Yips and Hypnotherapy
Yikes ! You Got a Case of the Yips
The new buzz word going around the subject of sports performance studies recently is Yips . This often crippling syndrome is affecting amateurs to seasoned pros . More and more athletes are catching a case of the Yips .
What pray tell are the Yips , you ask ? I believe Yips are a negative physical reaction resulting from a repressed emotional trauma ; in other words , an abreaction . How are the Yips different from anticipatory anxiety , or phobias and fears ? An abreaction is a visibly obvious occurrence . Athletes can observe the affliction while it occurs as an involuntary muscular response , and in that moment they cannot deny that there is a problem . Hypnosis has proven a useful tool in helping my sports clients who struggle with the Yips .
I recently had a Division 1 college golfer come to see me who was struggling with this issue . His driving game was great ; he could hit any driver , any iron and place the ball where ever he desired . But , he struggled with his putting game . Each time he had to putt , he saw negative outcomes ; he was worried about what others would say if he missed the easy two foot putts . He was so anxiety riddled when he was putting that his hand started to twitch uncontrollably .
This went on for years ; he didn ’ t know where this came from but knew that he couldn ’ t control it . He tried to grip the putter differently he tried changing his technique altogether . Finally he started a concentrated hypnosis process to help reprogram his subconscious mind . Through hypnosis he changed his automated association to putting that took him from the anxiety response with negative associations , to a confident , controlled and relaxed player .
This condition has been called many different things : Steve Blass Disease , Steve Sax Syndrome , and Knoblauch Disease , but it was brought to the forefront by pro golfer Tommy Amour in the late 1930 ’ s . Tommy Amour suffered from uncontrollable flinches or twitches , and these were readily