Professional Athletes and Mental Health
For about 15 years I held on to that dream of becoming a professional tennis player and holding the US Open trophy, those were times when I felt nervous before tennis matches. After that, for 6 years I was anxious and needed help just to get to the tennis court before tennis matches.
I looked around one day when I was in my early 20s and felt very comfortable, wished my fellow competitors good luck, asked what their game plan was, and even asked some of them if they would like to “pass the Later. matches are over. He was calm and had constant butterflies in his stomach, occasionally running to the bathroom because he was a bit nervous before a match, nothing he couldn’t handle and these feelings disappeared right after the warm-up.
However, those days were numbered when I hit 20, I started avoiding competitors by trying not to converse with them due to my “you are the enemy” mentality before the match. I had intense tremors throughout my body and my heart palpitations were uncontrollable. If I just walked onto the tennis court, that was a huge accomplishment in itself, let alone having any focus or energy to give myself a shot at winning the tennis match. So why did this happen, I asked myself? How did I go from a calm, stress-free man to a frantically anxious person on and off the tennis court who felt like he had a gun to his head every time he walked out on the tennis court? Self…self…pressure was the answer, and it’s happening more and more to today’s professional athletes and greatly affecting their performance.
This is very similar to people who are currently dealing with anxiety disorder and panic attacks because, again, there is a certain fear and pressure that they exert themselves as well. For the vast number of people who experience panic attacks, the pressure comes from not dying! Thoughts like, “what is this tingling in my arms”? “Should my heart be beating so hard?” These questions can quickly send someone into the cycle of panic that leads people to the ER, surfing the web for answers, and becoming overly dependent on Benzo’s and Antidepressants, and like many athletes going through this cycle before a competition, the rest of society is also paying the price by losing relationships, losing self-esteem, losing a job, and worst of all, losing hope of recovery.
So, what is the first thing that professional athletes and society in general do when an anxiety disorder such as GAD or panic disorder occurs? They take a rest! In the hope that after all this rest, one day it will disappear and they will return to being their normal confidant, desensitized from fears and can be productive again.
They quickly realize it’s not working, so what’s the next step? speech therapy! Well, for the average citizen that’s going to cost an arm and a leg and he quickly realizes that… it doesn’t… work, now what? You guessed it, Medicines! Well, the idea that antidepressants help raise serotonin levels in your brain to give you a feeling of happiness is… well, almost complete BS in my opinion due to the large number of people who haven’t felt “happy.” after a long time”. taking them due to depression oh I forgot to mention you become more tolerant of periods you could gain a lot of weight Benzo will make you feel and look like a zombie due to the anti-anxiety meds given as candy and the side effects secondary are horrible.
But did you know that everything I needed to overcome my generalized anxiety disorder was already inside me when I reached for some kind of outside help every day?
the answer is in my 6 steps to overcome GAD,
1) Acceptance – Accept that what you have is related to stress and anxiety
2) Get informed: Learn as much as you can about the fight or flight response, our nervous system, why we have such real physical sensations in moments of panic, etc.
3) Build on the facts: A panic attack hasn’t killed anyone in the past, and your fears haven’t come true and never will.
4) Make a decision and take action: No one has ever made a lifestyle or mindset change without having a clear plan of attack.
5) Accept setbacks: fearful thoughts, anxiety, physical sensation will continue to occur, 2 steps forward and 1 step back is still heading in the right direction
6) Patience – This, like anything else, takes time to accomplish, so a mindset of patience is key.
These steps are really the “cure” that overly anxious people are looking for, but you guessed it, it takes work! So get to work and say goodbye to your anxiety disorder!
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