Sports Psychology
Are You An Athlete Who Struggles To Focus?
As a committed athlete, is your performance ever negatively impacted by mental distractions or anxiety? Has a recent injury shaken your confidence or made you lose motivation? Do you ever struggle to achieve the flow state and wish there was a way you could relax and focus more easily?
Despite all the physical training you or your child undertakes to be the best athlete possible, maybe you realize what an influence mindset can have on performance. After all, it can be difficult to keep your head in the game when you are preoccupied with nagging thoughts and can’t effectively block out mental chatter. Or maybe you get increasingly anxious in the lead-up to an event, and notice that you typically perform better in practice.
You Might Beat Yourself Up When You Don’t Achieve Your Best Results
Whether you or your child is a solo athlete or part of a team, the pressure to consistently perform at peak levels can be intense. Whether it’s the burden of letting your teammates down or not achieving personal goals in your sport, you might get down on yourself for not living up to your potential. Your sense of accomplishment may be so closely tied to your sport that you get depressed or antsy in the off-season. If you have sustained an injury, you may worry that you won’t be able to return to the same level of performance which could drive down your confidence or impact your desire to return to your sport.
The good news is that a breakthrough technology is available that can heal the brain by stimulating its neuroplasticity. IASIS Microcurrent Neurofeedback applied to sports psychology can help competitors of any age—adults, teens, and young athletes—increase peak performance, allowing them to relax, feel more confident, and achieve a state of flow.
Sports Psychology Is A Key Factor In Performance
As athletes who have achieved excellence in our sport, we often push ourselves hard. While the goals we place on ourselves keep us motivated and driven, our inner drive—combined with the expectations of our family members, teammates, and coaches—can cause excess stress. When the pressure to succeed is overlaid onto other life stressors or any unprocessed trauma we may have experienced in our past, our nervous system can become overloaded, impacting performance.
Anxiety and athletic performance are closely related. Research has shown that athletic performance anxiety increases the risk of injury among athletes. [1] Even if we are well-trained and physically conditioned, anxiety can sabotage us. When we are stressed out and second-guess ourselves, we may hesitate in execution which, in turn, can lead to injury. Without addressing our sports psychology, performance suffers.
As Athletes, We Tend To Push Ourselves Too Hard
Many athletes struggle with perfectionism. It’s what drives us to excel and perform at our peak level. However, the cumulative effect of putting too much pressure on ourselves can eventually backfire, working against us when it counts the most. When the brain is under stress, it’s hard to remain focused, motivated, and consistent with our performance.
Integrating your mental fitness with physical conditioning can be a game-changer, both on and off the field. Because sports psychology influences athletic performance so profoundly, ensuring your brain functions optimally is essential. By pushing metabolic plaque out of the brain, IASIS Microcurrent Neurofeedback therapy for athletes stimulates neuroplasticity and healthy brain development. This allows you or your child to focus on athletic performance with fewer distractions.
Sports Psychology For Athletes Can Be Improved With Neurofeedback
If you are committed to your sport and strive to reach your full potential as an athlete, your psychology may determine the difference between a good and great performance. No amount of physical training can make up for a lack of focus, confidence, or motivation. Until you address what may be holding you back mentally, achieving peak performance could remain elusive.
Microcurrent Neurofeedback Therapy (MCN) can help soothe the underlying stressors, trauma, or negative self-talk that hinder peak athletic performance. This groundbreaking technology helps heal the nervous system at its source, making you a more relaxed, focused, and confident athlete.
What To Expect In Sessions
Unlike traditional sports psychotherapy, Microcurrent Neurofeedback sessions are passive—the IASIS machine does all the work. Much like a spa treatment, you don’t have to do anything except show up, sit quietly, and relax for 25-30 minutes. It typically takes between 12-25 sessions to see lasting results with little or no follow-up necessary.
Although each of our technicians is a licensed mental health therapist equipped to listen and offer support related to sports performance, you are under no obligation to discuss what you are thinking or feeling. The only thing we ask is that you be mindfully aware of subtle changes in mood, recovery, and temperament after each treatment and report back to your therapist. As an athlete who is attuned to your mind-body connection, self-reporting will hopefully come easily to you. Your feedback about whatever subtle changes you have noticed helps us fine-tune our protocols to optimize results.
How IASIS Microcurrent Neurofeedback Therapy Improves Sports Psychology
Microcurrent Neurofeedback therapy is a safe and non-invasive way to heal the brain and relax the nervous system from a myriad of symptoms, including performance anxiety, stress, unresolved trauma, lack of motivation, and low confidence. MCN helps stimulate parts of the brain where neural pathways are not functioning at peak performance (or highest level) for optimal output. When your brain is functioning at peak level, it will influence physical wellness by boosting your immunity, helping to keep you injury-free.
This advanced technology is backed by years of research and development related to neuroplasticity and brain performance. [2] [3] We have received an overwhelming amount of positive feedback from clients who report that after MCN treatment, they feel more confident and have more tolerance for day-to-day issues that used to negatively affect them. As an athlete, being able to focus on the task at hand without the distraction of shame, pressure, or perfectionism blocking you from reaching your full potential can be transformative.
North Star Neurotherapy is honored to provide Microcurrent Neurofeedback therapy to our clients. Our team has worked in the mental health field for many years and it’s a joy to see the rapid transformation this treatment can achieve. We are eager to help you optimize brain performance which allows you to get in the zone and reach maximum flow state more regularly.
But Maybe You’re Not Sure If MCN For Sports Psychology Is Right For You
Will I feel anything during my Microcurrent Neurofeedback treatments for sports psychology?
Most clients report that they do not feel anything at all and many have told us that they feel very relaxed and comfortable during and after their treatments. IASIS Microcurrent Neurofeedback is a safe and effective therapy for addressing athletic psychology that utilizes less electrical current than talking on a cell phone. Although a combination of traditional talk therapy and medications can address sport and performance psychology for athletes, taking direct advantage of the brain’s neuroplasticity is typically a shorter treatment with fewer side effects.
Does Microcurrent Neurofeedback therapy address brain injury?
North Star Neurotherapy was founded to offer treatment options that utilize state-of-the-art technology to heal the brain. In addition to sports psychology and performance, our IASIS Microcurrent Neurofeedback treatment can help athletes with Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), and concussion resulting from contact sports. The technology behind MCN can aid in the brain’s recovery from injury, ensuring that you heal sooner.
Once I’ve completed my initial sports psychology treatments using MCN, will I have to keep coming back for follow-up?
One of the many reasons we love this technology is that treatment is finite. After completing your initial sessions, you don’t have to come back unless you want a booster session as needed. Before getting MCN for athletic psychologyunderway, we will have a consultation to help you decide how many sessions will be best for you. We generally recommend 12 sessions.
Improve Athletic Performance With Microcurrent Neurofeedback Treatment
We are eager to share this cutting-edge technology with you. To find out more about how Microcurrent Neurofeedback therapy at North Star Neurotherapy can help with sports psychology or schedule an appointment, contact us or call (423) 287-5100 today.
[1] https://www.dovepress.com/sport-related-anxiety-current-insights-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-OAJSM
[2] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37682024/
[3] https://microcurrentneurofeedback.com/clinical-efficacy-of-iasis-micro-current-neurofeedback/