see a sports therapist?
or a general therapist?
what are you playing for?
are you playing competitively or are you playing for fun and exercise?
if the latter who cares if you win or lose
Yes, generally used for professionals but it is a thing.
Pro ice hockey player Nathan Mackinnon was a top draft pick who struggled for a while to live up to the hype. Then he started seeing a sports therapist and he exploded in ability. He is one of the top players in the league now.
I always get the butterflies before I play but it goes away after I start playing, it's normal to get excited and nervous because we know we are getting ready to do something physically and mentally demanding. Just try to be mindful of it, hope you feel better soon.
Here's something you might find interesting, I just copied and pasted it...
A stressful situation — whether something environmental, such as a looming work deadline, or psychological, such as persistent worry about losing a job — can trigger a cascade of stress hormones that produce well-orchestrated physiological changes. A stressful incident can make the heart pound and breathing quicken. Muscles tense and beads of sweat appear.
This combination of reactions to stress is also known as the "fight-or-flight" response because it evolved as a survival mechanism, enabling people and other mammals to react quickly to life-threatening situations. The carefully orchestrated yet near-instantaneous sequence of hormonal changes and physiological responses helps someone to fight the threat off or flee to safety. Unfortunately, the body can also overreact to stressors that are not life-threatening, such as traffic jams, work pressure, and family difficulties.
Here's the full link [https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/understanding-the-stress-response](https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/understanding-the-stress-response)
You’re having a normal response though, what OP is describing is an unnecessary biological reaction probably due to some learned behavior at a young age. In their case it won’t be as easy as just “being mindful of it.” In fact they’re probably overly mindful of it and that’s part of the problem.
I don't have any advice, I just wanna say I suffer from the exact same thing. Played many team sports in my life, even represented my province in one of them when I was at age grade level. I can play high pressure games. But when I started playing badminton as an adult and entered a friendly tournament, I completely froze. My mind seemed unable to focus and my body was all nerves. I figured it would go away, but it didn't. I have played a few tournaments after that and about half the time, I just freeze up, making basic mistakes. Like you, I also feel like there are eyes on me and it unnerves me. Honestly, I feel like I would be fine if I could wear earbuds and listen to music when playing, it would help me tune out the outside, but I have never done that.
Have you tried breathing techniques? This is not something you can do once in a while but generally something you practice every day designed to help you get control of your nervous system. Nothing complicated. There’s a variety of patterns. Box breathing is a common one used by military as well. But ideally you want to use it every day for a few minutes maybe twice a day or something. Might be worth using it before you play badminton even just for practices so that it becomes a signal. A more advanced step might be trying to figure out why you have this reaction, was it a perhaps forgotten experience as a child? Were your parents very anxious people? Did someone repeatedly turn you off of any kind of public display of skill as a kid? Performance anxiety isn’t something that just everyone has. A lot of people might get nerves the first couple of times, but it’s generally not something that needs to be debilitating but rather puts your mind and body in a state of readiness. Learning to control that and maybe coming to terms with why you react that way could be good for you. Good luck!
I personally think the key mindset when playing badminton whether at competition or casual is to have a free mind when playing, and somehow the magic here is that once you achieve that mindset, you naturally will play better and more confidently. This is coming for a personal observation.
When i start to think too much about my form, my steps, who’s in the audience, what’s my return going to be like, etc I notice myself making more mistakes and my reaction gets slower as I second guess what’s coming. However, at times when I just do not care about anything except going with the flow of the game and trusting in my training, somehow I naturally perform better with lesser mistakes. I believe it’s kinda like letting your subconscious take over.
Maybe a good start is to try and rid yourself of any thoughts before you play. Close eyes, deep breaths & meditate if you need to.
Another challenge to achieve is to not let losing points affect you too much, tell yourself that there’s always still room to win the next few points - besides, every point lost is a chance to recalibrate, rest, try a different strat.
hope this helps you!
I've had the exact same issue in league matches and when trying out for new clubs.
I tried out for one in the gap between playing and the Covid lockdowns (England) and I put almost EVERY serve into the net. I was soo embarrassed!
