How to Help Your Athlete Overcome Fear

Remember, you haven't 'lost' the skill and you don't need to be 'fixed.' Just give yourself time, attention and love.

How often have we heard these three terms used interchangeably: fear, mental block, performance anxiety? What if I were to tell you they all have different meanings and because they do, should be treated differently?

• By definition, fear is an unpleasant emotion caused by a belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat (Webster, 2017).

• A mental block is an inability to recall some specific thing or perform some mental action (Webster, 2017).