Cognitive Strategies to Reduce Stress in Competitive Athletic Performance

Abstract

One of the most common problems each of us has to deal with day in and day out is stress. Some of us live with an ever-present, rather subdued, level all the time. We cannot associate it with any particular event so we think this is just the way we are! Other stress responses are much more overt, reflected in such signals as a racing heart, disrupted breathing patterns, sweaty palms, feelings of weakness, and so on. Many times we can associate this with the specific situation we anticipate or in which we find ourselves. Those who experience situationally-specific stress and tension are much more aware of the cause and are in a better position to do something about controlling it. Regardless of the cause of the stress, the more years we experience it at any level, the greater the cost. It is impossible to go through life without stress, nor would we wish to. Without it, we would not learn to cope or to control it.

Editor’s note: We would go even further, viz., tension (i.e., muscular contraction) is necessary for living: overtension constitutes the problem and, by definition, it is always undesirable.