Mindfulness and ACT
Athletes need to develop a variety of psychological skills to help them cope with the psychological challenges of trail and ultramarathon running. Many of the traditional psychological skills, like self-talk and arousal control, aim to increase self-control over the internal psychological processes that might inhibit the athlete’s performance (such as negative thoughts and feelings). However, even when implementing these strategies, some athletes will still experience various psychological difficulties. This could be because deliberate attempts to suppress specific thoughts might actually make them more likely to surface. Also, as we discussed in the ‘skill acquisition’ section, focusing attention on controlling automatic movements may result in a drop in performance. So, a new approach is to apply mindfulness and acceptance-based techniques to alter the athlete’s relationship with their thoughts, feelings, emotions, and physical sensations (rather than suppressing/avoiding them).
The basis of acceptance and commitment theory (ACT) is that thoughts are temporary, and they will pass; so, they should be separated from the self (which is enduring). It is about observing one’s experiences with detachment to prevent these thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations from merging with one’s self-identification. It is not about minimising, repressing, or replacing uncomfortable thoughts, feelings, and sensations. Acceptance involves the conscious decision to change your perspective and allow current thoughts, feelings, and sensations to be part of your present experience. A popular metaphor is that of chess, where the chessboard represents the self, and the pieces represent thoughts, which are temporary and pass over the self.
The primary goal of ACT is to adopt the state of psychological flexibility, where one must accept emotional distress while also engaging in value-driven behaviour. We discussed in the ‘why’ section how to help athletes connect with their core-values; ACT is inherently about helping to implement this. The purpose of mindfulness skills is to help people live by their values. Optimal sport performance requires non-judgmental, present moment awareness and acceptance of one’s internal state, focusing on task-relevant stimuli, and committed efforts towards value-driven behaviour.
Mindfulness centres on the present; it is about non-judgmental awareness of both internal and external stimuli and attending to that stimulus on a moment-to-moment basis, without trying to control those internal experiences. Mindfulness can help athletes regulate negative emotions better, help them avoid engaging in excessive rumination, and improve their coping skills with a variety of running-related challenges.
So, how do we help our athletes implement mindfulness and ACT? It is a continuous cycle of being present, doing what matters, and rolling with whatever challenges the athlete may face. To break that down further; being present is about bringing one’s awareness to the current moment and current experience, rather than allowing thoughts to drift and operating on automatic pilot. To do what matters, one must commit to the actions and processes that will help them perform and achieve their goals. They must be ready to think about, and talk about, what is going to be required to execute the desired process and plan. And to roll with whatever challenges an athlete may face, they need to embrace all the thoughts and emotions and situations they’re going to experience. They need to make room for all the thoughts and emotions that are going to be both positive and negative. These are allowed to exist and should not be fought, resisted, or avoided. They don’t have to like them; they just have to make room for them.
So, what are some specific techniques an athlete can use? A good place to start is implementing a mindful breathing practice. They should find a quiet space and take slow, deep breaths, focusing simply on the sensation of the breath entering and leaving their body. Inevitably, other thoughts and distractions will enter their mind. They should acknowledge those thoughts without judgement and then let them pass by. A good analogy is to imagine a stream running through the forest with leaves in the water. As a thought comes by, they simply place that thought on the leaf, and let it drift on by. Another analogy is to imagine taking a bird’s eye view of a road. The cars represent thoughts that will inevitably come down along the road; rather than hopping into the car and sticking with that thought, they simply keep the bird’s eye view by acknowledging the thought is there, and then letting it keep on going by.
This practice can then evolve into performing body scans. They can start at their toes, simply focusing on the sensation of their toes. Then gradually, they can move up into their legs, torso, arms, and eventually head. While doing this they can notice any areas of tension or discomfort. They just focus on relaxing any tension and then moving on.
As they begin to get these practices down pat, they can progress to mindful running. During this, they perform these body scans and focus on the sensations of running. They can notice the sights, sounds, and smells around them without judgement, immersing themselves fully in the experience. Unhelpful thoughts will inevitably arise during a race, such as “I can’t do this” or “I’m not good enough.” Just like in the at-home practice, they work on acknowledging those thoughts without judgement, and then letting them pass on by. It may even help to tell themselves, “I’m noticing that I’m having the thought that …,” to try and create distance between themselves and that thought. Of course, they shouldn’t just save these techniques for race day; every hard session is a chance to implement some of these strategies, as similar mental challenges will arise in training.
Some athletes will still benefit from working specifically with a sports psychologist on these techniques. But, as their coach, you are their first port of call and can implement some of these strategies with your athletes.
Key takeaways
1. Attempting to suppress negative thoughts may actually make an athlete focus on them more
2. Mindfulness and ACT focus on disentangling one’s thoughts and sensations from oneself
3. An at-home mindfulness practice can eventually be extended into implementing mindful techniques in training and then races