Sporting frame of mind

The field of sports has had a good run this year as the Olympics finally took place, followed by the T20 cricket World Cup and now the closely-watched FIFA world cup. 'Sport' is a word that unites many, divides plenty, and is considered a religion by most. Followers feel the pain if their team does not make it, and rejoice when it emerges victorious.

A top team being beaten by an underdog, or a world champion losing their reigning title, often causes people to question what more there is to sports than just the 'physical' training aspect. The truth is that a lot of sports are not merely played on the field but also in the mind. Yes, it all begins in our minds. Athletes and sports folks around the globe swear by the fact that the physical strength and skills required for a sport have a much better outcome when combined with the right mental approach. Working with trained sports psychologists can profoundly improve one's game-day outcome.

What is sports psychology?

Sports psychology is an emerging branch of psychology that deals with everything related to excelling at sports. It addresses how sports performance and psychology interact for the best outcomes of the players, athletes and sportspeople. As our emotions impact all domains of our lives, the idea is to work around the impacts of emotional turmoil to aid in better performance in sports.

Advantages of working with a sports psychologist

* Overcoming the competitive fears or nerves

* Working on focus

* Improving mental skills

* Getting back to the game after a break or an injury

* Getting mentally in the zone for competitions

* Working on the pre-game routines consistently

* Overcoming mental fatigue during gruelling sports

* Improving the practice efficiency

* Performing well even under pressure

* Handling emotions after setbacks and losses

* Working on team dynamics

* Preventing burnout

* Sports psychologists can help those athletes who already have a mental health diagnosis like anxiety or depression to optimise their mental health while working on their performance.

What are some areas that sports psychology focuses on?

* Performance pyramid: While each sport may have its nuances, the core fundamentals of the performance pyramid may remain the same. It encompasses the basic skills, followed by preparatory and performance-day skills. Skills like setting goals, managing emotions, concentration, positive self-talk and the right motivation are the cornerstone to winning a particular game.

* Sportsmen spirit (sportsmanship): The idea of sportsmanship is that competitors or viewers of competitive events treat one another with respect, fairness and on ethical grounds. This applies especially to young athletes. Good sportsmanship towards teammates, and even the opponents, is encouraged.

* Mental toughness : Most top athletes have one thing in common; they have mastered the skill of mental toughness. It comprises resilience, ability to prevail in facing challenges, mistakes, and

even failure. Mental toughness has been positively associated with athletes, and it promotes adaptive mental health functioning, well-being, and incidents of lower stress levels, depression, and an increase in sleep quality (Cowden et al., 2019).

A meta-analysis done in 2022, reviewing the research between 1983-2021, showed that sport psychology interventions enhanced performance, leading to a reduction in symptoms of anxiety and depression in athletes who received psychological interventions.

The proverbial question: Do athletes have lesser or more mental health issues?

Physical exercise forms a cornerstone for contributing to good mental health. It does so by releasing and calibrating happy chemicals like serotonin, dopamine and endorphins, and lowering stress chemicals like cortisol. However, with the stress and hardships involved in competitive sports, there are significantly higher rates of mental health issues than in other fields. Data from the American College of Sports Medicine indicates that nearly 35 per cent of top athletes struggle with depression, anxiety, eating disorders and burnout.

Some top players have recently spoken openly about their mental health challenges.

* Virat Kohli: The Indian cricket team superstar openly spoke about his struggles with loneliness and depression during the 2014 England tour.

* Simone Biles: Olympic gold winner for gymnastics who chose to bow out of the recent Tokyo Olympics to cater to her mental health needs.

* Osaka: Naomi Osaka has been quite open about her mental health problems. She has talked about her own mental and physical health, and why it is crucial to keep one's mental health in check from time to time.

* Michael Phelps: A strong advocate of therapy, he had been diagnosed with ADHD early on, and later battled with depression and anxiety.

Teams worldwide have been focusing tremendously on

mental conditioning in recent times. Most of the top national teams now have various specialists in the field of sports psychology — including sports & exercise psychologists, sports psychiatrists and coaches.

What are some of the techniques used in sports psychology that one can adopt?

* Imagery: This is a way to learn to recreate the vital game moments in mind by using multiple senses.

* Arousal regulation: Regulating the autonomic system helps balance adrenaline to avoid jitters yet remain focused.

* Relaxation: Progressive muscular relaxation helps in working on the body.

* Breathing: Deep breathing forms the backbone of learning to have better control over one's body.

* Biofeedback: By using external means to measure various physiological parameters, for example, sweating, eye movement, and heart rate, to understand the internal changes.

* Massages: To help relax muscles from fatigue.

* Self-talk: Working on the inner dialogue to focus on inner motivation.

* CBT: Cognitive behavioural therapy can help overcome deep limiting negative beliefs.

* Using AI for sports: Metaverse can provide an immersive experience to learn new skills and techniques in a controlled environment.

* Book recommendation: 'The Inner Game of Tennis' by Robert Galloway.

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