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From Nerves to Power: Mastering Anxiety on the Ice · The Nadia Chapman Show

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  Hello, everyone. Welcome back to the Nadia Chapman Show, the figure skaters edition.
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  I'll be honest with you, it is six in the morning right now,
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  and I've never, never recorded a podcast so early, but I've been up since five.
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  And I was just lying in bed for a while thinking about the many conversations
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  that also includes text and emails from parents.
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  And I'm going to tell you around the world over the last two weeks that reach
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  out because their skater or a skater they know suffers from mental health related
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  to their sport or high levels of anxiety.
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  So it's a topic that is very popular in what I do.
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  It's something I cover in my sessions. However, before we dive in,
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  I want to make something very clear that I am not a therapist or pretend to be a therapist.
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  I'm a certified mindset and life coach. I'm actually also a certified health
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  coach, but that was many years ago.
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  And now work mainly with figure skaters, because that's the people I know. These are my people.
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  I've been in the rink world for 40 something years.
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  And when I started doing life and health coaching and got into mindset coaching,
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  obviously, I had to serve the people who need the most skaters.
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  Obviously, it was a natural thing to do to start working with figure skaters. So here we are.
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  But I want to make the distinction between a therapist and a coach.
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  Therapy is all about healing the past, and it's designed to help you process
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  trauma and your deep emotional pain, anxiety disorders, and just other mental health challenges.
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  And therapists are trained to diagnose and treat those things. I'm not.
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  Coaching, what I do. And this is a difference. And if also you can go on the
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  mentaledgeacademy.com and read more about what I do and what coaching is.
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  But coaching is about helping you move forward.
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  It's about understanding the patterns that you're in, your thoughts,
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  your beliefs, and then learning how to take your power back to the present moment.
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  So we don't go dive into what happened 10 years ago.
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  I work with athletes who want to perform better, to think better,
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  to feel better, most importantly.
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  And we do that by rewiring the way you talk to yourself, how you approach pressure
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  and how to regulate your mindset under stress.
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  So if you're listening today and you're struggling with performance anxiety,
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  fear, overthinking, there's a lot of overthinking out there or perfectionism,
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  you're at the right place.
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  I'm not here to diagnose you. I'm here to help you build awareness, give you mental tools,
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  talk about habits, habits that will help you handle those moments when your
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  heart is racing and coming out of your chest and your mind is spinning.
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  Because I'm gonna be honest with you, skating, as you know, can be a pressure cooker.
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  And that's exactly why so many skaters deal with anxiety, whether they admit it or not.
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  It's not just about the nerves before competition, it's that feeling that follows you into practice,
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  into what you do out of the rink, when you just keep second guessing everything
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  you do and worrying about whether the people are thinking out there,
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  or you've had a bad setback, a bad skate, and you are replaying that in your
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  mind over and over again.
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  So in this episode, we're going to be unpacking what is anxiety anyway,
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  and why does it show up in skating, and most importantly, how to work with it
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  instead of fighting it. Because guess what?
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  You don't need to eliminate nerves to perform your best. You need to learn how
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  to lead them. and there's a huge difference here.
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  Let's start with the beginning. What is anxiety?
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  And I'm going to tell you why it's not as bad as you think. Let's start here.
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  Anxiety isn't evil. Anxiety, and I've talked about this before,
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  it's your body's way of saying, hey, something really, really important is happening.
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  And when you step on the ice before a big performance, your brain sends a signal
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  that says, hey, this matters to me.
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  This is important. This is huge. That's why your heart beats faster and your breath shortens.
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  Your body is literally preparing you to rise to that challenge.
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  It's called fight and flight response.
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  That's what it is. And in sports psychology, we call it activation.
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  So you actually need some anxiety within you to perform at your best.
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  Should I repeat that again?
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  You actually do need some anxiety.
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  Now, not level 10 anxiety, but some anxiety to perform at your best.
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  I'm going to tell you, if you have no nerves, you will have no energy.
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  But if you have too much nerves, you will skate into chaos.
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  So there's a sweet spot in between, and that's your performance zone.
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  So the goal isn't to be super zen and emotionless is to find that sweet spot,
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  to find your zone and learn how to regulate your state when things start feeling overwhelming.
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  If you feel anxious at practice or before a program or even while you're working
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  on jumps at the rink, please know this.
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  You're not abnormal for feeling that way.
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  You're not broken. You're wired exactly the way you should be wired.
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  You're wired like an athlete who cares deeply.
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  The work we do as mindset coaches is to help you train your mind the same way
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  you train that body when you're at the ring, to help you recognize that there
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  are signals of anxiety that will show up early and how to breathe through them,
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  redirect your thoughts, and just stay in your zone. And here's the thing.
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  When anxiety hits, most skaters, guess what they do? They try to fight it. So they push it away.
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  They pretend it's not there. They're trying to relax, which usually makes it worse.
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  You need to understand that your anxiety isn't your enemy.
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  Your anxiety is your energy and an energy can be directed.
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  So here's how we're going to do that.
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  First step is to name it. So say to yourself, I'm not panicking.
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  My body is getting ready.
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  Number two, breathe to reset. So try a five, five, seven breath.
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  If you know me, I do this five, five, seven breath, but you can try a four to six patterns.
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  So inhale for four, hold for two, exhale for six. It gets you out of fight and flight mode.
