Whether you experience pre-race anxiety or are struggling with a mental block that’s hampering your running performance, hypnotherapy could be the key to keeping you calm and unlocking your full performance potential

Words Claire Chamberlain

While many of us use running as a means to shake off stress, it’s also true that, occasionally, our favourite sport can bring with it anxieties of its own. Attempting a new PB can mean we sometimes pile pressure on ourselves. Some women experience race-day nerves so extreme they feel physically sick.

Other women may feel their performance is being kept in check by a mental block – that little voice inside their head repeating, “I’m just a slow runner”, “I’ll never get faster,” or “I won’t ever be able to run a marathon.” But if anxieties and mental blocks are getting in the way of your running enjoyment, what can you do about it? Becoming more mindful and meditation have become popular and are great ways to stay positive. But something you may not have considered yet is hypnotherapy.

What is hypnotherapy?

While you might be sceptical about hypnotherapy, it’s actually a natural process that harnesses some normal mental functions, including imagination, visualisation and focus, to help create positive change.

“For me, hypnotherapy is about utilising imagination while in a heightened state of focused attention,” says qualified hypnotherapist and rapid change consultant, Howard Cooper, who has worked with lots of sportspeople. “Th ere is the more classic, ‘I’m going to relax you deeply into a formal hypnotic state’ tool. But as a hypnotherapist, I’ll also give examples and use metaphors and suggestions with the goal of helping someone to see through the mental traps they’ve been setting themselves.”