Perfectionism Podcast Archives

Optimising Your Potential By Understanding Your Nervous System Better

Ep 250 Episode Cover Ruth Chiles and Alessia Bruno

Optimising Your Potential By Understanding Your Nervous System Better Alessia Bruno is a Clinical and Sports Psychologist, Mental and Performance Trainer specialising in Brainspotting and EMDR. She lectures at National Sport congresses and holds courses accredited by the Ministry of Health. She helps athletes and performing artists to overcome blocks, choking, slumps, yips, trauma and …

How To Help Perfectionists Recapture The Fun Part Of Their Sport #BITESIZE

by David Charlton

How To Help Perfectionists Recapture The Fun Part Of Their Sport #BITESIZE

Dr. Alessia Bruno is a Clinical and Sports Psychologist, Mental and Performance Trainer specialising in Brainspotting and EMDR. She lectures at National Sport congresses and holds courses accredited by the Ministry of Health. She helps athletes and performing artists to overcome blocks, choking, slumps, yips, trauma and works with expansion to take people and their potential beyond to where it was before the issue.

Clinical and Sports Psychologist – Dr. Alessia Bruno

Today, with my colleague Dr Alessia Bruno we discuss the downsides to perfectionism and how many athletes can get obsessed by their sports, training harder and harder, pushing themselves to the limit. The result can then be burnout, playing in fear or a lack of enjoyment.

Enjoy tuning in!

Key Learning Points

Sport can be seen as a job by perfectionist athletes.
When searching to get better, the perfectionist can lose the ability to perform with freedom and trust.
Physically the perfectionist athlete can become tense and rigid losing control of their fine motor skills, rhythm and timing.
Striving for perfection can lead to loss of enjoyment.
Visualisation is a great tool when trying to reconnect with the fun and playful part of your personality.

Connect with Alessia Bruno

Website

Connect with David Charlton

Join David @ The Sports Psychology Hub

Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn

Relevant Podcast Episodes To Help Perfectionist Athletes

Ep122: Prof Camilla Knight – Helping Your Children Get The Most From Their Sporting Experiences

Ep131 David Charlton – How to Deal with Self-Criticism using Self Compassion – FINAL PART

Ep142: Alessia Bruno – Is Striving for Perfection a Good Thing in Gymnastics?

Ep156: Ruth Chiles – There is Hope: How to Overcome Focal Dystonia

Ep170: David Charlton – How To Help Perfectionists With Their Mental Approach

Relevant Blogs To Help You Deal Better With Perfectionism

Perfectionism Blogs

5 Ways To Create A Psychological Safe Sporting Environment

Are You A Rugby Player With Perfectionist Tendencies?

How to Trust Your Skills When You’re a Goalkeeper

How to Help Children Overcome Fear of Failure

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Best Wishes

David Charlton

Global Sports Psychologist who is located near Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK and willing to travel Internationally. David also uses online video conferencing software (Zoom, Facetime, WhatsApp) on a regular basis and has clients who he has supported in USA, Canada, South America, UAE, Australian and New Zealand.

Managing Director – Inspiring Sporting Excellence and Founder of The Sports Psychology Hub. With over 10 years experience supporting athletes, coaches, parents and teams to achieve their goals, quickly.

T: +44 7734 697769

E: [email protected]

Helping A Swimmer Who Is Online A Lot Checking His Rivals Out

David Charlton

How To Help An Emotional Tennis Player Perform Better

David Charlton

How To Help The Golfer Who Searches For The Perfect Swing

David Charlton

How To Help A Golfer Who Struggles Playing Strokeplay

David Charlton

How To Help A Cricketer Overcome Selection Difficulties

David Charlton

How To Help Kids Who Are Distracted By Shouty Coaches

David Charlton

Search Our Sports Psychology Website

Popular Categories

Join Our Online Community Now!

Learn how Sports Psychology Coaching can take Your Performances to the next level

How To Help Perfectionists With Their Mental Approach

by David Charlton

How To Help Perfectionists With Their Mental Approach

By working with David Charlton, you and your organisation will be better equipped to rise to modern day challenges and better informed to thrive on and off the pitch, course or court. Where he inspires individuals and teams to:

Cope with pressure and challenges more effectively
Maintain positive mental health
Compete with confidence more often
Manage your emotions better
Improve your commitments levels

David is a Mental Toughness Practitioner, as well as a Health Care and Professions Council (HCPC) Registered Sport and Exercise Psychologist. He has successfully supported athletes, teams and organisations for over 10 years in order to ensure that they perform at their maximum more often.

