Dartitis, Yips and Writer’s Block

There are many sports people around the world who, from time to time, experience an unexplained drop in performance.  Sometimes it is accompanied by an apparent physical restriction.  For some sufferers it can get to the point where they may consider giving up their sport altogether.

In tennis it may be that the player loses the ability to make good returns with the forehand shot that has previously been an excellent part of their game. 

In golf it may be that the putter just doesn’t seem to stay still when required or maybe it seems to jerk on it’s own for no apparent reason so causing a missed put. 

In darts it may be that the player has difficulty in releasing the dart perhaps even to the extent where a player might consider that “it is almost like the dart is glued to my hand”.  Another comment I have heard is “it seems like I have a stutter in my hand”.

These are just a few examples in the sporting context of how psychological issues can have a very real physical effect.  Amongst darts players this fairly common phenomenon has become known as Dartitis whereas in the world of tennis and golf it is often referred to as The Yips.

The phenomenon is not restricted to the sporting world.  Anyone who works with their hands can experience this type of block indeed it is also known as The Yips amongst surgeons who rely on smooth and steady hand-control for the most intricate of life-saving procedures. 

Interestingly the physical symptoms don’t just affect the hands:  I have worked with wind-instrument musicians who have experienced “the stutter” effect in their breathing techniques.

It is my opinion that this type of phenomenon can also manifest itself as Writer’s Block.  This may be of the type where the writer simply cannot think of a suitable continuation to their work when previously they have had a fluent writing style.  With writers it is often more of a psychological block but sometimes there are the physical symptoms too. 

I myself experienced this phenomenon some years ago where for a period of several months I was physically unable to sign my name even though I could write anything else well enough.  Because of this experience I have an insight into what the darts players mean when they talk about “stutters in the hand”.

Can Hypno-psychotherapy help?

Luckily the phenomena of Dartitis, The Yips and Writer’s Block all respond very well and very quickly to Hypno-psychotherapy. 

How many sessions?

Because each client has unique needs it is difficult to predict here how many sessions it takes to effect a long-term solution to this type of issue.  However, experience shows that just three sessions are typically sufficient.  Rarely it may take more sessions although this is usually when the presenting issue is linked to a long-forgotten psychological hurt.

More information

If you, or anyone you know, suffers from Dartitis, The Yips or Writers Block maybe you could suggest hypnotherapy?