- Psychologist sheds light on impact of performance anxiety
- Says the issue is having a significant impact on players
A sports psychologist has shed light on a growing issue in the AFL, revealing that performance anxiety is forcing players to miss games and even suffer injury and breathing problems.
Dr Matt McGregor, an experienced psychologist who has worked extensively in the footy world, has sparked a renewed conversation about mental health in elite sports.
McGregor explained that performance anxiety – a specific kind of general anxiety triggered by high-stakes situations – is taking a significant toll on footy players.
He says the condition, which is also known colloquially as stage fright, is becoming an increasing reason for players to miss games with the physical effects ranging from loss of muscle coordination to breathing difficulties.
‘I’ve been working in sport for 25 years, it was very much a kind of a dirty secret,’ he told The Age.
‘Very few people were prepared to talk about it, even to psychologists. They certainly weren’t prepared to talk about it to coaches and to teammates.’
A sport psychologist says performance anxiety is forcing players to miss games, suffer injuries and breathing problems
St Kilda legend Nick Riewoldt has been very open about his struggles with pre-match anxiety
McGregor says that some anxiety is useful but too much can be debilitating and that each athlete deals with it in different ways.
‘We certainly do have some performers who will absolutely thrive. You know, they… run towards the fire, people who thrive under those stressful conditions,’ McGregor said.
‘Even though they still have a tipping point where, if we keep increasing that, or they keep perceiving extra threat and pressure, there’ll be a tipping point … where the anxiety starts to get in the way.’
McGregor says that players trying to play through their anxiety and not deal with it could cause serious problems.
‘If we push a player out onto the field who’s not ready, whether that’s physical or mental, if they’re not feeling capable, it’s going to be counterproductive,’ he said.
‘They’re going to experience more failure. You know, they won’t have … that co-ordination and skill.’
St Kilda legend Nick Riewoldt has spoken about his struggles with anxiety before AFL matches.
He famously admitted in 2019 that he’d sometimes run two to three kilometres before a match to get on top of his nerves.
Geelong champion Patrick Dangerfield has also spoken about the benefits of using a psychologist
‘As someone that has struggled with anxiety at various stages throughout my life, for me there was always a difference between anxiety … and performance anxiety,’ Riewoldt told Seven this week.
‘The 24 hours leading into a game I found to be torture, every week, excruciating, but it was just something you had to navigate because it was your responsibility as a player.
‘I never missed a game because it was my responsibility to play. But I feel for the clubs at the same time because they have invested so heavily and they want them (their players) out there.
‘I don’t have the answer but I am sensitive to it.’
Geelong champion Patrick Dangerfield has also spoken publicly about work he had done with a psychologist during his career to help manage the pressure of footy.
‘Spending time and chatting with him (the psychologist) was brilliant. Not that you view the game differently, but you view it as just another moment,’ Dangerfield told ABC Radio.
‘So, you understand what it is, and we understand as a team and individually it’s a game we want to win, but it’s just another game.’
