Psychoregulation and adaptation of an athlete to mental and stressful conditions
Psychoregulation and adaptation of an athlete to psychologically stressful conditions is an independent scientific direction, the main goal of which is the formation of special mental states that contribute to the most optimal use of the athlete's physical and technical capabilities. This is achieved through special central brain restructuring, as a result of which such integrative activity of the organism is created that concentrates and most rationally directs all its capabilities to solving specific tasks. For an athlete, this is (ultimately) achieving the highest sports result - victory in martial arts, the victory of the team of which he is a member.
It is very important to emphasize that the object of psychoregulation in sports (unlike psychotherapy - a clinical discipline) are healthy people. Moreover, in some cases these are highly qualified athletes, often unique in their physical capabilities, as a rule, strong personalities, very famous and popular. Therefore, one cannot ignore their individuality: peculiarities of self-assessment, high level of demands, desire for dominance.
For successful work with such athletes, correct communication tactics are necessary. The common thread of relations with them should be the thesis that psychoregulation is a means of strengthening their best qualities, eliminating all growth that interferes, and improving their sports skills. The psychologist must constantly instill in the athlete the idea that "he achieves everything himself", that the psychologist acts only as an assistant, consultant, but in no way as some omnipotent person.
Psychological adaptation, especially in extreme conditions, depends largely on the nature and expressiveness of motivation - a regulatory process that provides control of actions to achieve a certain goal, that is, a result, the content of which is understandable to a person, is realized by him.
When extreme factors act on a person, general, non-specific symptoms of adaptation, the study of which is aimed at studying stress, are more clearly and fully manifested. Stress reactions and subsequent stress states caused by physically and psychologically significant influences are a powerful factor that ensures adaptive behavior of a person. Mental adaptation is the most developed and complex adaptive processes.
Anti-stress resistance is understood as the result of the development of adaptation, as a result of which the organism acquires a new quality, namely adaptation in the form of resistance, resistance to stress, training, new skills. This new quality is further manifested in the fact that the organism cannot be damaged by those factors to which it has acquired adaptation and, therefore, in a broad biological aspect, adaptive reactions are reactions that prevent damage to the organism, forming the basis of natural prevention.
In light of the above, the psychologist should consider his main task to teach athletes the skills of self-control and self-regulation, to educate them in the ability to manage themselves, to tune in to overcome any difficulties and failures. A psychologist who puts himself in the position of a "nanny" who constantly looks after an athlete does him a disservice: an athlete who has become accustomed to such care may be helpless when he has to solve complex psychoregulation tasks on his own.
A rational combination of means of monitoring the functional state of athletes, carrying out targeted measures to restore mental performance and, finally, the use of various hetero- and autoregulatory techniques are very important. Among them, a special place is occupied by methods aimed at better self-awareness of the importance and need for the activity being performed, a clear understanding of the relationship between the efforts being performed and various forms of moral and material stimulation, and an awareness of the significance of all sports activities for satisfying the athlete's personal needs (not only material, but also moral).
Based on the principles of complex psychoregulation, a certain system of consistent training of athletes in self-regulation has been developed, conditionally called psychodidactics. Psychodidactics refers to the combination of psychoregulation tools and methods used, aimed at the gradual improvement of the processes of self-control and self-regulation.
At the first stage, the use of various means and methods of heteroregulation is envisaged in order to create in the athlete an idea of what he must achieve independently. It is important to form in the athlete's mind conditional reflex connections between words and sensations of body weight, coolness, lightness of the body, clear ("empty") head, etc.
During this period, various instrumental and verbal means of heteroregulation are used. The role of the athlete is mainly passive: all sensations are created for him, and he only fixes them in memory.
At the second stage, the athlete must learn to form sensations himself. The process of self-regulation is carried out with the help of auxiliary means and without them. Here it is important to find the "key to himself", that is, a specific technical technique, a specific means of self-influence, with the help of which it will be possible to achieve the necessary stage of relaxation, or vice versa, mobilization. At the third stage, a worked-out, individually significant system of self-regulation automates. It is important that at the level of representations these reactions are so worked out that they can be implemented almost instantly. A person may not even be fully aware of a new sensation, but it is already capable of including a complex of useful and rational protective psychophysiological mechanisms.
The problem of mental stress in sports is one of the relevant psychological factors in sports activities. Mental stress in sports is the subject of research by sports psychologists, and for the most part it boils down to recommendations on psychoregulation in working with athletes of a particular sport.
Sports activities necessarily require athletes to have a high level of development of a large complex of mental processes and states in order to achieve success in competitions.
All mental states and processes in sports activities play a particularly important role and must be taken into account in the work on the psychological preparation of an athlete before preparing for a competition.
The role of psychoregulation in training is proven by the need to mobilize the mental processes necessary to achieve success in competitions. However, psychoregulation should not occur spontaneously, mechanically subjugating and often distorting the athlete's behavior, but under strict control of his consciousness.
To prevent the athlete from developing a stressful state, it is recommended:
to exclude extraordinary external stimuli, external rough influences, high physical and mental loads before the start;
to balance the athlete's demands with his capabilities;
to develop strong-willed qualities in athletes (confidence, determination, self-control);
to exclude excessive external stimulation of athletes before competitions;
to increase athletes' resistance to stress;
to develop strong-willed qualities (determination, confidence, self-control);
to provide the athlete with the necessary information for decision-making before the competition;
to form adequate self-esteem in athletes;
to develop emotional stability in athletes;
to balance the level of demands with the athlete's capabilities;
providing insurance during the exercises and emotional support before the start;
preventing anxiety in people with a weak nervous system;
preventing aggression in people with a strong nervous system;
balancing the level of demands on the athlete with his capabilities at the moment;
reducing the athlete's emotional excitability.
All recommendations can be further detailed. However, it is quite obvious that the solution of each of the tasks facing athletes will be much more effective when combining means of influence.
It is extremely important to coordinate the recommended techniques with the individual typological properties of the athletes' nervous system and always under the supervision of a doctor.