome. Recognizing and acknowledging these fears is the first step in addressing them and finding ways to overcome them.

Let’s take an example of Michael Jordan. Considered by many as the greatest basketball player of all time, Michael Jordan faced his fair share of fears throughout his illustrious career. While his on-court exploits are legendary, his journey wasn’t without its moments of doubt and anxiety. One particular instance that stands out is the 1997 NBA Finals, often referred to as the “Flu Game.” In Game 5 of the finals between the Chicago Bulls and the Utah Jazz, Jordan was visibly ill, battling flu-like symptoms. The pressure was immense, with the series tied 2-2, and the Bulls needed a win to gain the upper hand. Jordan, weakened and fatigued, pushed through the fear of physical limitations and delivered a performance for the ages. He scored 38 points, leading the Bulls to a crucial victory. Michael Jordan’s Mental Toughness had helped him conquer fear. What allowed Jordan to overcome his fear in that critical moment was his unparalleled mental toughness. His ability to focus on the task at hand, block out external pressures, and channel his energy into the game showcased the mindset of a true champion. Jordan’s unwavering commitment to excellence, tireless work ethic, and unshakable self-confidence played pivotal roles in his conquering of fear.

“Do I fear taking the last shot? No. I relish the opportunity.”

–Michael Jordan

The story of Michael Jordan serves as an inspiration for aspiring athletes facing their own fears. Fear manifests in many ways in sports. It can be the fear of failure, the paralyzing thought of dropping the baton or missing the goal. It can be the physical fear of heights, speeds, or the sheer power of an opponent. It can even be the fear of judgment, the anxiety of performing under the spotlight. But fear, like any opponent, can be managed. Here are some tips for athletes battling their fears:

• Identify your fears: Give your fear a name. Understanding what you’re afraid of is the first step to conquering it.
• Challenge negative thoughts: Replace self-doubt with positive affirmations. Focus on your strengths and past successes.
• Visualize success: See yourself performing flawlessly, feeling the adrenaline, and tasting victory.
• Practice mindfulness: Techniques like deep breathing can help you manage fear and stay present in the moment.
• Seek support: Talk to coaches, teammates, or even sports psychologists. Sharing your fears can be liberating and lead to valuable guidance.
• Celebrate small wins: Focus on the journey, not just the destination. Every successful practice, every conquered fear, is a step towards your ultimate goal.

It highlights the importance of mental resilience, self-belief, and a strong work ethic. Athletes can benefit from adopting strategies such as visualization, positive self-talk, and mindfulness to manage fear effectively.

Fear is an integral part of the human experience, and athletes are no exception. The ability to confront and conquer fear is what sets exceptional athletes apart. Michael Jordan’s Flu Game is a testament to the power of mental toughness and determination in the face of adversity. As athletes continue to push the boundaries of human achievement, the battle against fear will remain an intrinsic part of the journey to greatness.

Honey Jain,

Mindsports

Mental Toughness In Athletes

admin December 22, 2023 0 Comments

The importance of mental wellbeing has been emphasised for a long time now, we are more aware of its impact and need to strengthen our mindset. If you look up the internet, you’re bound to find tons of definitions and meaning of the term, but what does mental toughness really mean?

After a long search, we were able to choose the most apt definition for it- Mental toughness is a measure of an individual’s ability to be resilient, have confidence, remain competitive, and overcome adversity in their life.

Tom Brady, quarterback of the New England Patriots highlighted the importance of mental toughness, “Football is so much about mental toughness, it’s digging deep, it’s doing whatever you need to do to help a team win.”

A lack of mental toughness is the biggest enemy of athletes. Lacking mental toughness causes athletes to give up, give in, tank the match, and give less. The level of your athletic success is in direct proportion to your level of mental toughness. To be mentally tough, you must be willing to do what most athletes don’t do. It can be simply put that “Mental Toughness sets apart good and great athletes when physical, technical and tactical skills are equal”.

Lets dive deeper into the topic to understand its elements and break down some myths about Mental toughness.

Many athletes believe they are born with mental toughness, so you either have it or you don’t. Well this is partially incorrect, chances are you may be born with and yes, it’s an important factor to succeed. However it’s not an either-or situation, you can most definitely work on building and strengthening your mental toughness. 

Some athletes—like those who have overcome adversity in their life and have grown used to rebounding—do seem to be mentally tougher than others. Two athletes that come to mind are Michael Jordan and Greg Norman; they both overcame adversities. 

