Expert: Pamela Enders - 2/11/2010

Question
I've been working on twist downs since I was 11 years old. For 7 years now I've struggled with my fear of twisting. I'll be in the stunt, ready to twist, and then when they throw the cradle I just don't twist. I know how and when I do actually twist it's pretty good. I'm finally able to twist out of preps without being scared. But doubling down is a huge problem. In middle school I was able to double out of a prep, but one day in high school I tried to pull one and I only got halfway around. Ever since then I've been too afraid to pull more than a single. I always have the same problem. I get up in the stunt, ready to twist, and when they throw me I only do a single or a straight cradle. It's really frustrating and then I get upset so it's hard to keep working on it.

At the risk of sounding egotistical, I know I'm a good flier. I can do pretty much anything up in the air. If I never had to come down I would be in a great position! Any time I twist off one leg I pull it really early to the point where they haven't even thrown me and I'm already around. I'm working on it, but I'm so afraid that I'll start not twisting and just straight cradling that I end up trying to just get it over with. It's really frustrating and I've spent many nights in tears over this problem. I also don't twist in basket tosses. I'm not afraid of the toss...just the twisting. I'm also not afraid my bases won't catch me. People that don't fly don't seem to understand that not being caught isn't my fear at all. It's just that when I do get caught it hurts sometimes.

I know I'm a mental case. I can't tumble or flip in tosses or pyramids (I'm on a level 6 team) and I'm too afraid to even go for it. I stood on a tumble track for ten minutes trying to throw a backhandspring that I've been able to do for about 8 years, but I just couldn't throw it. Could these things be connected? A lot of people have trouble tumbling, but I seem to be more afraid of twisting that anyone I have ever seen or heard of. And I've seen a lot and tried to find people more afraid than myself.

Sorry if that was long, repetitive and not very well organized. I've just been dealing with this since I was on Pop Warner and it's frustrating. Also, I've been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. I'm sure that isn't helping matters, but I didn't know I had that until last year and this has been a problem long before that.

Answer
Dear Christina,

First of all, please do not refer to yourself as a “mental case.”  That pejorative comment is unnecessary, right?  Labels are powerful and can affect performance so please find a new label, ok?

I have a few questions for you; please answer them so I can help you best, ok? Let’s see. You say you have been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder.  Since I don’t know you, I’m not sure what that means.  Are you anxious in general – about lots of things or is it related mostly to your cheerleading challenges?  Are you getting treatment for your anxiety and if so, what is the nature of your treatment?  Medication? Therapy? What kind of therapy?

Not knowing your full story, let me offer a few comments.  Anxiety can be caused by (among other things) negative thinking.  We are what we think!  We are always creating stories in our heads and the stories we create affect how we feel.  We believe our stories even if they are not objectively true!  So, we create a story, we believe it, and then our brains and bodies respond to that story as if it were true.

The body might react by tensing muscles, increasing heart and respiratory rates, and causing other symptoms associated with anxiety. All of this undermines performance.

The solution is to become aware of the story you are creating and to challenge the veracity of the story.  Is it really, really true?  Is there an alternative explanation?  Might it be a distortion?  Then create a new story that is either positive or neutral.

For example, you may be creating a story that goes like this: “I am a mental case. I cannot do more than a single twist. I am just afraid of twisting. I’ll never be able to fix this.”  

Does this sound like you?  If so, beware that such a conversation is interpreted as an instruction by your brain! Yep – your brain is very literal and it perceives negative thoughts as instructions!  So you can see a first step is to change the instructions you give to your brain, right?  This doesn’t mean you make something up you don’t believe but it does mean you need to de-toxify the messages you are sending.

Try coming up with a neutral message.  Something like, “I am working on improving my performance and I am getting better all the time.”

As I mentioned, an anxious body s a tense body and a tense body will not perform as well as a flexible, relaxed one.  Here’s a quick way to relax.  Find a quiet place, close you eyes and exhale as slowly as you can.  Be sure to do it s-l-o-w-l-y!  Repeat at least 5 times.  You should find that after you exhale you will be able to take in a nice deep in-breath. Tell yourself, “With each out-breath, I am relaxing more and more.”

If you practice this often enough, you will be able to relax at the gym by simply exhaling slowly a few times.  Each time you practice it you are training your brain and your body to relax.  A relaxed brain and body will perform better!

Another technique is visualization. If the brain can “see” it, the body can “do it.”

This requires PRACTICE.  You cannot expect to change anything without diligent practice!  So if you are willing to put the time in, you will reap the benefits!

Before you begin, rate the anxiety you feel when you try to do a twist on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being no anxiety and 10 being horrible anxiety.  

Now consider what might be an ACCEPTABLE level of anxiety, that is, a level of anxiety that you might feel but that would still enable you to go through with a twist. An example might be a 4 or 5.  You decide.

The goal is not to necessarily eliminate all anxiety but to find a manageable level.  Ok?  Of course, the more you do twists the less anxiety you will likely feel.  

But for now, what is the level you feel ______?
What would be acceptable_______?

Ok – here’s the visualization:

1.   Find a nice quiet place and while sitting up, close your eyes.
2.   Exhale as slowly as you can 3 – 4 times.
3.   Say to yourself, “With each out-breath, I am relaxing more and more.”
4.   Once relaxed, see yourself, with your mind’s eye, in a safe place, a place you feel ultra comfortable, secure and happy.
5.   Really enjoy being in your special safe place as you continue to focus on your out-breath.
6.   Now, shift your focus and “see” yourself in your cheerleading practice spot, beginning to do a twist.
7.   Rate the level of anxiety you feel and if it is more than an acceptable level, stop visualizing this skill and return to your safe place.
8.   Stay in your safe place until you feel calm and secure.
9.   Now, once again, see yourself in your practice spot beginning to execute a twist..
10.   Rate your anxiety level and if it is at an acceptable level (maybe or a 4 or a 5), stay with this scene, focusing on your exhale to keep calm and focused.
11.   See yourself executing the skill with grace and ease and “feel” yourself enjoying it; enjoy your success.
12.   Now assign a power label or cue word for this successful execution. It can be anything.  For example, you could simply call it “success” or “good move.”
13.  Once you have your power label, visualize and feel the whole successful routine again saying your power word to yourself.
14. Repeat over and over.  Each time you do this, you will be creating brain and muscle memory.  
15. If at any time your anxiety level increases too much, go back to your safe place and repeat the above steps
16. Be sure to use your power word with each step you take.
17.  Repeat as necessary. Keep repeating this process until the anxiety associated with visualizing doing the skill is manageable.
18. The anxiety may not disappear completely, the goal is MANAGEABLE ANXIETY.

This visualization accomplishes several things.  It helps you ease into the idea of doing a twist (or any skill)  while minimizing your anxiety and it also engraves the successful execution of the skill in your brain.  You will be training your brain to feel and think in the way you want.  You will also be learning how to control your thoughts and feelings rather than have them control you!

Now, one last thing; when you next begin to do any  skill, take a moment to focus, exhale slowly, say your power label to yourself and see yourself executing the skill successfully. Then go ahead!

You can also check out my blog – http://www.confidentcheerleadingblog.com where you will find lots of tips and info about the mental game of cheerleading.  

Please let me know if this was useful and keep me posted on how you are doing!  You can email me directly at info@pamelaenders.com .

Good luck to you!

Dr. Pam,
The Mental Game of Cheerleading
http://www.confidentcheerleadingblog.com
http://www.confidentcheerleading.com