Stress Management Techniques for Athletes- Importance and Various Methods

Introduction

The term stress management applies to the behavioral, cognitive, environmental, and physiological strategies used by a person to control the elements and features that contribute to the stress process or experience.

Why Is Stress Management Important for Athletes?

Stress may hinder academic and athletic performance, harm one's general well-being, and increase the risk of sports injury in athletes. The risk of injury is intensified by factors like stress-related focused changes, distractions, and self-consciousness that can impair performance. In addition to increasing coordination and muscular strain, stress also raises the chance of injury. In addition, it is crucial to understand that a sports injury on its own is a significant stressor. Athletes could feel isolated from their teammates, dejected or depressed, and worried about getting back to their level of performance before getting injured. Stress leads to an athlete's injury, which then causes psychological discomfort as a result of which unhealthy behaviors, including drug misuse and calorie restriction, may start. In order to improve their well-being, minimize injuries, and accomplish peak athletic performance, it is crucial for athletes to manage their stress. Stress reduction also lowers disease and injury rates.

What Are the Various Stress Management Techniques?

There are a variety of stress management techniques to deal with the stress that athletes encounter. The coaches or the counselor may approach the athletes through an unimodal or multimodal approach.

• Unimodal Approach- It employs introducing a single but well-planned technique to deal with stress. The counselor and coaches focus more on the stressor that is impacting the player’s performance rather than approaching them through different approaches.

• Multimodal Approach- This includes implementing a variety of methods that, when used together, are seen to be more successful. The multimodal approach is thought to be more effective in dealing with stress because it works on a variety of variables connected to many aspects of the stress process, including the stressor, emotional experience, thinking, conduct, and responses to stress.

The success of stress management is governed by many factors, including the athlete's condition, coping mechanisms, and the suitability of the strategy for the stressor. It is preferable to develop specialized stress management skills programs that are customized to the demands of each athlete.

What Are the Various Stress Management Programs?

• Applied Relaxation- The goal of applied relaxation is to acquire the talent of relaxation and to use it in any circumstance whenever necessary. There is a total of six stages involved in anxiety management training.

  • Stage 1- It involves gradual relaxation of the muscles. It is a method intended to promote relaxation and assist the athlete in reducing somatic anxiety symptoms. In this stage, muscles are clenched or tensed and then relaxed.

  • Stage 2- In this stage, muscles are relaxed without tightening them. This way, muscle relaxation habits are incorporated into the athletes.

  • Stage 3- In the third level, the athlete is trained to think of the word relax in order to feel calm. This stage encourages a focus on passive concentration, which is an effortless, habitual, yet concentrated mental state comparable to mindfulness. It also encourages a focus on breathing.

  • Stage 4- In stage four, the athlete has to figure out how to use the technique in practical situations. They need to learn to stimulate the muscles required for carrying out any activity while relaxing the other muscles.

  • Stage 5- The goal of stage five is to help the athlete rest in a common, free-of-anxiety circumstance. In this stage, breathing is the stimulus for relaxing and is performed 15–20 times each day.

  • Stage 6- The final step is the application training step. The idea behind this stage is to incorporate the entire relaxation method first during the training period and later in competitions that will not impact the athletes severely and then gradually into the important competitions. Incorporating it gradually will help the athletes to use this approach more comfortably and easily.

• Anxiety Management Training- The goal of anxiety management training is to teach athletes how to use relaxation techniques in tense or stimulating circumstances (anger or worry). The athlete visualizes the stressful event while allowing the corresponding physiological arousal to be produced inside them during anxiety management training. During anxiety management training, the athlete imagines the stressful scenario and permits the appropriate emotional response to be produced inside them. The athlete then adopts relaxation methods to lessen the effects of physiological arousal.

• Meditation and Yoga- Yoga deals with the emotional, mental, and physical effects of stress while additionally improving flexibility. Practicing regularly improves concentration and lowers anxiety. Meditation helps to reduce anxiety by reducing stress and bringing positive changes in a person. People who practice meditation are at a lower risk of developing stress and have better focus and positivity in them.

• Biofeedback- Controlling physiological stress reactions, such as elevated heart rate and blood pressure, can be achieved through biofeedback training (BFBT). It has furthermore been utilized to reduce anxiousness.

• Breath Control and Deep Breathing- Breathing irregularities, such as holding one's breath, hyperventilating, or irregular short breaths, can have an impact on performance and might make the athlete feel anxious and add to their stress. During the breathing exercises, exhalation is done slowly after holding a deep breath. Since it is most practically employed when there is no activity going on, breath control is frequently used before competitions or breaks.

• Cognitive Control- Cognitive restructuring includes guiding an athlete in identifying and challenging illogical thinking as well as changing these ideas into more positive thoughts and making them easier to adapt to.

• Personal Exercise- Exercising helps to relieve a lot of stress and helps to feel better. Breathing exercises should be included in the daily regime.

• Team Bonding- Team members and coaches must make an effort to keep the stress level low within the team. This can be done by talking about things other than sports among the team members. Outdoor activity is a key changer in team bonding.

• Taking Breaks- Both coaches and players must be taught the importance of taking breaks from their routine life. This helps to clear the mind and gives a better perspective of things happening around us. Talking to friends and family also helps to deal with stress.

Conclusion

Stress-managing methods can be any action that alters one or more aspects of the stress process. Techniques for managing stress must be customized to each person's demands and also take into consideration the athlete's available coping mechanisms. Applying stress management approaches demands education, practice, and time. To improve capacity for managing stress, an athlete must also put in effort, practice, and application.