And one aspect of mental toughness is the ability to handle challenges.  Mental toughness is an attitude, and you are the only one who can create your own attitudes.

If you are the one responsible for your attitudes, you can deconstruct the way you think about yourself or your ability to succeed. By changing the way you think, you will change the way you feel about yourself which changes the way you act, train and compete.

Another common myth we tend to have is, mentally tough athletes never fail. This couldn’t be more wrong! Mental toughness is a skill, a habit you develop to help yourself in times of adversity. And the process of strengthening never ends, you keep working on yourself and cultivating the skill. Everyone fails, has setbacks and loses from time to time, however what sets mentally tough athletes apart is how they react and deal with the failure. Instead of wallowing and feeling bad for themselves or blaming it on others, they introspect, they seek advice, take that lesson as a learning and move on. They try new solutions, look for better ways and ensure they overcome the challenge next time around. 

Let’s discuss a few qualities you can easily identity in a mentally tough athlete, remember,  you can always work on improving these throughout your journey: 

1. Remain persistent: Mentally tough individuals push through the tough times, they work on reaching the end goal no matter what the circumstance. They understand that failure is a part of success and there is no way around it, you learn from it and continue.
2. Pursue excellence not perfection: Athletes that possess mental toughness have a goal, but they focus on the techniques necessary to reach it. Athletes with a strong mental toughness recognize that peak performance is a marathon, not a sprint. They get closer to the end result with each step they take along the way.  Athletes with a strong mental toughness recognize that failures are inevitable and that they are important turning points on their road to success.
3. Never afraid to take risks: Athletes that are always ready to take risks and open to challenges understand the importance of being out of their comfort zone. Athletes that are mentally tough tackle obstacles with excitement rather than fear and anxiety. They know that it’s okay to occasionally fall short of expectations and that it’s worth taking a chance to reach perfection. They refuse to settle for mediocrity and that sets them apart. 
4. Look for solutions rather than excuses: Mentally tough athletes will look for solutions and answers to their problems rather than using it as an excuse to move ahead. Instead of playing the blame game, they take responsibility for their performance, go back to the drawing board, right the ship and try again.
5. Focus on improving performance:  Looking to improve their performance and keep growing is the sole focus of mentally tough athletes. Instead of focusing on the past or dwelling on failures they look to move ahead. They expend energy on things they can control and work on. Mentally tough athletes focus on what they can do in the present moment to overcome the challenges of performance and give them the best opportunity to succeed.

Now that we have understood the importance, identified qualities and busted some myths about mental toughness, let’s look at 2 ways you can work on improving it:

Build that habit: 

Mental toughness is a habit. You cultivate it and continue till it becomes a part of you. Mental toughness isn’t about getting an incredible dose of inspiration or courage. It’s about building the daily habits that allow you to stick to a schedule and overcome challenges and distractions over and over and over again.

Here are the basic steps for building a new habit : 

1. Start by design your key habits
2. Focus on small behaviours, not life–changing transformations.
3. Develop a routine that gets you going regardless of how motivated you feel. Make it enjoyable for yourself so you look forward to it.
4. Stick to the schedule and forget about the results.
5. When you slip up, get back on track as quickly as possible.

Mental toughness comes down to your habits. It’s about doing the things you know you’re supposed to do on a more consistent basis. It’s about your dedication to daily practice and your ability to stick to a schedule.

Focus on long term goals: 

As the saying goes, “it’s a marathon, not a sprint.”A key aspect of mental toughness is the ability to set long-term goals and accept reasonable completion times for your tasks. Developing a concrete plan that moves short-term goals toward long-term objectives is the only tried-and-true method for success. The structured nature of long-term goals promotes discipline and consistency in daily actions, crucial elements of mental toughness. Long-term goals act as powerful motivators, propelling individuals forward through the inevitable ups and downs, fostering the sustained commitment essential for the development of mental toughness.

Mental toughness is rarely innate; it is made up of disciplined habits that anyone can enact in their daily life. Your habits are what determine how mentally tough you are, and you are in charge of them. Remember that daily mastery over minor challenges is the very essence of mental toughness.If you aren’t practising mental toughness exercises behind the scenes, you can’t expect to be mentally tough during championship moments.

Fight and show yourself that you are capable of overcoming every obstacle you face in the process of achieving your goals.  Soccer great Mia Hamm said it best, “I am building a fire, and everyday I train, I add more fuel. At just the right moment, I light the match.”

