Stress resistance in building a career in sports

Introduction

In modern conditions, a very sore point is the aspects of stress resistance of the psyche of people who have fallen into various life situations. All this happens because more and more people are experiencing various types of stress. The speed of people's lives is changing, and not all of us are ready to quickly adapt to new living conditions in the new rules. For example, many innovations occur in the field of sports. A large number of researchers and experts deal with this problem in domestic practice, but not much has been achieved with particularly high successes for more than twenty years. It is necessary to note with regret that at present in the field of sports there is an ever-shifting emphasis and life guidelines towards material values, gaining benefits thanks to sports victories and achievements that lead a person away from the true path of developing interpersonal relationships; knowledge of the world; understanding, self-acceptance and personal growth.

This circumstance, based on progressive social problems, causes a number of conflicting feelings among athletes, such as: dissatisfaction with their results, disappointment and aggression towards everything that happens, inability to fully realize their potential due to high competition. These factors, in turn, only increase the range of problems and stressful situations that arise for an athlete (Smirnova et al., 2019a).

All of the above aspects in one way or another affect the level of stress resistance of the athlete. The fact is that professional sports activity forms certain physical skills of a training person, which undoubtedly has a serious impact on the human psyche. It is important to note that the problems with stress resistance of the athlete, his physical and spiritual development of the person and the formation of personality are combined and at the same time are considered by such a concept as “personality psychology” (Abramova et al., 2018).

Based on this, it is necessary to pay special attention to a very significant nuance, the study of stress resistance in athletes is one of the most effective ways to identify the psychological and physical characteristics of a person, while contributing to the construction of a professional sports career. At the same time, work on the athlete’s stress resistance is in itself aimed at developing a positive action when the world perceives a person, his place in him and the adoption of life situations (difficulties). But, unfortunately, in practical terms, this work on stress resistance sometimes affects a person both constructively and in a destructive form (Markova et al., 2019).

It is worth emphasizing that novice athletes during classes can encounter a number of psychological problems that lead to stressful situations during classes. As mentioned above, in the sports environment it is important to guide a person along the path of harmonious and creative development of the personality, so that the satisfaction of internal needs and compensation of personality deficiencies occur in a positive way. This is especially true at the initial stage of sports, when athletes feel instability of emotions and decreased mood (neurotization occurs), they may experience neuropsychic disorders from increased stress, and may also have problems with self-esteem (Nikonova et al., 2019a).

Effective psychological assistance for athletes involved in professional sports and building a sports career includes: advisory work, consisting of a program of group socio-psychological training, an individual psychological counseling program and a psychological education program; He works as a psychologist with athletes on the issue of stress development. tolerance as a separate area of psychological activity is currently quite developed, but there are not so many successes in it. A wide circle of scientists has been interested in this issue for many decades and conducts their research.

The goal of the article is to study the psychoemotional state of an athlete; the development and testing of a program of psychological assistance to athletes who find themselves in a stressful situation when building a sports career.

Theoretical basis

There are many international scandals in the field of professional sports that have occurred in world sports, including in the practice of domestic sports.
And therefore, of particular interest are not so much the psychological aspects of the athlete’s personality development that lead him to a stressful state, but, in general, reasons independent of the person that can lead to his stressful state and deep psychological experiences (Nikonova et al., 2019b).

Basically, the subject of counseling and support in dealing with stress in athletes is affected within the framework of personality psychology. Also, in domestic practice, researchers began to actively deal with these issues in connection with the tendency to increase the prestige of our country at major sporting events and the Olympic Games. The following researchers have developed practical research and psychological programs for working with this category of the population: Ababkov V.A., Averchenko L.K., Adler A., Bodrov V.A., Vartanyan M.E., Voitenko R.M., Volkov I.P., Gladkov V.N. (Ababkov et al.,2014). (Gladkov et al., 2017).
The psychological aspects of personality development of athletes should be addressed in the framework of personality psychology.

The founder of the concept of stress G. Selye defined this phenomenon as a general nonspecific reaction of the body to any factors that strongly affect it (stressors).

