How Pro Athletes Deal With Anxiety by Kevin Gray (Men’s Journal May 2013)

Here are the key points I took away from this article by Kevin Gray:

• “Nervousness is your friend. It’s a normal reaction to an important moment in your life.” – JoAnn Dahlkoetter Stanford Medical Center Sport Psychologist
• Anxiety is basically an adrenaline dump, your body’s fight-or-flight response.
• This natural response goes off the rails when the body gets run down or is already ridden with stress.
• Hangovers are a known trigger for panic attacks: a heavy night of drinking can lead to fatigue, dehydration, too much caffeine, and not enough food.
• Stress is the most common trigger.
• The most effective way to inhibit their internal fears and fend off a panic attach is to breathe.
• Full blown panic attacks occur when there is an imbalance of oxygen and carbon dioxide
• Slow deep breathing gets much-needed oxygen to the brain.
• “Square Breathing” – breathe in deeply on a count of four and then exhale completely on a count of four, repeating three or four times. The key is to exhale all the way because you can’t take in air unless you completely empty out your lungs.
• Mental visualization also helps: see yourself doing exactly what needs to be done. (ie., the tennis strokes you’ll use, your approach shots, your line game, etc.). But also visualize distractions, upsets, and other scenarios.
• Anxiousminds.org is a website created by Royce White to educate anxiety sufferers.