Despite being active and involved with sports for most of my life, the anxiety that attaches itself to performance and quality is something I have always struggled with. Not every athlete experiences sports anxiety, but based on my own observations, enough do; it is an incredibly frustrating experience, and it is also one that is difficult to pull yourself out of. Self-doubt almost becomes second-nature, and soon, you’re finding that the sport that once brought you tremendous joy is now your biggest source of stress.
I’ve had highs and lows with my own anxiety pertaining to sport, but as of late, it’s been shitty. I’m having trouble with my hands with rugby, meaning I’m not happy with my catching and passing abilities, although catching is the one that seems to send my anxiety into overdrive. The moment I drop a ball, I’ve convinced myself I’m pure shit, and my playing tends to become pure garbage when this happens.
I’ve talked to a lot of my teammates about it, and while I’m trying not to be too hard on myself, some practices are rough. My sister suggested that I look into sports meditation, and while I was a little reluctant to do so because I haven’t had much success with meditation in other areas of my life, I figured it’s worth a shot.
I found one podcast on Spotify that encourages mindfulness and meditation in the context of sports through affirmations, and I do think it helped a little. I listened to it while driving to one of my last practices, and I do think it helped to calm the already rising anxiety before I even arrived. I plan to do this for the next little while to determine if it actually is helping, but I figured I would put the word out in hopes of assisting someone else out there struggling with sports anxiety.
ontheedgeofeverything 