In the future, stress began to be associated not only with the nonspecific reaction of the body to the action of stimuli of various nature and character, but also with the concept of adaptation to these stimuli to maintain homeostasis for the implementation of specific adaptive restructuring of body systems (M.F. Frolov 1993), to provide specific homeostatic reactions and mobilize the body’s protective abilities (I.K. Weinstein et al. 1989), to protect or damage the body at different levels its organization through unified neurohumoral and intracellular regulation mechanisms (A.E. Olshannikova). V.R. Dohrenwend considered stress as a state of the body, which is based on both adaptive and non-adaptive reactions in response to internal and external stimuli that develop to a certain threshold level, beyond which psychological and physiological abilities and capabilities are violated (V.R. Dohrenwend 1967).

Also as special condition of a person in the period of adaptation to new conditions of existence is considered stress K.V. Sudakova, linking this state with changes occurring in the psychological mechanisms of regulation and the actions of the subject under the influence of difficult situations of various types. M. Tyshkova considers stress as a special mental state, characteristic of non-specific systemic changes in the activity of the human psyche, expressing its organization and mobilization in connection with the increased requirements of the new situation. (Smirnova et al., 2019b).

Methodology

To understand the level of stress tolerance and, in general, the phenomenon of psychological difficulties leading to the stress of athletes, you must first understand the causes and motivations that prompted people to come to training, and then go in for professional sports. After this, you need to analyze the processes that occur with the psyche of the athlete during classes in selected sports. In the framework of this study, in the practical part, a group of kickboxing athletes will be considered. This leads to a completely logical option: to describe the processes that occur with the athlete involved in kickboxing.

According to researcher Yu.P. Zinchenko, from an analysis of a survey of combat practitioners involved in sports, it can be stated that the following reasons lying on the surface are simple motivations (Vaganova et al., 2019a):

• ability to defend oneself;
• ability to attack;
• advanced training (in the framework of sports activities);
• popularity and recognition through the achievement of sports success;
• one of the forms of development and self-improvement.

It is worth noting that in the biographies of many famous masters of martial arts and martial practices, at the beginning of their life paths, they were accompanied by varying degrees of social or psychophysical disorder (problems of personal / family relationships, difficult childhood, financial problems or criminogenicity of the area of residence).

It is important to understand that martial arts and practice require the athlete to be extremely industrious and patient, exert all his spiritual and physical strength, be single-minded and thoughtful in the training process, this is especially true for kickboxing.

Exploring the features of satisfying neurotic needs, the domestic sports psychologist-expert E.T. Sokolova, identified two trends in personality development (Vaganova et al., 2019b):

1. The ability to transform, mimicry. For example, a frustrated need for love in a person can be reflected in consciousness in the form of the opposite feeling - rejection and hostility.

2. The general orientation of a neurotic personality is self-centeredness and a “consumer” orientation.

The above manifestations of neurotic needs can often be found among novice athletes, since the desire to engage in combat practices can serve as a way to compensate for an internal conflict of personality.

Thus, as a result of this part of the first chapter of this study, the following conclusion should be noted: athletes, being representatives of a specific area of activity, are often subjected to great physical and psychological stress. Therefore, in the work with the education of athletes, an important place should occupy psychological support. From the extent to which it is possible to consult an athlete in time to prevent the risk of maladaptation and manifestation of depression by stress leading to neurotization, it is possible to promote a more harmonious development for athletes, especially when it comes to martial practices and martial arts (Prokhorova et al., 2018).

Based on the theoretical analysis of the psychological literature on the practical activities of a psychologist-consultant in the field of sports and work with professional athletes who were in a stressful situation during the formation of a professional career, we developed a research program aimed at working with this category of people.

The purpose of the study: development and testing of the program of work of a practical psychologist-consultant with athletes who find themselves in a stressful situation when building a professional career in sports.
Object of study: the emotional and personal sphere of athletes who are stressed during the construction of a sports career.