Jinal S Mehta

Intern, Mindsports

HANDLING POST MARATHON DEPRESSION

admin September 28, 2023 0 Comments

Introduction
The most awaited day has arrived and Karan is tense as well as excited at the same time. He has been waiting for this moment for a year and a half…….. He has put in his 100% as he practiced very sincerely and put in lots of hard work in his workouts when preparing for his marathon.

Running a marathon required months of planning, preparation and participation on part of Karan. For months life only focused on getting on the running shoes and beating the roadway – sometimes for hours at a time. Then there was also diet to think about, avoiding injury, mileage, time, heart rates … the list went on. And then the big day arrived and it was time to concentrate on what time to complete the grueling race. He had actually visualized his win and the crowd roaring in joy after his win…….

And finally the day arrived when Karan completed the marathon with a big win. . Karan was excited and at the top of the world with the win…. But that lasted only for a day. What happened to Karan the next day?

Training for a marathon takes up every aspect of a person’s life. From the strenuous physical training to the rigorous mental willpower, the training places considerable stress on the body. On the other hand, continuous training also adds significant thrill to the person’s life. On the day of the big event, all the efforts of the previous weeks and months end for you. Unfortunately, this journey at times ends with post-marathon depression…… this is exactly what Karan was also going through.
The question that troubled Karan was “Oh God, Now what am I going to do?”

This condition of mind is called the after-race blues, or the post marathon depression that affects many runners. Athletes, who run these kinds of endurance races, are usually faced with a void or an empty space which previously used to be filled by training sessions.

Now let’s see as to how we would know that the runner is going through such kind of a phase.

Indicators of post marathon depression:
The symptoms of post marathon depression that runners face after a big race are more or less associated with general depression. Usually the runner’s thoughts start to become negative and the energy level, which was at the peek for so long, also starts to diminish. The runner feels very low on energy and wants to just sleep for hours. We could also call this state of mind as feeling lethargic and de-motivated to do anything. At times, the runner might also experience feelings of anxiety, irritability and also hopelessness. They also have difficulty concentrating on normal day to day tasks along with loss of appetite and irregular sleeping patterns.

These symptoms could be due to emptiness that they experience after a big race. After spending months of training hard and focusing on a goal, you feel down and detached once the race is over. The training and preparation that was such a big part of your life is now gone.

Root causes of post marathon depression:
This condition could be reviewed by separating them into 2 causes: physical and psychological.

Physical causes:
While the runner is into vigorous training for so long, the body becomes used to a high supply of endorphins that are natural chemicals created by our body. These endorphins do a wonderful work of improving the runner’s mood and give it a feeling of euphoria during exercises and practice sessions. However, after a marathon, the supply of endorphins decreases significantly, which causes feelings of depression.

Psychological causes:
All sports people start their preparation with some kind of an aim in their mind. Once this aim is finalized and fixed, they train vigorously to achieve that aim. While doing this, the sportsmen are lost in their own world of achieving success and being victorious. For them nothing exists beyond their event and the mind and the body are completely focused on a selected goal. There is no free time for them. If not physical practice, they are busy visualizing their moves and tactics.

However, after months of training and excitement, these sportsmen commonly feel let down when the big event is over. They suddenly feel empty, and usually feel unmotivated to find a new activity. Their physical condition, their sore muscles and overall fatigue, at times forces them to question if the entire process was worth the trouble.

But the good news is that there is definitely a solution for it……. Let’s see what the runners can do to prevent these post marathon blues in the first place and also overcome it.

Overcoming this phase:
There are various strategies that athletes can adopt to treat and prevent post marathon depression.

