Sport Traumatic Stress Disorder: Leveraging Brainspotting and Hypnotherapy for Recovery

Sport Traumatic Stress Disorder (STSD) is a psychological condition arising from traumatic experiences in sports, such as severe injuries, high-pressure failures, or emotional abuse from coaches or teammates. This article explores the neurological and psychological underpinnings of STSD, emphasizing how it impacts athletes’ mental health and performance. Furthermore, it highlights the integrative use of brainspotting and hypnotherapy—two powerful therapeutic modalities—to address STSD, promoting recovery, resilience, and optimal functioning.

Introduction

Athletes often experience unique stressors that set them apart from other high-performing individuals. While physical injuries are well-recognized, psychological trauma, often referred to as Sport Traumatic Stress Disorder (STSD), is less discussed but equally impactful. STSD mirrors Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), with symptoms including intrusive thoughts, hyperarousal, emotional numbing, and avoidance of reminders of the traumatic event (Van Der Kolk, 2014).

Unlike PTSD, STSD arises in the context of sports-specific trauma, such as career-threatening injuries, humiliation during high-stakes events, or hostile interactions in competitive environments (Scott et al., 2017). Such experiences not only undermine mental well-being but also impair athletic performance.

Brainspotting (BSP) and hypnotherapy are two emerging therapeutic techniques gaining traction in the treatment of STSD. Together, they offer a holistic approach to address both the psychological and neurological roots of trauma.

Sport Traumatic Stress Disorder and the Brain

STSD profoundly impacts the brain’s stress response systems, particularly the amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex.

• Amygdala: Heightened activity in the amygdala contributes to hypervigilance and emotional dysregulation, key symptoms of STSD (Van Der Kolk, 2014).
• Hippocampus: Trauma often disrupts the hippocampus’s ability to process and contextualize memories, leading to intrusive flashbacks.
• Prefrontal Cortex: The prefrontal cortex, which regulates decision-making and emotional control, can become underactive, reducing athletes’ capacity to focus and perform under pressure.

Given the interplay between these brain regions, interventions targeting both the body and mind—such as brainspotting and hypnotherapy—are particularly effective.

Brainspotting: Unlocking Trauma Through Neural Pathways

Brainspotting (BSP) is a neurophysiological therapeutic approach that uses eye positions to access trauma stored in the subcortical brain (Grand, 2013). This technique capitalizes on the brain’s innate ability to heal by identifying and resolving somatic and emotional memories.

1. How Brainspotting Works:
   Brainspotting involves guiding the client’s gaze to specific “brainspots”—eye positions that correlate with emotional or somatic distress. These spots activate neural pathways tied to traumatic memories, allowing the brain to process and release unresolved trauma.
2. Relevance for Athletes:
   Athletes often carry trauma in their bodies, whether from injuries or performance failures. Brainspotting enables them to process these embodied memories, leading to improved emotional regulation and physical recovery (Grand, 2013).

Hypnotherapy: Rewiring the Subconscious for Resilience

Hypnotherapy complements brainspotting by addressing the subconscious mind, where trauma and maladaptive patterns are often stored. Through heightened suggestibility and relaxation, hypnotherapy helps athletes reframe negative beliefs and reinforce positive coping mechanisms (Spiegel et al., 2020).

1. Accessing the Subconscious:
   Hypnotherapy bypasses the critical, analytical mind to access deep-seated fears and self-perceptions. For example, an athlete may subconsciously associate competition with failure due to past trauma.
2. Enhancing Neuroplasticity:
   Hypnotic suggestions can rewire neural pathways, promoting resilience and adaptive responses to stress (Gruzelier, 2002).
3. Applications for STSD:
   Hypnotherapy helps athletes confront and release trauma, rebuild confidence, and visualize successful performances. It is particularly effective for addressing avoidance behaviors, such as fear of re-injury or anxiety about returning to competition.

Integrating Brainspotting and Hypnotherapy for STSD

When combined, brainspotting and hypnotherapy create a synergistic approach to treating STSD:

1. Targeting the Trauma Response:
   Brainspotting identifies and processes trauma stored in the body and subcortical brain regions.
2. Reprogramming the Subconscious:
   Hypnotherapy reinforces new, adaptive patterns and enhances the athlete’s sense of control and self-efficacy.
3. Promoting Mind-Body Integration:
   Together, these modalities foster a cohesive healing process, aligning physical and psychological recovery.

Case Example: Addressing STSD in an Athlete

A collegiate soccer player sought therapy after sustaining a career-threatening knee injury. She exhibited classic STSD symptoms, including flashbacks to the injury, avoidance of physical therapy, and anxiety about returning to play.

Brainspotting Intervention:
Using brainspotting, the therapist identified a brainspot associated with the player’s somatic distress in her injured knee. Through several sessions, the athlete processed the trauma, reducing her physical tension and emotional distress.

Hypnotherapy Intervention:
In subsequent hypnotherapy sessions, the therapist guided the athlete to visualize herself playing confidently and pain-free. Positive suggestions such as “Your body is strong and resilient” helped reframe her fears and reinforced her motivation for recovery.

Outcome: The athlete successfully returned to physical therapy with reduced anxiety, ultimately regaining her confidence and resuming competitive play.

Conclusion

Sport Traumatic Stress Disorder represents a unique challenge for athletes, intertwining psychological trauma with performance pressures. Brainspotting and hypnotherapy offer complementary pathways to address the neurological and emotional roots of STSD. By accessing trauma stored in the body and subconscious mind, these therapies promote healing, resilience, and optimal performance.

Through continued research and application, integrative approaches like these have the potential to revolutionize mental health care for athletes, fostering not only recovery but also personal and professional growth.

References

Grand, D. (2013). Brainspotting: The revolutionary new therapy for rapid and effective change. Sounds True.

Gruzelier, J. H. (2002). A review of the impact of hypnosis, relaxation, guided imagery and individual differences on aspects of immunity and health. Stress, 5(2), 147-163. https://doi.org/10.1080/10253890290027892

Scott, S., McManus, F., & Waller, G. (2017). Stress and trauma in sport: Psychological perspectives. Journal of Sport Psychology in Action, 8(4), 185-195.

Spiegel, D., Bierre, A., & Giacobbi, M. (2020). Hypnosis in the age of neuroscience. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 68(3), 285-320. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207144.2020.1778620

Van Der Kolk, B. A. (2014). The body keeps the score: Brain, mind, and body in the healing of trauma. Penguin Books.