Subject of research: features of the program of work of a practical psychologist-consultant with athletes building a professional career in sports who are in a stressful situation aimed at changing neuropsychic resistance, neurotization and lowering self-esteem.

The basis of our research program was made up of the following methods:

1. The program of work of a practical psychologist-consultant, including individual psychological counseling, and psychological education.

2. The “Forecast” methodology for determining the level of neuropsychic resistance and the risk of maladaptation in stress (LVMA named after S. M. Kirov).

3. A scale for psychological rapid diagnosis of the level of neurotization (NIPNI named after V.M. Bekhterev).

4. Test for determining the level of self-esteem (T.I. Pashukova, A.I. Dopira, G.V. Dyakonov).

The results of the study were subjected to qualitative analysis and mathematical-statistical processing (Smirnova et al., 2019c).
Sample: 10 athletes in a stressful situation when building a sports career.

An experimental study took place on the territory of the MMA Profi Martial Arts Center in Nizhny Novgorod (hereinafter referred to as the Martial Arts Center), where services are provided for people involved in professional sports. The study involved 10 athletes involved in the promotion of a sports career and encountering stressful situations along the way, ready to accept psychological support in overcoming difficult situations related to the chosen field of activity.

At the same time, it is important to note that coaches working with these athletes and preparing them for major competitions applied for assistance to these athletes. Turning to a psychologist for a consultation, the trainers wanted to discuss moments of stressful situations related to achieving career goals and related psychological problems that arise in the process of adaptation of athletes to new living conditions, increased stress (Vaganova et al., 2019c).

Psychological assistance to athletes under study and going through stressful situations consists of the following stages:

1. The ascertaining stage.

2. Formative stage.

3. The control phase.

Each stage is aimed at solving various problems and consists of certain methods.
Ascertaining stage. Purpose: 1) to study the level of neuropsychic stability of athletes who are on the verge of stressful situations, and subjected to frequent stress, and related problems; 2) studying the risk of maladaptation in stress, checking the level of neuroticism of their personality, 3) qualitative and quantitative analysis of self-esteem and self-perception of this category of people.

Formative stage. Purpose: development and testing of the program of work of a practical psychologist-consultant with athletes who are in a stressful or close to that situation (Smirnova et al., 2019c).

Control stage. Purpose: analysis of the results of the study, evaluation of the effectiveness of the program of psychological assistance to athletes in overcoming stressful situations, development of further recommendations.

Parameters that reflect NPIs and the risk of personality maladaptation in stress:

• the likelihood of a mental breakdown in extreme conditions;
• prediction of the degree of risk of maladaptation under stress and extreme situations.

The questionnaire consists of 84 questions, including a scale of sincerity (15 questions).

The methodology “Scale for the psychological rapid diagnosis of the level of neurotization” (developed at the Scientific Research Psychological and Neurological Institute named after VM Bekhterev). Information and necessary materials on the methodology are presented in Appendix 2 to this study.

Purpose: this technique is used for rapid diagnosis of neurotic conditions and objectification of the dynamics of the state during treatment, and for identifying people at risk who are in extreme conditions and under high stress loads (definitely suitable for studying the lives of people without permanent residence).
He methodology is a test questionnaire of 45 statements, including a scale of sincerity (9 questions).

y assessing the level of personality neuroticization on this diagnostic scale, one can judge the emotional stability or excitability of an individual, the stability of the mood background, and the indicator of susceptibility to frustration (Vaganova et al., 2019f).

Test for determining the level of self-esteem (TI Pashukova, AI. Dopira, GV Dyakonov).

Purpose: determination of the level of self-esteem and self-perception (quantitative indicator) and the degree of its adequacy (qualitative indicator).

The methodology is a table of 51 personality qualities that the respondent needs to select and sort into the positive and negative qualities of the individual. The selected number of words is at the discretion of the test participant. Then you need to determine the qualities that are inherent in this person. By the number of selected words (in the columns of negative and positive qualities) and the number of qualities assigned to themselves, it is necessary to make their mathematical correlation, as a result, we can draw conclusions about the level of self-esteem and the degree of its adequacy.

