Over the course of her profession, Tia Ungar, a dancer, cheerleader, and cheer coach primarily based in the UK, has handled continual anxiousness. When her anxiousness peaks, it’s a problem to study and keep in mind choreography.
“Once I was at my worst with my anxiousness, even simply being in a dance class was fairly an anxious factor for me,” Ungar says. “In attempting to calm myself down and be current, there was not all the time a lot house left for me to recollect what I used to be bodily meant to be doing.”
Studying and retaining choreography and corrections might be difficult for any dancer. However sure psychological well being circumstances—like anxiousness, despair, ADHD, OCD, and PTSD, to call a number of—could make it much more troublesome to course of and retrieve recollections. Understanding how these circumstances influence the mind, and discovering methods to each deal with these modifications and enhance total reminiscence, might help dancers cope.
How Psychological Well being Impacts Reminiscence
The results of psychological well being on reminiscence would possibly differ primarily based on the character of the psychological well being situation, in keeping with Paula Thomson, a scientific psychologist who works with dancers and is a professor at California State College, Northridge.
Melancholy impacts the prefrontal cortex of the mind, “which could be very concerned in reminiscence processing and retrieval,” Thomson says. That may make the thoughts really feel much less sharp, in addition to disrupt starvation and sleep cycles. With out correct vitamin and relaxation, a dancer will probably be even much less outfitted to operate at most reminiscence capability.
Anxiousness-related circumstances usually end in divided focus, which implies an individual is attending to each the duty at hand and their expertise of tension. “When individuals have an anxiousness dysfunction, they really feel the anxiousness so acutely that they will’t belief themselves to study, as a result of they only are so anxious concerning the catastrophic ‘what ifs,’ ” Thomson explains.
Some dancers may also dissociate as a coping mechanism for very excessive anxiousness. Dissociation refers to a state of disconnection the place a person feels in some way separated from the current second or their sense of self. “The reminiscence space of the mind, the hippocampus, sort of shutters on and off as a result of the anxiousness dosing is so excessive,” Thomson says, which might trigger reminiscence gaps.
Instruments for Dancers
When psychological well being points result in reminiscence troubles, “the 1st step is to acknowledge and attend to self-care,” Thomson says. If the issue is comparatively delicate, there are some techniques you possibly can observe by yourself. To calm anxiousness, Ungar recommends taking a sequence of steadying breaths, which might help regulate the nervous system, resulting in a lower within the bodily signs of tension. Thomson additionally suggests beginning every day with an inner scan to gauge your bodily and psychological wellness, so you possibly can then implement self-regulation expertise that can assist you really feel extra current. Look at issues like your anxiousness ranges, feelings, and urge for food.
“If it turns into a persistent drawback, search skilled assist,” Thomson says. Think about reaching out to a psychological well being skilled with expertise working with dancers, creatives, or athletes, who can present recommendation and coping methods tailor-made to you.
To assist enhance reminiscence, Kathleen McGuire Gaines—a former dancer and the founding father of Minding the Hole, a corporation targeted on psychological well being advocacy inside the dance trade—recommends utilizing visualization methods. Mentally working by troublesome choreographic sequences and picturing your self mastering them, for instance, might help cement these sequences in your reminiscence. “There’s been a variety of analysis completed on how efficient visualization is and the way in which it connects your thoughts and your physique,” she explains.
Ungar agrees, including that listening to the music aided her visualization observe. “Simply getting used to the music actually helped me, once I was in these conditions the place my anxiousness was excessive and I used to be extra burdened, to depend on reminiscence a bit extra,” she says.
McGuire Gaines encourages dancers to ask questions if the choreography isn’t sinking in. Moreover, should you really feel comfy, be sincere about your psychological well being together with your trainer or inventive director. They could be capable to assist present assets and different help.