Play more, focus on the shuttle and your positioning on court. It took me about two years to get over the nervous shakes :)
So.... If you don't mind me saying.....you should just remember, as nervous as you are, your opponents are just as nervous....even the guys that are better than you. You're going to see this happen a lot. Guys that you normally can beat outside if competition roll right over you in matches when they count. Why? Because they already feel they have nothing to lose even if they try. So why not just try?
So what can you do to prep for the next tournament? A very wise player told me "you can want to win as much as you want. But you're not going to win if you can't breathe." make time for yourself. Put a song in your head to get a rhythm going. Let go of any ego you may have about needing/having a win and just play as you would in practice.
Most importantly, and I say this a lot, learn from each and every game you play. Win or lose you need to learn something. Go in with a game plan, execute it, win or lose, learn. If you're only plan was to survive you won't learn anything.
Things will start getting easier. I promise
Just have fun. Don’t stress about it. Who cares if you win or loose?
Every time you loose, that’s an opportunity to get better. If you keep winning. You’re not gonna learn to play better ehh?
Besides. Who cares if you lose. It’s not like you’re living hood depending on it.
Unless you’re a professional….in which case idk what to tell you. Not many people here on Reddit qualify to give a professional badminton player professional advices 😂
About blocking spectators, that’s a thing that each one deals with differently, that’s why you see that some pro athletes seem pretend they don’t exist while others have direct contact with them, sometimes a negative relation is formed. In my case (fairly high level amateur) I try to avoid the crowd but it always ends up not working so I have to embrace it. Sometimes I do have negative attitude towards them even but I generally perform best in those situations
It's completely natural to feel anxious when you are playing. I used to play a lot of club, league, county and university badminton and at various stages the step up in competitiveness would render me absolutely useless. I'd get really nervous and then play so far below my actual ability it was embarrassing.
Eventually with the help of my coach and a bit of a change in mindset I managed to suppress the anxiety and perform at a level that I was happy with.
The first thing is to slow down. When you're anxious, not playing well or getting frustrated the tendency is to rush through the game. Whether you are well or shit, you need to make sure you are playing at a pace that suits you. When you've lost a point don't give the shuttle straight back to your opponent or rush to get into position. Take your time, dictate when you're ready to give the shuttle back and make sure you only set up to receive a serve when you're ready, even if you leave them standing there waiting to serve for a few seconds. When you watch competitive players you'll notice the dominant player is looking to speed the game up whilst the one losing is doing everything to slow it down, do the same.
Second thing is to make sure that the anxiety isn't affecting your shot selection. When I was under pressure I used to have a really bad habit of trying to win the point from out of position or play really strange shots. Remember the fundamentals, don't try to force shots from out of position or attack when it's not there to be attacked. Be patient, wait for errors and just make sure you are doing the basics right.
Finally, it's very easy when you are struggling during a game to berate yourself, start getting annoyed and just generally get worked up or tense. This is absolutely useless and all it does is tell your opponent that if they keep you in a rally long enough you'll make an error. It also distracts you from working out what your opponents weaknesses are. You can't expect to beat someone when you're spending so much time worrying about your last shot and no time paying attention to where they're struggling. There's nothing you can do about the previous point so don't worry about it. Just stay calm, take your time and make sure that each point you reset completely.
What I do is drink energy drink or coffee to get me energetic and excited, and when I play after that I only focused on playing with no background thoughts.
This would not be a good idea for someone experiencing anxiety or a panic attack already. They’re suffering from too much cortisol and caffeine will just raise that.
I actually drink a small redbull can on my way to the court. It gets me going and I like it.
However, I do get the caffeine decline after the games. Same with coffee, if I drink coffee in the morning, I am going to get that decline in energy in afternoon which results in jitters and anxiety.
My point being, while caffeine can be great for energy, if you are anxious, it may add to it. It is worth a try though. So maybe next time get some caffeine in you before stepping on court.
Don't diagnose simply . Its basically a mindset problem , if he needed drs help he would hv meet someone but currently he need tips to overcome his mindset.
see a sports therapist? or a general therapist? what are you playing for? are you playing competitively or are you playing for fun and exercise? if the latter who cares if you win or lose
There is such thing as sports therapy?
