ANXIETY COUNSELING

Anxiety Counselling



Anxiety Counselling

Introduction

The feeling of anxiety is very common. Some people refer to it as nerves and everyone, musician or non-musician, has experienced anxiety at one time or another. The feeling of general uneasiness, a sense of foreboding and a feeling of tension is something that happens in our day-to-day lives. In this paper we will analyse anxiety theories practical approach. Especially we will talk about Competitive Anxiety theories and counselling.

Analysis

Anxiety has both a physiological and a psychological aspect and it is the psychological aspect that affects the way we interpret sensations (Clarke et al 2000, pp 34-178). We can become anxious in situations merely because we perceive a threat even where there is none. William James, an early psychologist, suggested that all human emotions actually come from our perception of the situation/condition we are in (Hayes, 1999, pp 121-189): we do not weep because we feel sorrow: we feel sorrow because we weep. Further studies concluded that although it is our awareness of the situation that produces the emotion we actually feel, it is our physical condition which influences how strongly we actually feel it. In a performance situation, we don't feel anxious because of performing, the situation is anxious because of the way we feel (Wolman and Stricker, 1994, pp 45-167).

Competitive Anxiety

Competition can cause athletes to react both physically (somatic) and mentally (cognitive) in a manner which can negatively affect their performance abilities. Stress, arousal and anxiety are terms used to describe this condition.

The major problem in competition is letting your mind work against you rather than for you. You must accept anxiety symptoms as part and parcel of the competition experience; only then will anxiety begin to facilitate your performance(Hayes, 1999, pp 121-189).

Performance Relationship Theories

Drive Theory

According to the Drive Theory (Clark Hull 1943) if an athlete is appropriately skilled then it will help them to perform well if their drive to compete is aroused - they are "psyched up" (Wolman and Stricker, 1994, pp 45-167).

Inverted-U hypothesis

An alternative approach to Drive Theory is known as the Inverted-U hypothesis that predicts a relationship between arousal and performance approximates to an inverted U shape. The theory is that as arousal is increased then performance improves but only up to a certain point (top of the inverted U). If the athlete's arousal is increased beyond this point then performance diminishes (David, 2003, pp 56-145).

Multi-dimensional Anxiety Theory

Multi-dimensional Anxiety Theory is based on the distinction between cognitive anxiety and somatic anxiety. The theory makes a series of predictions (Clarke et al 2000, pp 34-178):

There will be a negative but linear relationship between cognitive anxiety and performance

There will be an inverted U relationship between somatic anxiety and performance

Somatic anxiety should decline once performance begins but cognitive anxiety may remain high if confidence is low

Catastrophe Theory

Catastrophe Theory suggests that (Nelson-Jones, 1981, pp 56-189):

stress and anxiety will influence performance

each athlete will respond in a unique way to competitive anxiety

performance will be effected in a unique way which may be difficult to predict using ...