Welcome to Mental Moments with Dr. Megan! This new section will share quick information and tips for various mental performance topics and issues each month. To get us started, two FSU sport psychology students break down the importance of emotion regulation and how you can better manage your emotions to maintain composure during competition.
Dr. Megan Buning, CMPC, is a faculty member within FSU COACH and a Certified Mental Performance Consultant through the Association of Applied Sport Psychology.
Understanding Imagery: What it is & How to use it
Angela Heinisch, Master’s Student, FSU Sport Psychology, CMPC in training
Link to Headshot: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dAMLEccWLI2pKFZ_gT0Wb0ad1EVqMDwW/view?usp=sharing
Link to optional handout: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RBvm0wYoAcKB6iyyoAc2lzGrwy6hUeKc/view?usp=sharing
When under pressure, performance can radically drop. Just one distracting thought or rising performance worry can make physical training meaningless, as athletes will not be able to use their full potential anymore. Oftentimes, those involuntary thoughts are very vivid; Athletes can literally see themselves failing. Did you know that this mental imagery, simply imagining the upcoming performance, can significantly influence athletes' performance? Following a ‘what you see is what you get’ principle, negative images can become detrimental when not controlled, but positive ones can be used for great advantage. If well practiced, athletes can use imagery as a resource to not only stop negative thoughts and worry but also to increase confidence, concentration, emotional control, and enhanced decision-making in the game. Because of its wide-ranging effects, mental imagery is referred to as an overall performance enhancement tool. Mental images can be broadly divided into two different kinds: Those that are entirely positive and those that include some negative valences. Mastery imagery is the positive form of imagery that boosts confidence and focus by guiding athletes through seeing their own success. It is often implemented in pre-performance routines, as it greatly calms athletes' nerves when experiencing pressure. A form of imagery that includes negative valences is coping imagery. In this, athletes confront themselves with challenging situations that are mastered recessively, e.g., recovering from an underperforming halftime. This simulation of stress in imagery allows athletes to test out different coping strategies, which supports them in staying calm and high-performing once similar situations appear in competition. The two great benefits of imagery are that it prepares peak-performance location independently and without any physical demands. Thus, it serves as an excellent performance-enhancement tool even when athletes are restricted in their ability to train physically due to travel, physical fatigue, or injury.