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Introduction to stress

Stress is a very important aspect within sport especially at elite level and can be the difference between being successful and unsuccessful. Stress is described as a non-specific response of the body to any demand made upon it. This may be through excitement or fear, depending on how the athlete feels they can cope with a situation.

Stress is a substantial imbalance between psychological and physical demands placed on an individual and their response capability under conditions where failure to meet demands has important consequences.

Example

This may explain why some footballers put themselves forward to take a penalty kick in the World Cup final as they would get a 'buzz' from it, whereas others may feel nauseous and would rather avoid the situation. The consequences for both players if they miss may be losing the game and the title, for some the psychological demands exceeds their physical capabilities and as a result are less likely to be successful than the more confident player.

The example identifies stress in two different ways which can be described as:

Eustress

This is a positive type of stress and can help performers become successful. The player putting themselves up for the penalty kick enjoys taking risks and is motivated in such a challenging situation. It relates to their competitive edge in which they experience pleasure, happiness or self-satisfaction having a positive effect on performance e.g. scoring the penalty.

Distress

This is a negative type of stress and the most common form of stress people comment they feel and can lead to performers being less successful. This links to the player who does not wish to take the penalty kick as they feel they can not handle the situation, feeling anxiety and tension which often leads to a negative effect on performance e.g. missing the penalty.

Stress[D]