Golf anxiety

[Exactice808]

[quote name='Tanner25' timestamp='1397561500' post='9094635']
[quote name='Exactice808' timestamp='1397516036' post='9091385']
Finally read through the thread.... My other thoughts

I know exactly what you mean, you are sitting there on the couch watching tv and bam the shakes, sweating, feels like an 800lbs elephant sitting on your chest, you cant breath, it feels like it came out of no where. Again Panic is your fight or flight mechanism misguided by your "unconscious" mind, a trigger of some sort set it off. Sometimes you know what the trigger is, other times you have no idea.

When the attack comes on you have to breath that is the first and foremost thing like others stated and I stated above. Breath like how you would breath when you are sleeping slow and deep, imagine that is the time you are most relaxed, so emulate it to get to that state during the attack.

Now this is the thing about medication (Im no doctor, just from my experiences and research over the years). Xanax is great for a quick response to an attack, I used to use it when a bad attack came on prior to me learning how to naturally deal with it, but as someone stated its a band aid, its not getting to the root problem. The root problem again is your unconscious over-reacting. You dont want to us Xanax as a crutch. You want to be able to deal with the attacks on its own.

Lexapro, Prozac, Abilify etc are more to help those that are dealing with anxiety and depression caused by the anxiety/panic attacks. So if you do not deal with constant anxiety or depression then a regimented med doesn't necessarily need to be your first look. But I would say consult with your Doctor.

Again, your body doesnt know the difference of being in a car crash, standing in front of a crowd giving a speech, a 3ft birdie to win the pot. All it knows is, its nervous, scared, adrenaline is pumping, your heart is beating faster. How you deal with it is all the same, calming yourself down and rationalizing your situation that you are not in Physical Danger.
[/quote]

Exactice808,

Thanks, for the description. It helps me better understand what my friend is going through. Thanks, for serving too.

Tanner
[/quote]

You are welcome, its always great sharing information to people. Its tough when a person that is going through this tells a loved one or friend that really doesnt understand what is going on. Its not only a physical sensation but a heavy mental burden sometimes. Educating others on what some of us go through makes living with it a little easier. Part of the anxiety is worrying about what our family, friends loved ones think about us. They are worried that others will think less of them or that they are crazy. But in reality millions and millions of people suffer from this condition.

Support your friend and remind them, its a natural occurring phenomenon that is just out of sync. Breath and rationalize that nothing is going to hurt them..... It never has....and never will!

[LUMA]

I won't take medication. I started the anxiety through my thoughts and I will end it through my thoughts! I know some may need it but I don't want to do anything to change the chemicals in my brain any more. I drink wine every night and thats a factor. Alcohol makes anxiety worse in the long run. I need to get back to naturally de stressing during the week and saving the weekends for alcohol use.

Just so glad it's gotten better but I hate when it does pop up. It goes after my golf game hard. Cant find the zone.

[Tanner25]

[quote name='LUMA' timestamp='1397608600' post='9100551']
I won't take medication. I started the anxiety through my thoughts and I will end it through my thoughts! I know some may need it but I don't want to do anything to change the chemicals in my brain any more. I drink wine every night and thats a factor. Alcohol makes anxiety worse in the long run. I need to get back to naturally de stressing during the week and saving the weekends for alcohol use.

Just so glad it's gotten better but I hate when it does pop up. It goes after my golf game hard. Cant find the zone.
[/quote]

I wonder if it with help to hit shots with clubs you are most comfortable with. This past round I hit no more than a 5 iron. It forced me to layup most of the time. But, it's interesting. It's a stress free shot when laying up 10-20 yards short of the green. Had I used a 3 iron and missed and ended up in the same spot, I would have failed. There are ways to take out the stress on a round. Also, don't be afraid of teeing it forward.

Tanner

[no where to look]

Yes - that's how I see it. The fight or flight reaction comes from our primitive brain, and simply responds to what the brain sees as a confrontation in the environment. It can be something actual in the environment like an audience or tasking off in a plane or standing at tee 1, where it's more "phobic" or it can be the idea of confrontation based on past events which are triggered by thoughts in some way.

