Overcoming Fear Article

A friend of mine shared this LINK with me. It is to a blog named "Horse Junkies United". They have some wonderful articles on their site, one of which I want to share with you.

It's a  great article about overcoming rider fear.

I have made great strides in overcoming my AOF, (Adult Onset Fear) but it still rears it's ugly head once in a while. I have such compassion for other people who struggle with this. I keep thinking I will write some sort of a mini series of my own articles about the things that have helped me gain my confidence back. I may get around to it... someday! Until then, I hope this helps somebody out!

I have copied this article in it's entirety and included all of the links in the original article. I hope that's kosher! I want to spread the word about Sommer and Horse Junkies United.

Sommer Christie is a certified Mental Performance Consultant from Ottawa, currently finishing her PhD in Sport Psychology. She will contributing to HJU in the following weeks to help you on the Journey to Improve Your Performance. Her article today is about rider fear and it was inspired by a thread on The Chronicle of the Horse. Thankyou Sommer for sharing these great tips and techniques!

From Sommer:

Before digging into this topic I want you know that one of the most common issues that I deal with when working with riders is fear – so take a deep breath and know that you are NOT alone!

Equestrian sport is extremely high risk and offers plenty of opportunities for fear to develop, in riders of all ages and abilities. Although injury tends to be one of the greatest factors leading to fear in riders; fear of competition, fear of failure or even the fear other people watching can be just as debilitating to performance.

Fear can be paralyzing, both physically and mentally. In fact, fear of injury or re-injury may elicit a cycle of psychological (e.g., decreased self-confidence and concentration) and physiological (e.g., increased muscle tension and over-activation) effects that can result in decreased perform-ance (Nideffer, 1993). Although fear can be a major factor in your performance, it does not have to be.

Listed below are a few tips that should help you reflect on your fear and set goals in place to overcome it.

Tips for working with fear:

1.    NORMALIZE

• Accept your anxieties as normal – it is normal to experience fear.

•  Talk to your coach. Often, we are fearful of what the coach might think, yet, they can actually help us overcome the fear if they know about it.

• Coaches should try to be open with riders. Riders may not talk about fear (hide it) because they are afraid it may be interpreted as a weakness, or feel that they are the only one’s experiencing it.

2.    IDENTIFY YOUR FEAR

• What are you fearful of? Be as specific as possible (e.g., what exact skill or action causes my fear). For example, are you afraid of falling all of the time or are you afraid of falling when the jump is at a specific height.

• What does this fear make you do (e.g., tense up, lose focus, stop training)?

• Does this fear help your performance or hurt it? What is this fear preventing you from doing?

• Should you be this fearful?

3.    ADJUST

• Adjust your goals to target specifically what you are afraid of.

• Accept that you may have to slow down and take a few steps back.

• Set small goals that are achievable.

• Be specific and define clear actions that you will take.

•  Make sure that your goals are progressive and ensure successful attempts.

• Build confidence by mastering the small steps before you move on.

•   Be proud of your accomplishments, even if they are small.

   If you are injured

•  Talk to your therapist – educate yourself on the nature of the injury, treatment options, phases of treatment and the expected challenges along the way.

•   Become an active member in your rehabilitation – set goals and work towards achieving them.

• Find support – seek out other riders who have gone through similar experiences and ask them how they coped with and came back from injury or fear.

• Maintain your athletic identity throughout process – Coaches can support this process by giving injured riders roles and keeping them involved.

4.    PRACTICE mental skills techniques

• Relaxed breathing – Use slow abdominal breathing to relax yourself and your horse.

• Body scan – While you are breathing slowly, do a quick scan of the important muscles in your body (e.g., legs, arms, neck, jaw) to see if you are tense. If you are holding tension anywhere, try to let it go with a few deep breaths.

•   Thought stopping – If you are thinking negative thoughts (i.e., If you are anticipating falling), stop! Say “stop” out loud or to yourself and then change your thought to something more positive.

• Positive self-affirmations and self-talk – Stay positive with yourself and your horse. Negative self-talk should be stopped and then replaced with positive self-talk (i.e., “We are ready, and we can do this”), as well as positive, relaxed confident actions.

• Imagery – Use imagery to visualize yourself successfully accomplishing what you are afraid of. If you see yourself making a mistake or failing, stop and start again with a more positive focus.

• Simulation – Simulation training involves putting yourself and your horse gradually into more and more challenging situations until you are doing exactly what you are afraid of.

5.    PERSIST AND HAVE FUN

• Focus on the process (the small steps)

• Stay positive

• Have confidence in your plan

• Be patient

• Do not focus on obstacles, focus on solutions

• Believe in yourself

• Enjoy yourself

I sincerely hope that these tips help you on your path to eliminating fear and bringing back the joy in your riding once again.

Good luck implementing these skills and feel free to ask more questions in the comments!!

Sommer

If you wish to work with Sommer Christie on an individual basis, you can send her email or phone             613-407-7669      .
To learn more about Sommer, visit her website.

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