Results and discussion

After conducting a diagnostic study using all the methods selected above with athletes who are or are close to stressful situations, a number of interesting results were obtained (Vaganova et al., 2019d).

If we analyze the results obtained by the “Forecast” methodology, we can see that out of 15 people out of 15 respondents are likely to have neuropsychiatric breakdowns in an extreme situation, and they may be at risk of personality maladaptation under stressful conditions, and similar conditions are typical for people in private physical exertion and stressful situations, especially for those involved in sports. Directly in the framework of this study, we took athletes involved in professional kickboxing to study (Smirnova et al., 2019d).

The indicator obtained after the methodology shows the following statistics - at the time of the study, 100% of the athletes involved in kickboxing at the Martial Arts Center have insufficient mental and psychological stability necessary for safe practice of this sport that does not expose the person to a stressful situation. This circumstance may increase the risk of a nervous breakdown, physical trauma during unpreparedness when building an athlete’s sports career and personality maladaptation under stress.

Figure 2 presents a visual diagram of the results of the first technique.

Figure 2. Indicators of the probability of neuropsychiatric breakdowns (NPS) in athletes who are in a stressful situation or close to it (in the number of people).

It is worth paying attention to the fact that 3 respondents from this group have an unfavorable prognosis in terms of neuropsychic stability and a high probability of neuropsychic failure (Gruzdeva et al., 2019). Since this technique is a reflection of both the mental and somatic health level of the athlete under study, within the framework of this diagnosis, a recommendation is given (for persons with an unfavorable prognosis) to undergo an additional medical examination of a psychiatrist and neurologist.

Summarizing the results of the initial study using the “Forecast” methodology, we can confidently say that that part of the first hypothesis put forward at the beginning of the study, which speaks of low indicators of neuropsychic stability of the personality of athletes, which, due to great physical exertion, can be stressed, 100% confirmed.

Analysis of the results of the method "Scale of rapid diagnosis of the level of neurotization." Generalized data obtained after processing the primary profiles of novice athletes were summarized in table 1.

Table 1. Scale of rapid diagnosis of neurotic level

Let us analyze the results obtained by the method "Scale of rapid diagnosis of the level of neurotization." According to the data presented, 5 respondents in a group of 15 people reached an indefinite level on the neurotic scale, which is 33% of the total number of participants (Cherney et al., 2019). The presented fact allows us to judge the emerging trend among athletes who entered the category of people who find themselves in a stressful situation, in the direction of the development of instability of the emotional background. Also, this can often lead to mood recessions and an increased indicator of personal frustration in the event of a failure in competitions and in the usual training process, that is, in everyday life.

This fact can tell us about the likelihood of a conflict within their personality (Vaganova et al., 2019e).

Figure 3 reflects a diagram of the results of applying the second technique.

Figure 3. The level of personality neuroticism in athletes in a stressful situation or close to it (in the number of people).

In general, if we conclude from the results of this methodology, we can say that that part of the first hypothesis put forward at the beginning of the study, in which it was said about the level of neurotization of athletes who are in a stressful situation or close to it, is confirmed by 33%. (Galtsina et al., 2019).

3. Analysis of the results of the methodology “Test for determining the level of self-esteem”. The generated data obtained after processing the primary questionnaires were summarized in table 3, which shows the indicators for negative and positive qualities of self-esteem and the final rating of athletes who are in a stressful situation or are close to it during the construction of their professional career in sports. (Ilyashenko et al., 2019).

Conclusions

Based on the data obtained as a result of this study, practical psychological recommendations were developed for working with kickboxer athletes who found themselves in building a professional career in stressful situations, as well as a program for working with psychologists with this category of citizens was proposed. These recommendations and the proposed program can improve the adaptation of athletes to extreme conditions in sports, increased stress and professional burnout. The program helps the athlete to find the strength to not give up problems, difficulties and loads, look for ways out of prevailing stressful situations, and the psychologist-consultant will be able to better understand athletes and introduce the necessary corrections into the training program, and will also act more consciously and competently when working with this category of people.