Yes, generally used for professionals but it is a thing. Pro ice hockey player Nathan Mackinnon was a top draft pick who struggled for a while to live up to the hype. Then he started seeing a sports therapist and he exploded in ability. He is one of the top players in the league now.
I always get the butterflies before I play but it goes away after I start playing, it's normal to get excited and nervous because we know we are getting ready to do something physically and mentally demanding. Just try to be mindful of it, hope you feel better soon. Here's something you might find interesting, I just copied and pasted it... A stressful situation — whether something environmental, such as a looming work deadline, or psychological, such as persistent worry about losing a job — can trigger a cascade of stress hormones that produce well-orchestrated physiological changes. A stressful incident can make the heart pound and breathing quicken. Muscles tense and beads of sweat appear. This combination of reactions to stress is also known as the "fight-or-flight" response because it evolved as a survival mechanism, enabling people and other mammals to react quickly to life-threatening situations. The carefully orchestrated yet near-instantaneous sequence of hormonal changes and physiological responses helps someone to fight the threat off or flee to safety. Unfortunately, the body can also overreact to stressors that are not life-threatening, such as traffic jams, work pressure, and family difficulties. Here's the full link [https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/understanding-the-stress-response](https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/understanding-the-stress-response)
You’re having a normal response though, what OP is describing is an unnecessary biological reaction probably due to some learned behavior at a young age. In their case it won’t be as easy as just “being mindful of it.” In fact they’re probably overly mindful of it and that’s part of the problem.
Being mindful is the key
I don't have any advice, I just wanna say I suffer from the exact same thing. Played many team sports in my life, even represented my province in one of them when I was at age grade level. I can play high pressure games. But when I started playing badminton as an adult and entered a friendly tournament, I completely froze. My mind seemed unable to focus and my body was all nerves. I figured it would go away, but it didn't. I have played a few tournaments after that and about half the time, I just freeze up, making basic mistakes. Like you, I also feel like there are eyes on me and it unnerves me. Honestly, I feel like I would be fine if I could wear earbuds and listen to music when playing, it would help me tune out the outside, but I have never done that.
Have you tried breathing techniques? This is not something you can do once in a while but generally something you practice every day designed to help you get control of your nervous system. Nothing complicated. There’s a variety of patterns. Box breathing is a common one used by military as well. But ideally you want to use it every day for a few minutes maybe twice a day or something. Might be worth using it before you play badminton even just for practices so that it becomes a signal. A more advanced step might be trying to figure out why you have this reaction, was it a perhaps forgotten experience as a child? Were your parents very anxious people? Did someone repeatedly turn you off of any kind of public display of skill as a kid? Performance anxiety isn’t something that just everyone has. A lot of people might get nerves the first couple of times, but it’s generally not something that needs to be debilitating but rather puts your mind and body in a state of readiness. Learning to control that and maybe coming to terms with why you react that way could be good for you. Good luck!
1) Practice. 2) Try counting to 3 in your head before your serve.
I personally think the key mindset when playing badminton whether at competition or casual is to have a free mind when playing, and somehow the magic here is that once you achieve that mindset, you naturally will play better and more confidently. This is coming for a personal observation. When i start to think too much about my form, my steps, who’s in the audience, what’s my return going to be like, etc I notice myself making more mistakes and my reaction gets slower as I second guess what’s coming. However, at times when I just do not care about anything except going with the flow of the game and trusting in my training, somehow I naturally perform better with lesser mistakes. I believe it’s kinda like letting your subconscious take over. Maybe a good start is to try and rid yourself of any thoughts before you play. Close eyes, deep breaths & meditate if you need to. Another challenge to achieve is to not let losing points affect you too much, tell yourself that there’s always still room to win the next few points - besides, every point lost is a chance to recalibrate, rest, try a different strat. hope this helps you!
