Managing Anxiety: For Female Competitors

Martial arts reward or laud their athletes sparingly. Belts are earned through years of hard work, dedication and often blood, sweat and tears. Competitions are won by besting opponents who have been training just as hard and smart as we have, if not more. It can be unforgiving.

As competitors, we often face anxiety, self-doubt and difficult emotions and it is important to learn to manage these. Some of us even face these while having a mental health diagnosis which can make things all the more difficult.

As someone who works in mental health, I have had to learn how to manage my nerves and my anxiety. I have skills and strategies I can use to mitigate those things. Self-doubt is sometimes a powerful opponent, more so than the woman we are facing. We must be aware of our mental state when competing and there are tools and skills available to help us then manage it.