PMCUK
Public speaking terrified me for years.
In recent years, my golf game has helped me deal with the anxiety of public speaking.
Learning that the subconscious takes over so much of what we do, if we let it, has taken pressure off my conscious thoughts/anxieties.

Not sure if I am explaining myself, but as an example on a recent public speaking situation, I prepared thoroughly and knew what I was speaking about. Often this isnt enough. Anxiety can take over and paralyze performance.

Before speaking I switched my attention to the audience. What would each of them want to get out of what I am saying? I actually look at many of the audience and assess what each would be looking for from me.

In other words I am setting up a preprogram in my subconscious, just as I initiate a preprogram for DS at the top of my BS.
I then resolve to let my subconscious take over my presentation. Ideally I become a witness to my own presentation.

In golf when it happens, albeit infrequently , I call it being in the Zone.

[Joe9977]

-For those who say golf is just a game, relax, etc. that's the point. The panic/anxiety attack is not controllable. I used to work in sales and was shaky giving presentations but I got through it. But I've seen tough grown men quiver like crazy, get red faced, shake while they spoke, be visibly a nervous mess despite them rehearsing a 5 minute presentation!!!! Multiply that by 100 and you have the golf panic attacks. I've shot 3-5 under par with my brother or other friend. Put me on the tee to keep score? I shoot +6 on the first few holes. I've tempered it a LOT but you cannot stop it by saying golf is just a sport, etc...
Even touring pros look like crap at times and they are the best .0001% in the WORLD, and they get shaky. I guess I have serious defensive mechanisms. No wonder I had no fear in the military when stuff was really scary and stressful.

[Bellini4]

Some really great discussion on anxiety related issues. I'll throw another suggestion in the mix that has helped me. Although it might seem out there, I have had success with being a bit OCD like Keegan on the tee box. Instead of my focus being on the 'what if's' I'm more focused on doing things in threes. Not as wild as Keegan, just finger taps on the grip in threes. In rare times it turns anxiety into a hyper-focus, but its a new incorporation into my game.
I got the idea from a book called 'Willpower,' which sounds self-helpy but is really science based. There was a section where they interviewed people who would need great concentration and found they become OCD weeks and months before performances. They could not prove it through a study, just interviews, but I liked the idea. I find this gets me out of my head, which I used to do a lot as a kid. Once I lost that, I started getting anxiety issues in life and golf. Being hyper aware and running the mind at 100% all the time is a sure fire road to stress and anxiety, so whether you have a natural or medicinal way to shut it down, you need to find a way to let the mind 'idle' and cool down to be able to function better at full throttle.
On the positive side, I think this kind of over active mind is well suited for golf, a game that requires such high concentration, we just need to learn to control it.

[pmcuk]

[quote name='Joe9977' timestamp='1402886347' post='9503709']
I've seen tough grown men quiver like crazy, get red faced, shake while they spoke, be visibly a nervous mess despite them rehearsing a 5 minute presentation!!!! Multiply that by 100 and you have the golf panic attacks.
[/quote]

You'll get suggestions for medication - not my thing so no comment on that, I work with mental strategies.
You'll get suggestions for mindfulness, the Zone, breathing and relaxation methods. Definitely worth acquiring.
You'll get course management and technique suggestions - always interesting.
You'll get good solid CBT strategies - don't catastrophise, or think in all-or-nothing ways, or use a negative filter etc.

What I think you're getting less of is social strategies for reframing your environment and the people in it. The really good method here is Transactional Analysis - Eric Berne. I'd really suggest reading "Games People Play" or "What do you Say after you Say Hello?". And as said before, look at some of the NLP stuff like reframing. If you want to make permanent advances in how you react with people and reduce their "critical" vibes, this is the area to work on. I'm not saying all the rest isn't really important - the stress reduction and adrenalin control - but this kind of performance and social anxiety is very much a people thing. Gain more control of the interference from people assessing you and usually very little of this happens.


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