Hypnosis for Successful Athletes
Today meet my guest blogger and friend, Toni Macri-Reiner. She is a clinical hypnotist at Indiana Hypnosis for Change in Indianapolis, Indiana.
We see so much stress and anxiety in kids these days. When their parents bring them in for hypnosis, our main job is teaching them to manage these feelings.
But what about the kid who is driven to be a top athlete? Is it stress or is it excitement? How can a parent tell? We want our kids to follow through on their commitments but we also need to know if there is a problem with them and their sport.
Toni is going to cover these issues and more for us today.
Let’s get started.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH VIDEO directly on YouTube.
Hypnosis for Successful Athletes
In today’s world of organized activities for children, more and more of our youth participate in some form of sports. This can be as simple as playing on a very young soccer team all the way to Olympic level competition.
More and more pressure is heaped on our youth to perform. You’ve probably seen news reports of parents screaming at coaches or even players other than their own child. Besides parental pressure, athletes pressure themselves to be the best.
While some pressure can help motivate a person to perform, too much or the wrong kind leads to an overly stressed & even a panicky athlete.
POPULAR POSTS:
*Hypnosis for Kids: Back to School Prep without Going Bonkers*Anxiety in *Children: But My Child Can’t Stop Picking
*Hypnosis for Kids: What Happens in the Minds of Children Separated from Their Parents?
*12 Signs That Your Child is Being Too Self-Critical
*Unlock Your Child’s Self-Esteem with These 12 Tips: Hypnosis for Children
*How to Use the Pareto Principle with Your Kids and Reap the Results
How common is it for athletes to experience anxiety & panic attacks?
NCAA research shows that almost 85 percent of certified athletic trainers believe anxiety disorders are currently an issue with student-athletes on their campus. That is a high number! As children participate in organized sports at a younger age than in the past, anxiety can begin as early at 6 years old.
What does a panic attack or even severe anxiety look like in a young athlete?
The symptoms of anxiety are the same as for anyone else…The signs can include some or all of these… shortness of breath, a feeling of helplessness, feelings of being overwhelmed, lack of focus, increased heart rate, sweating & trembling,overwhelming fear. An athlete may feel fine in practice but be unable to preform in a competition.
What causes this anxiety?
Usually, focusing on past or future events is what gets one stuck in those anxious feelings. With athletes, they may have had a bad fall, worry about letting their parents, themselves or their team down. Student athletes have the added pressure of preforming well not only in their sport but academically. Most student athletes have extremely busy schedules not only do they have school- work but family activities and Practice schedules. Relationships with coaches come into play as well.
It has been found that during adolescents boys are more satisfied with their body while girls feel less satisfied. This feeling of dissatisfaction can lead girls to feel an additional pressure to be perfect. So, besides the normal stress of performance girls have the added issue of body image to maneuver through.
A certain amount of worry about how you perform can be helpful in competition. However when this becomes a negative focus, imagining the worst outcome, the athlete can become trapped in a cycle of fear and the thoughts can become a self fulfilling prophesy.
How can I tell if my young child is experiencing anxiety or misbehaving ?
Questions you
might ask yourself are;
Is this a change in behavior?
Did they like their sport & now don’t want to participate?
Is my child behaving in a way that is typical for them in uncomfortable
situations?
Playing on a team at 5 or 6 years old and not wanting to always go to practice is a pretty normal behavior.
Not wanting to/expressing fear of participating when you have invested many hours & years at the sport may mean it’s no longer of interest or something else is going on.
Having a conversation with your child to determine if
something happened to cause the change might give you an answer.
We all tend to avoid situations that feel
unsafe,threatening or overwhelming. Reassurance
from a parent or coach can go a long way towards easy common fears.
Seeking information from the coach as well as other parents may let you know if other children are experiencing the same feelings. In which case there could be a situation that needs to be addressed .
If you are questioning whether or not your child is in the right sport, You might begin noticing if they begin developing a passion for it. Do they enjoy watching others in that sport, do they talk about it or practice in off hours.
At an early stage in the sport your child may have realized that they just don’t really enjoy the activity the way they thought they would. There is value in finding out what you don’t like just as discovering what activities you do like.
Can hypnosis help?
Yes!
While many people imagine hypnosis to be an out of body experience as portrayed in the movies, That’s not the case. Often with a young athlete much of the change work is done in a conversational way using techniques that help re-code the way the brain perceives the problem.
Being hypnotized is an easy comfortable process, the hypnotist will help them feel comfortable and relaxed. The client will more than likely hear everything that is said and may even wonder if it is working, It is!
A hypnotists will teach a client techniques to take with them and practice, giving them the tools to handle other stressors in life. Hypnosis not only will alleviate anxious thoughts and patterns, it can also allow that negative part to switch teams and begin working for the athletes rather than against it.
Many athletes already use mental rehearsal to practice their moves. Our unconscious mind doesn’t know the difference between real or imagined. When we use the unconscious to “practice” and imagine positive, exciting future outcomes, the stage is set for experiences to play out in just that way.
Turning anxiety into excitement allows athletes fall in love with their sport all over again!
Tiger Woods, Nolan Ryan, Jimmy Connors and Phil Jackson are just a few of famous athletes who have successfully used hypnosis to help them stay on top of their game.
Athletics can add so much to a child’s life, whether they play for fun or at an elite level.
Using skills learned in hypnosis can give a child tools to use for a lifetime.
I’m Toni…
Thanks for being here today to learn about hypnosis for athletic kids. Subscribe so you never miss a post and help us by posting a comment. I love to hear from you!
About the Author Angie J. Hernandez, C.Ht.
A graduate of the Hypnosis Motivation Institute, Angie J. Hernandez, C.Ht., has her private practice in Milford, Indiana. She is certified in hypnotherapy by the Hypnotherapist's Union Local 472. Angie is the author of "Weight Loss Epiphany: The Workbook", "Charlie's Cuddly Animals for Little Geniuses" and "Weight Loss Hypnosis: Lose Weight with Hypnosis Scripts & Recordings". You can find out more about Angie and how to schedule private sessions by calling (574) 658-4686.