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  It signals safety to your brain. it
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  sends a signal to your brain that you
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  are safe and you are okay when you breathe so
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  if you're an athlete and you compete i highly suggest that you learn how to
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  breathe the last thing you're going to do is anchor your focus so when your
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  mind starts racing and you start spiraling come back to something physical it
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  can be your blade it can be your music it can be your breath you cannot overthink.
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  Okay, so that's you having your thoughts scattered all over the place and living
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  in level 10 anxiety and focus on something at the same time.
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  So choose focus. It will physically and mentally make you feel so much more grounded.
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  Now, here's a game changer. Something so silly, but so impactful.
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  Instead of saying, I'm nervous, say, I'm excited.
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  And it might sound very silly, but neuroscience backs it up.
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  The same hormones, so your adrenaline and your cortisol surge,
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  whether you're scared or you're thrilled.
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  So the only thing that changes is the story that you attach to those sensations.
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  So when you reframe nervous into ready, your body reinterprets that signal.
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  Your heartbeat doesn't mean danger anymore. It means energy.
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  And that tightness in your chest doesn't mean fear. It means power.
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  You're not spiraling.
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  You're now charged. You see the difference?
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  And from that place, you can actually use your nerves as momentum.
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  You can channel that energy into your performance instead of fighting it.
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  That's what the best athletes do. They don't aim for calm.
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  They aim for control. They understand that pressure is part of the process.
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  They use the energy instead of letting it use them. Big difference.
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  So the next time that you feel that your stomach is twisting before competition, don't panic.
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  Smile and say to yourself, this is my fuel. My body is just gearing up for greatness.
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  Isn't that a great thing? you're not broken.
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  You're built for this. You just need to learn how to lead your system and not silence it.
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  So here's what I want you to remember from today's episode.
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  Your anxiety isn't a flaw. It's your feedback.
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  It's your body whispering to you, hey, this is huge and it matters to you.
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  So that racing heartbeat and the sweaty palms and the shaky legs and the shaky
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  feelings before you take on the ice. That's not weakness.
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  That's your system preparing you to rise to the moment. You're not broken for
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  feeling nervous and you're not abnormal.
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  You're not too emotional because you cry after a rough skate.
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  That's normal. I've done that.
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  Everybody does it. You're not overreacting for feeling overwhelmed by pressure.
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  You're an athlete with a big heart and a deep drive and very high standards.
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  And sometimes that passion just get tangled in fear. But fear doesn't mean that you can't perform.
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  It just means that that dream of yours is so big, big enough to make your body
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  sit up and pay attention.
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  And the truth is, you don't need to get rid of that anxiety to skate your best.
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  You just need to understand it.
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  You just need to learn how to work with your mind instead of against your mind.
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  And that's what I do as a mindset coach.
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  I help skaters, parents, and high achievers train their thoughts.
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  We have a lot of thoughts going through our mind, as you know, every day.
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  I help people train their thoughts the same way you train your jump.
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  With awareness and repetition and structure. And inside what I do,
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  the Mental Edge Academy, we work on confidence, confidence systems,
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  focus routines, mental reset tools.
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  Performance psychology techniques that can help you manage your emotions under pressure.
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  But most importantly, actually enjoy competing again because a lot of you put
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  so much work and effort into your skating and then you show up at competition
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  and everything collapse.
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  And that breaks my heart. So if this episode resonate with you,
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  if you're ready to stop letting anxiety control your skating,
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  your mood, your confidence, sometime your relationships, I want to invite you to take the next step.
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  Whether that means joining one of my mindset programs or working one-on-one
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  with me, or maybe starting with the 21-day mindset workbook that's coming out,
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  this is your sign to start training your brain, not just your body.
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  You can find all the details and links and stuff like that at the mentaledgeacademy.com.
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  You can send me a DM through Nadia Chapman Coaching.
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  I'm here for you because here's the truth.
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  Mental strength isn't something that we are necessarily born with,
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  but it's something that you can build.
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  And if you've ever felt stuck or anxious or like your mind is getting in your
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  way, I want this to be the signal that it's time for you to learn the mental side of performance.
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  And I'm here to help you do exactly that. So next time you're at a recital or
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  a competition or test session and your heart is pounding and you're waiting
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  for your name to be called,
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  take a deep breath and just remember that your body is on your team.
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  Those nerves that you're feeling is your energy and that adrenaline,
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  it's your building superpower.
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  That pressure, it's proof that you're doing something that matters to you.
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  Let yourself feel, guys. Let yourself feel.
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  Let it move through you. And then step onto the ice and skate like you belong there because you do.
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  Confidence doesn't come from never
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  feeling nervous. It comes from trusting yourself to perform when you are.
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  And that's the comeback mindset. And that's what we train here together.
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  Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the Nadia Chapman Show,
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  the figure skaters edition.
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  And if this episode helped you, please download, share with a friend,
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  a teammate, a coach, a skating parent who needs to hear this message.
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  Because this is how we start changing the culture of figure skating.
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  One conversation, one mindset, one comeback at the time. And remember, nerves mean you care.
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  Pressure means potential. And you, my friend, have everything,
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  everything it takes to skate with heart and lead with power on and off the ice.
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  Until next time, stay grounded, stay brave, and as always, keep your heart strong,
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  your mindset ready, and your blade sharp. I'll talk to you next time.