• One usually feels a real “high” after finishing the race and is enthusiastic to share experiences. However, the next morning the fatigue and discomfort starts setting in. This descent is a normal reaction to meeting your goal and not having a new one. To avoid this kind of a situation, do not plan anything new at least for a week. The best thing is to assess your performance in the recent race and analyze the good and the bad things that you did in the race. You could even pen them down as they might help you in the next season. This type of technique is called ‘Reviewing’, where you evaluate what worked best for you and what did not.
• When the burnout phase is over, think about setting some new goals that you would like to achieve over the next few months. However, these goals need not necessarily center around a marathon. They could be anything from your personal to professional life. One could also switch a sport for time being like going for a swim, playing tennis etc.
• But having post marathon racing plans do not mean starting out a workout immediately after your marathon. Instead, focus on recovery in the first week after the race so that progress in training in the succeeding weeks would be better. Another important thing is one should not force oneself if the body is still not responding.
• When the athlete was under training for so long, the family and friends have missed him. The best way to relax and overcome this depression is to mingle around with them and get completely disconnected from the racing scenario.
• Relaxation is mandatory for the athletes as the body needs to recover from the marathon. However, stopping your exercises completely might cause you more harm. Hence maintain your fitness by doing light but regular exercises. This will also help you to come back on your regular schedule easily since your body will be in good shape with regular exercises.
• Also one could consider hiring a coach or a professional to help set goals at the beginning of the season. Keeping a training plan ready for the year with training periods, rest periods and solid goals will surely help get you focused on the future and ready to move forward.
• Last but not the least….. it is extremely essential to also expect and accept the void and frustration that would follow after the marathon. If one is mentally prepared for the empty space then the journey towards post marathon would definitely be smooth and enjoyable.

So all the very best!

Mugdha Bavare
Sports Psychologist

ITS OK TO NOT BE OK

admin September 23, 2023 0 Comments

Recently read about Glenn Maxwell, the Australian cricketing all-rounder, taking indefinite break due to mental health issues. And this news has been taken so well by all in the fraternity. It is seen that the number of players especially elite players going through mental health issues is on rise and more so before important events such as Olympics, World Cups, World Championships, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games etc. One study of 50 swimmers competing for positions in Canada’s Olympic and World Championship teams found that before competition 68% of them met the criteria for a major depressive episode.

Mental Health is not really well accepted by our society as yet. Ignorance or lack of education regarding mental health and its causes and treatment could be claimed as the main reason.

Mental health includes emotional, psychological and social well being. It affects how people think, feel and act. It also helps determine how people handle stress, how they relate to others and make choices (mentalhealth.gov). When people experience emotional upheaval, it impacts their mental health and social life. Almost all people experience this at some point of time in their life.

However, mental health (illness) in sports is considered to be a taboo. One of the myths surrounding this is players are considered to be strong and untouched by mental health issues. Secondly, elite players are financially so well paid that they should always be happy. But these are exactly the reasons and many more which cause mental health issues in players. Though mental health issues are experienced by almost all, in sports these could be a little more due to pressure of internal / external expectations, fear of damaging their own social image, fear of failure, maintenance of their status, lack of alternative option to fall back on, lack of hobbies or other interest areas, lack of awareness in terms of rest and recovery (mental as well as physical) during their sporting days etc.

Why players refuse to come to terms with mental health issues:
Many players ignore the early signs of stress, pressure and force themselves to play which could be to avoid criticism from coaches, co-players, families etc. The players may also feel that seeking help for mental health problems could make them appear ‘weak’ and this could result in end of their career. Sometimes, even their self-perception as superior can prevent them from seeking help.

But whatever, may be the reason, the stigma around mental health issues needs to be addressed and corrected from both a general societal perspective and from the perspective of the player themselves.

Prevention better than cure:
Following interventions would help reduce the percentage of mental health issues in players to a great extent.

• Sensitize/ educate players, coaches, support staff regarding mental health from the grassroot level. Awareness of it will reduce stigmatization and increase acceptance. Creating manuals regarding mental health for sports is a good idea to spread the message about mental health and how it could be prevented and treated.
• Recognising early signs or symptoms could help in dealing with the issue.
• Conducting standardised screening tests to identify at-risk players as well as conducting needs analysis, personality assessments etc. by professionals. This could be done to identify underlying mild subclinical issues before they become mental illnesses.
• Promote communication skills, group activities within the teams to avoid phone addiction and social media addiction amongst players.
• Bottled up emotions and frustrations may later lead to mental health issues. Hence discussing and resolving the issues with the help of a psychologist or therapist is recommended.
• Sensitizing parents about the negative impact on the players in case of parents who are high-achievers or over bearing.
• Encouraging players to take breaks for rest and recovery will avoid burn out stage to occur at an early stage.
• Pursue hobbies / interests as and when players get time to help them increase focus and concentration on their primary sport.
• Scrapping the formula of performance = only winning and converting it to performance = reaching one’s own level of potential.

As a sports psychologist, I truly appreciate the way Australian coach, players and support staff have shown great support and understanding towards Glenn Maxwell which in itself is a good enough start for him to take necessary steps towards handling his mental health and to make a remarkable comeback.

Mugdha Bavare
Sr. Sports Psychologist