AASP Blog

As an athlete, you spend an incredible amount of time preparing both your body and mind for the challenges of sport competition. Recently, athletes have spoken out about negative experiences associated with sports and the limited resources available to help navigate these problems. One common issue is what is commonly referred to as the yips. The Yips has been defined as "a psycho-neuromuscular impediment affecting the execution of fine motor skills during sport performance” (Clark et al., 2015, p. 177). Examples of this include golfers feeling excessive muscle tension in their hand during putting, pitchers who lose the ability to make simple throws, or when gymnasts ‘freeze’ before a tuck (sometimes referred to as the twisties). One construct we believe affects the development of the yips is athletic identity.

Athletic Identity

Athletic identity is ‘the degree to which an individual identifies with the athlete role’ (Visek et al.. 2008). Usually when athletes experience this problem, it is often due to not having a stable sense of identity outside of their sport. As such, when most of an individual’s life revolves around sports, there is predictably no outlet for them to connect with when the negative experiences within athletics occur. Research suggests that athletes with high levels of athletic identity are at risk for experiencing several negative mental health outcomes, including difficulty with coping processes, negative social and emotional adjustment, and symptoms of anxiety (Grove et al., 1997, Arvinen-Barrow & Walker, 2013). Because high levels of athletic identity are related to numerous mental health challenges, the Polyvagal Theory might help explain how athletes develop the Yips .

Polyvagal Theory: The Connection Between Athletic Identity & The Yips

Polyvagal Theory (Porges, 2011) provides us with an understanding of how we deal with stress that exceeds our ability to cope. Porges argues that a key component of how we deal with this type of stress is through the mind-body connection, which is regulated by the vagus nerve. The vagus nerve extends from the brainstem to the colon and acts as a type of ‘control center’ for our brain that allows us to monitor internal body functions and produce behaviors that are necessary to deal with external environmental factors (Porges, 2011). 

Another important feature of Polyvagal theory that is critical to our understanding of athletic identity is how important the vagus nerve is in our ability to detect threats while socializing with others, otherwise known as Neuroception. Neuroception refers to how our nervous system constantly monitors threats from our surrounding environment and, in turn, can activate our internal survival response systems if we feel our safety is at risk (Porges, 2011). 
For example, if you see another human running fast toward you and screaming, your vagus nerve will likely stimulate a sympathetic behavioral state to protect you from the potential threat. 

If you are an athlete with a high athletic identity, you are likely more strongly influenced by others' perceptions (Porges, 2011). In sports, if athletes with a high athletic identity do not perform well, this can trigger negative emotions and behaviors because the athlete is fearful of losing social connections as a result of poor sport-related outcomes. Like it or not, while sports can be positive endeavors, they are also stressful experiences. 

Crafting Your Identity Systems

For athletes, foreclosing on your athletic identity can lead to a performance-based identity, where your value and self-worth are solely dependent on your performance. It is important you have a strong understanding of, and relationship to, who you are as a person and as an athlete. Here are three strategies you can use to help reduce the negative effects of a performance-based identity, allowing you to engage in your sport with an angle of approaching challenges, instead of avoiding threats. 

1. Shift From Performance To Purpose Focus:

Athletes may perceive performing in competition as a threat, which could intensify anxiety levels (Mesagno, et al., 2020). This threat comes from your brain not knowing the difference between a threat to your physical body and a threat to your identity, where your value as a person is directly tied to how well you perform, leading to a performance-based identity, influencing perfectionism, fear of failure and contingent self-worth (Houltberg et al., 2018). At the earliest onset of imperfection, your brain can start sending signals that this is your downfall. Your thoughts might sound like, “if I fail it’s all over” or “this is life or death.” The fear of failing in the future even, in the smallest moments in a practice session, can feel overwhelming if your performance-based identity is overhydrated.

A purpose-based identity is where you experience high purpose, global self-worth, positive view of self beyond sport and it is associated with the highest level of psychological well-being and lowest levels of anxiety (Houltberg et al., 2018). This means that you recognize your sport is not who you are, it’s what you do, and it serves as a meaningful part in your life’s journey, instead of being life itself. It takes time to explore your purpose within your sport and beyond your sport. This process can be aided with support from a mental performance consultant, and when you get more clear on this, you can start acting with this purpose in mind every day, for every training and every competition, regardless of the circumstances. You will be more connected to the experience of the competition instead of fearful of the outcome.

2. Celebrate Multiple Identities:

Celebrate multidimensional identity traits in other roles you fill such as a family member, friend, and student.  This can reduce the “life or death” feel to the performance outcome, allowing you to compete more freely with less stress and anxiety, knowing you draw value from being more than just an athlete. We know there can be a certain pride that comes with the role and responsibility of being an athlete, therefore you should celebrate your athlete identity, but not without appreciating all other roles you play. 
 
In summary, athletic identity is the degree to which an individual identifies with the athlete role. If not monitored over your athletic career, it could result in a performance-based identity where your self-worth is contingent upon how well you perform. Your brain and body’s stress response system (sympathetic nervous system) will activate to protect your identity similar to how it would protect you from bodily harm. This fear can compound to a degree that starts to create a psycho-neuromuscular inhibition known as the yips, where your motor skills are compromised despite the endless hours of training used to develop. It is encouraged that you work on developing a purpose-based identity and celebrate the multiple identities you embody to strengthen the mind-body connection and allow for you to play more freely.

References

• Arvinen-Barrow, M. & Walker, N. (2013). The Psychology Of Sport Injury And Rehabilitation. Routledge, 2-49.
• Clarke P., Sheffield D., Akehurst S. (2015). The yips in sport: a systematic review. International. Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology. 8 156–184. 10.1080/1750984x.2015.1052088
• Grove, J. R., Lavallee, D., & Gordon, S. (1997). Coping with retirement from sport: The influence of athletic identity. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 9(2), 191–203. https://doi.org/10.1080/10413209708406481
• Houltberg, B. J., Wang, K. T., Qi, W., & Nelson, C. S. (2018). Self-Narrative Profiles of Elite Athletes and Comparisons on Psychological Well-Being. Research quarterly for exercise and sport, 89(3), 354–360. https://doi.org/10.1080/02701367.2018.1481919
• Mesagno, C., Tibbert, S. J., Buchanan, E., Harvey, J. T., & Turner, M. J. (2020). Irrational beliefs and choking under pressure: A preliminary investigation. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 33(6), 569–589. https://doi.org/10.1080/10413200.2020.1737273
• Porges, S. W. (2011). The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological Foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-regulation. W. W. Norton & Company
• Porges, S. (n.d.). Polyvagal theory. Integrated Listening. https://integratedlistening.com/polyvagal-theory/
• Visek, A. J., Hurst, J. R., Maxwell, J. P., & Watson, J. C. (2008). A Cross-Cultural Psychometric Evaluation of the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 20(4), 473–480. https://doi.org/10.1080/10413200802415048