He has a comprehensive knowledge around the development of Mental Toughness, a plastic personality trait, which determines or limits people to deal effectively with change, challenges and stressors. In today’s climate, during the Coronavirus pandemic this quality is becoming more and more valuable to individuals, teams and organisations.

Supporting athletes with perfectionist tendencies is a large part of our work at Inspiring Sporting Excellence. They often display the following characteristics:

Difficulties transferring their practice or training to competitive events or matches.
Trying too hard.
Focusing intensely on results and outcomes.
Unable to trust themselves under pressure.
High, rigid and often unrealistic expectations of themselves and others.
Impatience and a tendency to demonstrate poor body language in the face of difficulties and for some to give up too easily.
Being frightened of letting other people down.
Having brittle confidence.
Letting their own self-worth and self-esteem be influenced by poor sporting performances.

Additionally, the perfectionist athlete can be very hard on themselves which informs the content in today’s episode where I share a case study and a helpful exercise relating to recovering from mistakes and errors.

Key Learning Points

When we’re not emotionally involved it’s easier to be kind and compassionate.
Often athletes find it easier to be kinder to team-mates than themselves when difficulties arise.
The pressure of being judged and critiqued in sport can impact on an athlete’s ability to deal with mistakes.
Being kind to yourself as an athlete doesn’t mean that you are going soft.
Learning how to be more self-compassionate can help you motivate yourself more than fear- based motivational methods.

Connect with David Charlton

Download THE FOCUSED ATHLETE CHECKLIST

Join David @ The Sports Psychology Hub

Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn

Relevant Podcast Episodes To Help Perfectionist Athletes

Ep129: David Charlton – How to Deal with Self-Criticism using Self Compassion – PT1

Ep130 David Charlton – How to Deal with Self-Criticism using Self Compassion – PT2

Ep131 David Charlton – How to Deal with Self-Criticism using Self Compassion – FINAL PART

Ep142: Alessia Bruno – Is Striving for Perfection a Good Thing in Gymnastics?

Ep156: Ruth Chiles – There is Hope: How to Overcome Focal Dystonia

Other Relevant Blogs And Resources To Benefit the Athlete Who Desires To Be Perfect

Coach Development Helping Athletes Overcome Fear Of Failure

5 Ways To Create A Psychological Safe Sporting Environment

Are You A Rugby Player With Perfectionist Tendencies?

How to Trust Your Skills When You’re a Goalkeeper

How to Help Children Overcome Fear of Failure

How To Play Well When You Aren’t Feeling Great

Conversations with Kids – Dealing with Criticism

Kristin Neff Website on Self-Compassion

IF YOU ENJOYED TODAY'S SHOW PLEASE SHARE

SUBSCRIBE AND LISTEN ON YOUR FAVOURITE AUDIO PLATFORM

Best Wishes

David Charlton

T: +44 7734 697769

E: [email protected]

Helping A Swimmer Who Is Online A Lot Checking His Rivals Out

David Charlton

How To Help An Emotional Tennis Player Perform Better

David Charlton

How To Help The Golfer Who Searches For The Perfect Swing

David Charlton

How To Help A Golfer Who Struggles Playing Strokeplay

David Charlton

How To Help A Cricketer Overcome Selection Difficulties

David Charlton

How To Help Kids Who Are Distracted By Shouty Coaches

David Charlton

Search Our Sports Psychology Website

Popular Categories

Join Our Online Community Now!

Learn how Sports Psychology Coaching can take Your Performances to the next level

There is Hope: How to Overcome Focal Dystonia

by David Charlton

There is Hope: How to Overcome Focal Dystonia

Ruth Chiles works with professional musicians from many of the world´s leading symphonic orchestras, as well as from other genres such as jazz, rock and blues. Her experience is also with premier and international league sports clubs, and professional dancers, gymnasts, basketball players, skiers and track athletes, enabling them to resolve their performance blocks, especially focal dystonia. She has nearly 30 years of formation in and experience with leading edge neuroplasticity and neurogenesis techniques. As a musician herself who suffered and has healed herself from focal dystonia and other performance blocks, she understands first-hand what it is like to have your deepest passion snatched from you, the experience of the recovery process, and the joy of returning to confident, freedom and fluidity in your playing.

In mainstream sports psychology when helping individuals to develop their mental toughness and overcome performance challenges sport psychologists are likely to use interventions such as cognitive restructuring, visualisation, goal setting, mindfulness and other relaxation techniques to help athletes. However, when athletes experience trauma and difficulties such as the yips or mental blocks other tools may be required to help them overcome the challenges that they face.

