Adventure Sports Psychology

As it was told to me by a wilderness EMT, most victims found in the wilderness had everything on them that they needed to survive; they just simply chose not to use any of it.

There are a number of psychological concepts useful for the mind of the adventurer. Even though I have utilized these as therapeutic interventions with many of my clients, they are powerful tools when wielded by outdoor professionals. This is especially true in times of challenging circumstances because many obstacles to survival and peak athletic performance are rooted in the mind.

Thought-stopping is a coping skill for those people needing to regulate emotions, fear or gain more control over their racing thoughts. A difficult skill to master, thought-stopping can be a game-changer in many difficult circumstances. This technique is effective against a variety of damaging thoughts such as impulsive, compulsive, self-destructive, homicidal and psychotic cognitions. Athletes frequently use thought-stopping to stave off anticipatory anxiety, worry and negative concepts about the self. For example, an athlete may be dwelling on a well-conditioned opponent, on their own odds of winning or placing moral judgments on themselves due to poor performance. Some of the same types of negative thoughts interfere with the outdoor adventure professional and, as with athletes, these negative thoughts may decrease performance and lead to a litany of mistakes. For those lacking the staid discipline of a Buddhist monk, pure thought-stopping may be too difficult to perform. In most cases, thought-stopping can be achieved by introducing a memorized inspirational mantra, poem, music, bible verse or slogan. Deep-breathing exercises and visualizing are also effective ways to gain control.

Positive self-talk is deliberate internal dialogue intended to focus the mind on the task at hand while providing inspirational background thoughts. This technique eliminates negative thoughts by way of filling the mind with positive ones. Self-affirming thoughts have a way to boost confidence and performance. Repeating the steps of the task also helps to stay focused and to avoid error. Taking a previous negative thought and spinning it to a positive one can also help. For example: if your previous thought was, “I can’t do it; it’s too hard for me,” the next thought can be, “this is a difficult challenge, but I will perform to the best of my ability.” Sometimes becoming aware of emotions such as fear, stress and anxiety can become paralyzing. As with spinning negative thoughts, emotions can be given neutral power. For example, instead of viewing fear or anxiety as negative and possibly destructive, remind yourself that these are simply the result of automatic biochemical reactions that can ultimately be controlled, managed and harnessed to improve performance.

Visualization is more than just positive thinking. It is the practice of utilizing the imagination to manifest strong images of you performing a specific task in a specific way that will result in a positive outcome. Once proficient in the use of visualization, the mind can not tell the difference between imaginary practicing of skills and real-world practicing of skills. In other words, mental practice works about as well as physical practice. This can be anything from visualizing an appropriate response during a life-threatening situation to visualizing the correct route up the side of a mountain.

The role of stress is to increases physical capabilities such as strength, endurance and speed during acute times of need. This is a fairly automatic process which releases a myriad of bio-chemicals to enhance muscular performance; however, there are cognitive disabling side-effects. Stress chemicals inhibit functioning of the prefrontal lobe of the brain which is responsible for decision-making, judgment, creativity and logic. When stress increases, the capability to think decreases. The ability to accurately observe surroundings fades as perception mutates into dysfunction. Balance and precision of movements may also be inhibited. Understanding and becoming self-aware of this process becomes extremely important in the wilderness and during outdoor adventure sports. People have become hopelessly lost, triggered a major accident or made very poor decisions due to high stress effecting their brain in a very negative way.

If exposed to chronic long-term stress, a variety of breakdowns may occur. The immune system begins to slow and shut down making the body more susceptible to infection while decreases the ability to heal wounds. Lack of sleep may compound the symptoms of stress which may lead to emotional instability and/or psychosis (hallucinations, paranoia, magical thinking). Physical and emotional fatigue can set in and eventually lead to absolute exhaustion. So when it comes to peak performance, managing stress is a high priority, but without appropriate sleep, stress is almost impossible to manage effectively. So for those ultra-endurance athletes, there is a very difficult to achieve pivot point between beneficial stress and the type that leads to a total breakdown of physical and mental ability.

Fortunately, there are simple strategies for effectively relieving stress. It just so happens that intense physical activity releases a myriad of bio-chemicals that neutralize bio-chemicals associated with stress and therefore prevent the dysfunctional side-effects. Massage and laughter are also very effective interventions to stave off the effects of stress. Deep breathing exercises, yoga and meditation are also helpful, but not as effective. In general, the more effectively stress is managed, the more capable the mind will be. As previously mentioned, these interventions to stave off stress may be useless when sleep deprived.

Mental toughness is another important component to survival and for making sound decisions in wilderness environments. Mental toughness is fostered by intermittent exposure to difficult challenges in which success is achieved. The accumulated memories and knowledge of enduring or overcoming these obstacles create a quieting of the mind during other challenges. This also leads to confidence and logical thinking in difficult situations. With experience comes mental toughness. The experiences can be contrived training regimens such as skills and drills sessions or participation in the real thing.