Aims and Objectives
Stress and motivation play a very important role in an athletes life. An little too much or too less of stress can be very decisive in an athletes performance in almost every activity they do.
1 The aim of my term paper would be to discuss and define motivation and stress :
Stress is simply a reaction to a stimulus that disturbs our physical or mental equilibrium. In other words, it 's an omnipresent part of life. A stressful event can trigger the “fight-or-flight” response, causing hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol to surge through the body. A little bit of stress, known as “acute stress,” can be exciting—it keeps us active and alert. But long-term, or “chronic stress,” can have detrimental effects on health.
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Anxiety control is another technique that is obtained through muscle relaxation exercises as well as mental relaxation through modalities such as meditation or listening to music. Practice for perfection is necessary but as we talk about anxiety control, too much practice can actually lead to overpressure which obviously leads to anxiety beyond the optimal level necessary for the given task. In addition, self-doubts regarding one 's performance and a desire to impress others will create a high level of anxiety which leads to "choking" as the athletes ' focus on the game is lost as is his/her physical control (18). Athletes that maintain a proper combination of honing their physical skills and developing their mental game are able to adapt to any unfamiliar situation/circumstance that they encounter. As an Olympic champion stated: "My fingers and feet were damp and freezing cold. I felt weak, my breath was short and I felt a slight constriction in my throat... I just wanted to get the whole thing done with. The waiting was agony, but my mind conditioned through long training and experience warned 'wait to warm up! Wait! Wait! '" (26). According to research, elite athletes use these "equalizing" techniques in some combination before, during, and after competition, and this gives them the greatest chance to thrive, even when the game is on the line (17).
Motivational techniques for coaches and
Often called the fight or flight reflex, stress has been known to save people’s lives, whether it be on a battlefield or some dangerous situation back home. Too much stress ultimately leads to health problems, but too little stress isn’t good for us either. When we go too long without a sharp stimulating response, the body loses its ability to handle stress properly (Tom Scheve, 2009). Somewhere between too much, and too little stress can actually be good for you, helping you perform under pressure. It is when someone cannot turn off that fight or flight feeling that it begins to show its negative effects.
Athletes’ mental health is becoming increasingly popular. Mental health can be defined as “a person’s condition regarding their psychological and emotional well-being.” Mental health can affect how individuals feel, act, or think. This is becoming a controversial topic in the sports industry. As someone studying in this field, I find this topic extremely important.
The mind is what causes an athlete to set limits. When one trains like a“Stotan,” they eliminate the notion that they cannot do something. Once an athlete believes he/she can accomplish anything, and they are willing to work to get to that point; then there is not a thing that can hold back the “Stotan.”
Research has shown that high levels of stress and anxiety can interfere with academic performance, reduce motivation, and even lead to mental health problems such as depression. While some level of stress is normal and can be motivating, too much stress can be overwhelming, leading to negative consequences
From the beginning of the Greek, Romans to our day-to-day life, sports has been affecting all its users. We can safely assume now that a body in motion will stay in motion, with that, a body at rest will tend to stay at rest. Our thoughts and our worries will flee our state of mind when we experience great physical activities. We’ve grown along with the fascinating culture of sports, we’ve all aged from our experiences and learned to build up from the past. As we continue to move on, sports and physical exertion will both increase and become more efficient.
Mental Health: An Issue Among Student-Athletes Stress has been an increasing issue regarding not only college students, but also student-athletes. Imagine the workload of any normal college student. Then imagine on top of academics, playing a sport which occupies the remaining available time within your day and weekend. This is the life of a student-athlete. Many student-athletes are able to handle the schedule and pressure that one faces in the collegiate environment, but some cannot.
