Anxiety and Intensity Are Two Sides of the Same Coin for Athletes
In sports psychology literature, authors generally use the terms anxiety and intensity interchangeably. Both terms describe one’s level of arousal, heart rate, blood flow, and emotions. However, athletes and coaches view anxiety as a negative and intensity as a positive. Essentially, the popular / non-scientific view is that anxiety and intensity are two sides of the same coin, with one being negative and the other being positive.
However, the truth is both anxiety and intensity are neither negative nor positive. Both are unique to the situation and the athlete in that situation.
Anxiety and intensity are multidimensional mental states that encompass stress, pressure, worry, nervousness, and energy. For most athletes, the way their body and mind work together is as intensity increases performance improves. But too much intensity leads to anxiety causing performance to decrease. Moreover, too little intensity may also be an indication of anxiety or possibly apathy, also causing performance to decrease.
This important observation was first made by psychologists Robert M. Yerkes and John Dillingham Dodson in 1908. More recent research shows that not only does intensity and anxiety have peak points that turn performance either negative or positive, but this peak point is also variable depending on the athlete and situation.
Therefore, a given level of intensity or anxiety is not always good or bad. Any given level of intensity or anxiety could drive peak performance or poor performance depending on the situation. In addition, each athlete has an optimal level of intensity and anxiety unique to both their individual personality and their situation.
Simply stated, finding one’s optimal intensity and anxiety level must be a goal if an athlete wants to perform their best.