Athlete Worksheet: Working Through Fear, Doubt & Overwhelm
Purpose
This worksheet helps you work through fear, doubt, trauma responses, and emotional overstimulation that can show up in training, competition, or daily life. The goal is not to eliminate emotion, but to regulate your nervous system, build self-compassion, and respond with clarity instead of reaction.
Use this during or after challenging sessions, races, conflicts, injuries, or moments when your confidence feels shaky.
Part 1: Understanding Your Experience
High-performance environments can amplify stress responses. Trauma, insecurity, and overstimulation often show up when the nervous system shifts into survival mode.
Key Concepts
Trauma Response: Replaying past experiences or feeling unsafe even when the threat is no longer present.
Insecurity: An internal voice that questions your worth, belonging, or competence.
Emotional Overstimulation: Feeling emotionally “hijacked” or flooded, often due to sensory input, pressure, fatigue, or internal stress.
Reflection
Which of these best describes what you are experiencing right now? (Circle or write)
☐ Trauma response
☐ Insecurity / self-doubt
☐ Emotional overstimulation
☐ Combination of the above
Briefly describe what’s been showing up for you lately:
Worksheet 1: Trigger & Pattern Mapping
Use this section to understand what activates your response and how it shows up in your body and mind.
1. Identify the Trigger
What just happened? (Situation, comment, workout, race moment, thought, sensation)
2. Notice Body Sensations
Where do you feel this in your body?
☐ Chest (tight / heavy)
☐ Stomach (knots / nausea)
☐ Throat (tight / shallow breath)
☐ Limbs (shaky / heavy / numb)
☐ Other: _________________________________________________
3. Label the Emotion
Be specific (e.g., vulnerable, ashamed, frustrated, overwhelmed, fearful):
4. Identify the Belief
What story is your mind telling you right now?
“________________________________________________________”
Common athletic beliefs include: I’m not good enough, I’m unsafe, I’m falling behind, I’m going to fail, I don’t belong.
Worksheet 2: Grounding for Emotional Overstimulation
When emotions spike, your first job is regulation, not problem-solving. Use one or more of the tools below.
The 5–4–3–2–1 Reset
Write what you notice in real time:
5 things you can SEE:
4 things you can FEEL:
3 things you can HEAR:
2 things you can SMELL:
1 thing you can TASTE:
Physical Anchors (Choose one)
Check what you used:
☐ Cold water on face / holding ice
☐ Butterfly Hug (cross arms, rhythmic tapping)
☐ Foot stomping or pressing feet into the ground
☐ Slow exhale breathing (longer exhale than inhale)
After grounding, rate your intensity (0–10):
Before: ________ After: ________
Worksheet 3: Addressing Insecurity & Building Self-Compassion
High achievers often confuse self-criticism with accountability. This section helps you challenge the inner critic and replace it with steadier internal support.
1. The Evidence Log
Insecure Thought:
“________________________________________________________”
Evidence AGAINST this thought (facts only):
2. A Letter to Yourself
Write as if you were a trusted coach, teammate, or friend speaking to you in this moment:
3. Anchoring Statements
Choose 3 statements to repeat during training or competition when doubt shows up:
☐ I am safe in this moment.
☐ This feeling is uncomfortable, but it is not dangerous.
☐ I can feel this and still perform.
☐ I don’t need to solve this right now.
☐ I am allowed to be human and ambitious at the same time.
Write your top 3:
Integration: Bringing This Back to Sport
What does this pattern try to protect you from?
What would responding (instead of reacting) look like next time?
One practical action I will take when this shows up again:
Reminder
Fear and doubt are not signs of weakness. They are signals. Learning to work with them—rather than against them—is a performance skill.
Consistency, awareness, and self-compassion build resilience.