Athlete’s mental toughness as important as physical strength, say sport psychologists | Feature Stories. [online] Available at:http://www.utexas.edu/features/2008/11/24/athletes_minds/ [Accessed: 26 Feb 2014]. Summary: Source A discusses the vital role that an athlete’s mind set plays in the athlete’s
When stress becomes so prevalent in the body, it exposes the body to dangers that could ultimately lead to serious health issues or even death. Stress is something everyone has experienced before, probably everyday of their lives. It can come from the smallest things or it can occur on a larger scale. The larger scale stress can cause multiple dangers to the body, like a stroke or heart attack. These issues could come out of nowhere or they could have been developing for a long time.
As a paramedic, you are not only exposed to diseases and injuries, you are also exposed and vulnerable to stress, especially when addressing the immediate needs of others. When a person is subjected to stress, the fight-or-flight system is activated. Preparing yourself on how you react when this system activates is crucial. The paramedic needs to be in control of their emotions and anticipate when their weaknesses will be taxed.
Prior research has determined, according to Yelverton, that athletes are at an increased chance to burnout if they are participating in a sport for reasons other than sport attraction. In other words, if athletes are pushed to achieve at a high level in activities they present no interest in, burnouts to those individuals seem to increase by chance. The well known theory, and common definition proposed by numerous doctors to help describe stressors athletes face, is in fact, known as a “burnout,” or “a response by an athlete to chronic stress in which he or she ceases to participate in a previously enjoyable activity, withdrawing from the sport because they perceive it is not possible to meet the physical and psychological demands of the sport” (Lindsey Barton Straus, JD 1). Research has provided critical information on the stresses athletes endure on a daily basis. If an athlete is in a stressful situation, subsequently, their athletic performance will become affected (Mackenzie 3).
The conservation of sport is vital, to keep the honorability and valor which have been recognized before, so it may keep on having same impact in the instruction of individuals of today as it did in Ancient Greece. This may have been so at the turn of the turn of the century; however in present day sport the influenced on all concerned is gigantic. An athlete these days is confronted with meeting desires of the coach, colleagues, family and companions. Coaches are likewise confronted with comparable weight, to create the triumphant blend, adapting to wellness levels and making requests on people, all of which may give the wrong flags in admiration to medication
On the other hand a lot of stress can backfire completely and can be a horrible thing for you. Too much stress can even cause health problems for you. According to Mayo Clinic stress can affect your physical health as well as your mental health. For physical health it can cause head and stomach aches, sleep problems, chest pain and even a change in your se drive. Stress can also affect your behavior, it can cause your to have anger outburst, social withdrawal and might even cause you to turn to drugs and alcohol.
introduction Motivation has been defined as some driving force within an individual by which they attempts to achieve some goal in order to fulfill some needs or expectations (Mullins, 1996). Beside Mullins, some scholar also define motivation as the psychological process that gives behavior purpose and direction (Kreitner, 1995) ; A predisposition to behave in a purposive manner to achieve specific unmet needs (Buford, Bedeian, and Linder, 1995); An internal drive to satisfy an unsatisfied need (Higgins, 1994); and the will to achieve (Bedeian, 1993); All those inner-striving conditions described as wishes, desires, drives, etc. (Donnelly, Gibson, and Ivancevich 1995); and the way urges, aspirations, drives and needs of human beings direct
Stress refers to a dynamic interaction between the individual and the environment. In this interaction, demands, limitations and opportunities related to work may be perceived as threatening to surpass the individual's resources and skills. Stress is any physical or psychological stimulus that disturbs the adaptive state and provoked a coping response The increasing interest in stress research is probably because we live in a world that includes many stressful circumstances and stress has been a global phenomenon. It has become an integral part of life and is said to be the price we all pay for the struggle to stay alive.
3. Review of literature 3.1 Stress and its types: Stress is an essential mediator of human behaviour. Immediate physiological response to any type of stressor facilitates survival of the species at its maximum. Despite of normal homeostatic regulatory mechanism, the stress responses can become maladaptive. Chronic stress, for example immobilization, exposure to noise, irradiations, psychological stress can leads to a host of adverse health consequences, including cardiovascular diseases, neurodegeneration, obesity, depression and early ageing (McEwen et al, 2004).