Words like stress, worry, fear and anxiety are often used interchangeably when discussing an athletes’ mental state. While related they are not the same. Identifying the difference can help an athlete better understand what they are experiencing and choose the right action.

Stress: The Body’s Alarm System: 

Stress is the body’s natural internal/external reaction to demands and challenges in the moment.  It is a physical and mental response to the pressures or challenges that demand an athletes’ attention. Examples of this can be, a big game, returning from an injury, juggling school, training, competing. 

Stress can be positive, motivating, energizing or negative where athlete feels overwhelmed, drained, burned out. Stress can become harmful when recovery isn’t sufficient or the pressure feels unmanageable. 

A Few Stress Management Strategies

1. Shifting thoughts from “pressure” to “challenge.”
2. Utilizing mental skills training to focus attention to the present.
3. Training internal mental dialogue from “I must succeed” to “I prepare to the best of my ability and commit to the process regardless of the outcome.”
4. Having support from coach, teammates and family. 
5. Organizational solutions, time management, workload tracking and balance. 
6. Pre-competition routines that mentally and physically focus the athlete.

Worry: Thoughts aren’t predictions of the future they are just thoughts.

Worry is what happens when the mind ruminates on negative thoughts, uncertain outcomes or fuses on all the things that can go off the rails in the future. The “what if” inner dialogue. 

A Few Worry Management Strategies

1.  Challenge negative thoughts. Example: “This player is rated the best in the region. I don’t     stand a chance.”  An alternative thought, “I have become stronger physically, and my stamina is much higher than last year. This is going to be a battle and I am ready to play.” 

2. Breathing routines: Short, focused breathing routines are simple effective techniques to lower heart rate, quiet noisy inner dialogue and shift focus away from anxious thoughts keeping athlete in the present moment.  49er’s tight end George Kittle is known to use this pre-game routine, “Breathe in confidence, exhale fear” as part of his pre-game mental preparation, a positive self-talk technique that helps Kittle and his teammates channel their focus, and remain grounded.

3. Interrupt the “what if” loop and redirect focus to, “next serve,” “next point.” Reset vs. ruminate.

4. Reframe the imposed pressure towards preparation. As the athlete focuses on the task, actions and process within their control they allow themselves to be in the moment.

Fear: Fear is the body’s natural reaction to an immediate or real threat.

Fear may manifest as, fear of failure, fear of making mistakes, feeling responsible for holding up the team, or falling short of expectations. Fear of reoccurring pain/injury is not uncommon for athletes’ that have sustained a serious injury. Fear of certain movements or taking physical impact to the previously injured area can trigger hesitation.

A Few Fear Management Strategies:

1. As an athlete can articulate they feel fear they gain an understanding of what they are experiencing and where that fear is stemming from. Once this is uncovered there is a path forward to addressing the issues.

2. Visualization Training: Rehearsing skill performance confidently. An athlete may watch video of him/herself performing a skill correctly, then add in conditions. An example of this may be a soccer player who is kicking a penalty kick. The player may not only rehearse successfully kicking in practice but spends time visualizing different situations that may arise such as windy conditions or rain.

3.  Managing public criticism. After a difficult outing avoid social media. Player’s pulled into negative comments from the public can develop fear of looking bad. The athlete is the one playing not spectating. It is easy to be in the audience and find fault. It is challenging to be on the field in the moment, understanding the strategies and responding effectively. Protect yourself and by distancing yourself from negative feedback from the public  opinion. Work with your coach for feedback vs. being pulled into the chatter of social media. 

4) Set realistic process goals. Work with coach to chunk big goals into smaller attainable time lines and focus on the pieces of the process that are controllable. 

5) Reframe fear as a sign athlete is pushing comfort zone. There is often a gap between the goal, learning a new skill and obtaining that goal. There will be errors in the process that is part of attaining growth. 

6) Respect fear when it keeps you safe. For example: A skier feeling that conditions are too dangerous to go full throttle down an icy mountain. Evaluate whether the situation presents actual danger. If an athlete isn’t mentally, physically, technically prepared it can trigger fearful thoughts and feelings which impede performance. Ten years ago, J.T. Holmes successfully speed winged, skied and base jumped off the Eiger Mountain in Switzerland, he and his team took over a year preparing mentally, physically, technically and waited for the right conditions to make the descent as many things could have gone wrong. They had rehearsed every aspect of the project to take away as many concerns as possible. 

Anxiety: Anxiety is When Stress, Worry & Fear Blend Into a Constant, Lingering State

Anxiety is different from all three as it is a combination of stress, worry and fear. It is the feeling of unease, dread, or tension that persists and doesn’t match the situation at hand. An athlete may feel anxiety before a game not because it’s stressful but because their internal alarm won’t shut off. It is important to note that there are two types of anxiety, state and trait. State anxiety occurs when an athlete perceives that what is required of them is greater than what their capabilities can manage. It is typically anxiety tied to a specific event. Trait represents an athlete’s tendency to react to most situations with more tension and worry than someone without the trait. 

A Few Anxiety Management Strategies:

1. Breathing Exercises: training with biofeedback for diaphragmatic breathing to reduce physical symptoms of anxiety.

2)  Visualization: Mentally rehearsing successful performance, managing challenging situations to build confidence.

3) Self-talk: Reframing anxious thoughts creating a desired outcome, avoiding catastrophizing.

4)  Develop consistent yet flexible warm-up routines to create a sense of control.

5)  Use music, mantras, videos to shift into “performance mode.” 

6)  Maintain good sleep, nutrition and hydration – all reduce vulnerability to anxiety. 

7) Normalize anxiety – it is part of competition and wanting a positive athletic outcome, not a weakness. 

The concepts of stress, worry, fear and anxiety overlap but they aren’t identical. Separating the concepts is the first step to pick out effective tools to regain balance and support your athletic journey.