Today I chat with Ruth Chiles, author of The Focal Dystonia Cure, who is a brainspotting practitioner, she goes on to tell you more about focal dystonia and neurological causes of this condition. She also shares some practical tips for those of you who struggle with focal dystonia. This episode is a great listen for those people who suffer from the yips or mental blocks or have experienced trauma in some form.

Key Learnings

Focal dystonia is a very extreme somatisation in the body of a mental block where the particular movement or a particular part of the body is out of control.
What is going on in the nervous system sits underneath the body movements, or body blocks.
Fight and flight responses are when you are highly activated in the nervous system whereas a freeze response is when you experience hyper activation.
For some people their nervous system has been in a constant state of survival since before child birth. Our very early life history and our attachment to our mother plays a part.
Brainspotting was developed by a New York psychologist called David Grand where we rewire parts of the brain so that people can respond differently in specific situations.
We connect to the sub cortex through the body not through the thinking mind.
When performing we are often in survival mode which can impede fluidity, enlarge muscles and inhibit your fine motor skills.

Connect with David Charlton

Join David @ The Sports Psychology Hub

Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn

Connect with Ruth Chiles

Website

Book: The Focal Dystonia Cure: Powerful and Definitive Practices to Completely Heal Yourself

Ruth Chiles on Facebook

Ruth Chiles on YouTube

Relevant Podcast Episodes

Ep013: Karl Morris – How to stay present like a major champion

Ep012: Alessia Bruno – The Yips, Crashes, Trauma in Sport there is hope for Athletes

Ep092: Dr James Hegarty – ACT in Sport, Improving Performance through Mindfulness

Ep131 David Charlton – How to Deal with Self-Criticism using Self Compassion – FINAL PART

Ep142: Alessia Bruno – Is Striving for Perfection a Good Thing in Gymnastics?

Relevant Blogs

Blog: Helping a Critical Child When You’re a Parent

Blog: How to Support an Angry Young Athlete

Using ACT and Mindfulness to Improve Your Sporting Performances

Why You Should Meditate To Improve Your Sport Performance?

Guided Mindfulness Meditation Practices with Jon Kabat-Zinn

IF YOU ENJOYED TODAY'S SHOW PLEASE SHARE

SUBSCRIBE AND LISTEN ON YOUR FAVOURITE AUDIO PLATFORM

Best Wishes

David Charlton

T: +44 7734 697769

E: [email protected]

Helping A Swimmer Who Is Online A Lot Checking His Rivals Out

David Charlton

How To Help An Emotional Tennis Player Perform Better

David Charlton

How To Help The Golfer Who Searches For The Perfect Swing

David Charlton

How To Help A Golfer Who Struggles Playing Strokeplay

David Charlton

How To Help A Cricketer Overcome Selection Difficulties

David Charlton

How To Help Kids Who Are Distracted By Shouty Coaches

David Charlton

Search Our Sports Psychology Website

Popular Categories

Join Our Online Community Now!

Learn how Sports Psychology Coaching can take Your Performances to the next level

Is Striving For Perfection A Good Thing In Gymnastics?

by David Charlton

Is Striving For Perfection A Good Thing In Gymnastics?

Clinical and Sports Psychologist – Dr. Alessia Bruno

In episode 142 of Demystifying Mental Toughness, Dr. Alessia Bruno and David discuss perfectionism in gymnastics as well as across other sports and walks of life. We go on to look at healthy perfectionism, as well as the downsides to the trait where we share some advice for gymnasts, athletes in general, coaches and parents.

Key Learning Points

Gymnasts are judged on their performances which can go on to impact their self-esteem.
The intensity of their lives can mean some gymnasts run the risk of burnout.
Characteristics of rigidity and control can lead people to be more vulnerable to other people’s judgments.
Perfectionist traits can suck the fun out of sport.
Social approval can be a big problem for some athletes where they spend a lot of time worrying about what others think.
Striving for perfection can lead to excessive self-criticism.

Connect with Professor Alessia Bruno

Website

Connect with David Charlton

Join David @ The Sports Psychology Hub

Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn

Relevant Podcast Episodes

Ep014: Alessia Bruno – The Yips, Crashes, Trauma in Sport there is hope for Athletes

Ep122: Prof Camilla Knight – Helping Your Children Get The Most From Their Sporting Experiences

Ep129: David Charlton – How to Deal with Self-Criticism using Self Compassion – PT1

Ep130 David Charlton – How to Deal with Self-Criticism using Self Compassion – PT2

Ep131 David Charlton – How to Deal with Self-Criticism using Self Compassion – FINAL PART

Other Relevant Blogs and Resources