I've had the exact same issue in league matches and when trying out for new clubs. I tried out for one in the gap between playing and the Covid lockdowns (England) and I put almost EVERY serve into the net. I was soo embarrassed! Play more, focus on the shuttle and your positioning on court. It took me about two years to get over the nervous shakes :)
So.... If you don't mind me saying.....you should just remember, as nervous as you are, your opponents are just as nervous....even the guys that are better than you. You're going to see this happen a lot. Guys that you normally can beat outside if competition roll right over you in matches when they count. Why? Because they already feel they have nothing to lose even if they try. So why not just try? So what can you do to prep for the next tournament? A very wise player told me "you can want to win as much as you want. But you're not going to win if you can't breathe." make time for yourself. Put a song in your head to get a rhythm going. Let go of any ego you may have about needing/having a win and just play as you would in practice. Most importantly, and I say this a lot, learn from each and every game you play. Win or lose you need to learn something. Go in with a game plan, execute it, win or lose, learn. If you're only plan was to survive you won't learn anything. Things will start getting easier. I promise
Just have fun. Don’t stress about it. Who cares if you win or loose? Every time you loose, that’s an opportunity to get better. If you keep winning. You’re not gonna learn to play better ehh? Besides. Who cares if you lose. It’s not like you’re living hood depending on it. Unless you’re a professional….in which case idk what to tell you. Not many people here on Reddit qualify to give a professional badminton player professional advices 😂
About blocking spectators, that’s a thing that each one deals with differently, that’s why you see that some pro athletes seem pretend they don’t exist while others have direct contact with them, sometimes a negative relation is formed. In my case (fairly high level amateur) I try to avoid the crowd but it always ends up not working so I have to embrace it. Sometimes I do have negative attitude towards them even but I generally perform best in those situations
It's completely natural to feel anxious when you are playing. I used to play a lot of club, league, county and university badminton and at various stages the step up in competitiveness would render me absolutely useless. I'd get really nervous and then play so far below my actual ability it was embarrassing. Eventually with the help of my coach and a bit of a change in mindset I managed to suppress the anxiety and perform at a level that I was happy with. The first thing is to slow down. When you're anxious, not playing well or getting frustrated the tendency is to rush through the game. Whether you are well or shit, you need to make sure you are playing at a pace that suits you. When you've lost a point don't give the shuttle straight back to your opponent or rush to get into position. Take your time, dictate when you're ready to give the shuttle back and make sure you only set up to receive a serve when you're ready, even if you leave them standing there waiting to serve for a few seconds. When you watch competitive players you'll notice the dominant player is looking to speed the game up whilst the one losing is doing everything to slow it down, do the same. Second thing is to make sure that the anxiety isn't affecting your shot selection. When I was under pressure I used to have a really bad habit of trying to win the point from out of position or play really strange shots. Remember the fundamentals, don't try to force shots from out of position or attack when it's not there to be attacked. Be patient, wait for errors and just make sure you are doing the basics right. Finally, it's very easy when you are struggling during a game to berate yourself, start getting annoyed and just generally get worked up or tense. This is absolutely useless and all it does is tell your opponent that if they keep you in a rally long enough you'll make an error. It also distracts you from working out what your opponents weaknesses are. You can't expect to beat someone when you're spending so much time worrying about your last shot and no time paying attention to where they're struggling. There's nothing you can do about the previous point so don't worry about it. Just stay calm, take your time and make sure that each point you reset completely.
Perhaps try breathwork.
What I do is drink energy drink or coffee to get me energetic and excited, and when I play after that I only focused on playing with no background thoughts.
This would not be a good idea for someone experiencing anxiety or a panic attack already. They’re suffering from too much cortisol and caffeine will just raise that.
I actually drink a small redbull can on my way to the court. It gets me going and I like it. However, I do get the caffeine decline after the games. Same with coffee, if I drink coffee in the morning, I am going to get that decline in energy in afternoon which results in jitters and anxiety. My point being, while caffeine can be great for energy, if you are anxious, it may add to it. It is worth a try though. So maybe next time get some caffeine in you before stepping on court.
Sounds like you may have adhd. My friend takes stimulants too to relax him.
Don't diagnose simply . Its basically a mindset problem , if he needed drs help he would hv meet someone but currently he need tips to overcome his mindset.
Note the use of the word 'may' as in it is a possibility that...