Over the past few years, professional athletes across all sports in all parts of the world have started coming forward and opening up about mental health and stress issues involved when it comes to competing. Naomi Osaka, Michael Phelps, Simone Biles, are just some names that come to mind when we think about those that are changing the narrative around mental health. While it’s a positive step forward in the world of sport in making the topic less taboo, the issue of stress still remains and athletes (amateur and professional) are still navigating how to cope with it. If you’re overwhelmed with where to start, here are five ways you can combat stress during the game.
Breathe
Believe it or not, breathing is one of the simplest things you can focus on while playing the game that will help alleviate stress. Many of us “forget” to breathe properly as our mind is racing a thousand miles a minute trying to “keep our head in the game”. When we forget to focus on breathing, especially at the height of a cardio-heavy game we’re playing, we’re losing control of our nervous system, affecting our mental state and discouraging our body and mind to relax. A quick breathing exercise you can do is taking a deep breath, holding it for five seconds, and repeating that five times. Try this during your next time out and you’ll find that you’ve “reset” yourself to play better and stress free.
Talk to your team
You’re called a team for a reason. Not only should you be able to rely on each other during a game, but you should also be able to lean on each other off the pitch. It’s extremely likely that the stress you’re going through another teammate is going through something similar. Open yourself up to other teammates and talk about the root cause of the stress you’re facing. Let each other know you’re there as support and that you’re not alone in your feelings. The outcome? Less stress and better teamwork when you get back out on the pitch.
Visualise success
Instead of letting the stress get to you and cause you to spiral out of control into a negative, dark place, visualise success. Imagine scoring a goal, completing a pass, or winning a championship. When you visualise what the best outcome could look like, you’re already putting your stress and anxiety on the backburner, and changing your focus to something more positive that you want to achieve.
Stick to a routine
If you have a daily routine when it comes to diet, sleep, training and playing, you’re already setting yourself up for success. The mind, body and soul are all connected, so when all three are aligned from a routine standpoint, you’re confident in yourself when game day comes, knowing that you’re the most prepared you could be in order to win the game.
Practise mindfulness
Mindfulness isn’t just for yogis. Many professional athletes practise mindfulness and it attributes to their overall success. Again, it’s so easy to let our mind wander to the worst possible outcome, perhaps that we’re going to fail. When you practice mindfulness, you’re working on being present and not wasting energy and stress on what the future is going to look like. The more present you are, the less stressed you will become. Simple ways to be mindful could be anything from noticing the fine details of your surroundings, or doing a body scan (choosing different parts of your body and figuring out how each part feels).
