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Why Do Top Athletes Suddenly Develop “the Yips”—a Tendency to Choke under Pressure?

By Jürgen Beckmann — 2013

One suggested explanation is a neurological condition called focal dystonia that results in involuntary muscle contractions when performing a motor task and tends to affect a muscle group that is used frequently and repeatedly.

Read on www.scientificamerican.com

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Like Simone Biles and Naomi Osaka, I’ve Stepped Away from Competition Because of Performance Anxiety.

Out in the chalk circle, my vision became tunneled, my stomach tied in knots, and I felt like I couldn’t hear anything but my own racing thoughts.

Article
Amelia Jarecke
2021
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7 Ways of Unpacking Fears of Leaving a Job and Striking Out on Your Own

Many of us have thought of or dreamed about leaving that job to pursue our dreams, maybe start a business, or pursue our passion. While there are practical issues to consider, we also need to overcome the inertia that comes with the fear we experience when taking a major new direction in our lives.

Article
Harvey Deutschendorf
2022
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How to Survive Being Laid Off

Being laid off can be a financial nightmare, but what isn’t talked about enough is the psychic toll it takes, and the decisions we make around work in the aftermath.

Article
Anupa Mistry
2019
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‘It Took 10 Years to Recover’: The Story of Scott Boswell and the Yips

What if you had the chance to realise a dream you had harboured since childhood and it went horribly wrong?

Article
Andy Bull
2013
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Why Simone Biles Getting ‘the Twisties’ Was So Terrifying and What Recovery Could Look Like

This is clearly not a matter of an athlete struggling with technical aspects of a skill or not being physically prepared. There’s something else at work here.

Article
Dvora Meyers
2021
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Yips Focal Dystonia May Affect More Athletes Than Previously Recognized

Yips, a focal task–specific dystonia, may be more prevalent than previously thought, according to a new study of golfers.

Article
Daniel M. Keller
2019
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Baseball Was My Life. Then I Stopped Being Able to Throw the Ball.

It’s called the yips, and it’s a sudden inability to play. I had to find my way out of it.

Article
Naomi Gordon-Loebl
2019
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Ten Athletes Who Got the Yips—and How Their Careers Turned Out

Some get over it; some are never the same.

Article
Daniel Hersh
2016
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EXPLORE TOPIC

Athlete Well-Being