Unbridled Pressure

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506 – October, 2016

BY DELORES KUHLWEIN

Admit it: you’ve seen the scenario unfold before your very eyes. A star exhibitor executes an unexpectedly substandard performance during a high stakes situation. As he exits the ring with his horse, the awkward silence follows him out.

Chances are you’ve been in those stirrups yourself, walking through the exit gate to meet the averted eyes of your trainer or coach as he shakes his head in disbelief. But no one is as disappointed as you are, as you wildly rack your brain for answers to what happened, replaying the class over and over again in your head. Choking, as it’s commonly known in sport psychology, doesn’t discriminate and it’s just as commonplace in the show pen as it is on the court or the field. In fact, the experience that causes brain freeze, forgetfulness, anxiety, and out-of-the-norm behavior in high stress situations serves as a major focus of study for sport psychologists. The good news is that understanding what happens to our brains and bodies (and consequently the feelings that are passed along to our horses) can help prevent episodes of choking.

Cause and Effect

The causes of choking can vary widely, explains Licensed Clinical Psychologist Dr. Angela Breitmeyer, a certified consultant for the Association of Applied Sport Psychology, an international, multidisciplinary, professional organization with over 2,300 members in 57 countries.

“Choking or ‘yips’ are often the result of performance anxiety and can be influenced by a number of athlete-focused factors, including personality traits, acute life stressors, traumatic events, or even a recent poor performance. In addition, environmental factors can also contribute to choking, such as a sudden change in the weather, a heckling spectator, and other poor sporting conditions,” Breitmeyer reveals.

However, these influences wreak more havoc than simply causing brain freeze, notes Dr. Marc Strickland, Sport Psychologist and certified consultant for Association of Applied Sport Psychology. “One of the biggest misconceptions of choking is that it’s simply mental,” he clarifies. “Choking is both a psychological and physiological phenomenon. The body is engineered to handle stress in multiple ways. Most commonly referred to as the fight/flight response, the body interprets a stressful situation and begins a process where it physiologically undergoes changes (increased heart rate, increased sweat response, hormone release in the brain, etc.). Also, psychologically, we start to interpret situations as threatening or not. When this occurs, many lesser-skilled competitors become more hyperaware of their surroundings. In doing so, their brains are flooded with additional unnecessary information, in an attempt to gain control of what’s happening in their bodies and brains.”

Click here to read the complete article
506 – October, 2016