# Investigating Anxiety in Highly Trained and Elite Cyclists - URL: https://alisanburak.com/en/yuksek-antrenmanli-ve-elit-bisikletcilerde-anksiyetenin-arastirilmasi - Language: en - Last updated: 2026-09-15 - Page title: Investigating Anxiety in Highly Trained and Elite Cyclists | Assoc. Prof. Dr. Alişan Burak Yaşar > Investigating Anxiety in Highly Trained and Elite Cyclists Carol Royle PhD Student, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences. Northumbria University, email:… This page was translated automatically from Turkish. [Read the original](https://alisanburak.com/yuksek-antrenmanli-ve-elit-bisikletcilerde-anksiyetenin-arastirilmasi) [← Back to blog](https://alisanburak.com/en/blog) # Investigating Anxiety in Highly Trained and Elite Cyclists July 30, 2024EMDR Europe Symposium 2024 Posters Investigating Anxiety in Highly Trained and Elite Cyclists Carol Royle PhD Student, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences. Northumbria University, email: carol.royle@nothumbria.ac.uk Professor Derek, Farrell MBE: Professor of Trauma Psychology and Veterans Affairs, Northumbria University and Dr Mark Corbett * School of Sport and Exercise Science, University of Worcester Translated by: Specialist Psychologist Gizem Pozam Background - Performance anxiety exists in highly trained and elite cyclists. - Self-criticism is perceived by some cyclists as a positive strategy for performance. - Nevertheless, some cyclists perceived self-criticism as negative and felt that it affected their cycling preparation and performance. - Some cyclists feel that a crash affected their performance and caused hesitation. Aim A pilot study of Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy as a treatment intervention for highly trained and elite-level cyclists who report re-experiencing symptoms related to crashes they have experienced or witnessed. Discussion All participants showed a trend towards improvement on the 3 measures over the course of therapy. Three of the research participants did not meet the diagnostic criteria for PTSD at the start of therapy, and Participant 1 met the criteria midway through. The researcher continued with EMDR therapy because the symptoms associated with distressing memories of cycling crashes had subjective units of disturbance (SUD) ratings above three. Conclusions There is evidence that EMDR therapy reduces general anxiety, sports anxiety and symptoms associated with distressing memories. The researcher hypothesises that cyclists may underestimate their symptoms because of the nature of cycling, and that part of cycling is getting back on the bike and continuing. Data collection at 3 and 6 months after therapy is ongoing. More participants are needed for the research, but recruitment remains a significant challenge. References Dominguez, Sarah K., 'EMDR Therapy as a Transdiagnostic Psychotherpy, Derek Farrell, Sarah J. Schubert, ve Matthew D. Kicman (eds), The Orfond Handbook of EMDR (online edn, Oxford Academic, 20 Nisan 2023), hups:/doi.org/10.1093/0xfordhh/9780192898357 013.18, erişim tarihi 30 Nisan 2024. Royle, C., Farrell, D., Corbett, M. (2022). Yüksek eğitimli ve elit bisikletçilerde anksiyetenin incelenmesi. EMDR Avrupa Çalıştay Konferansı, 10-12 Haziran 2022, Valensiya, İspanya. Investigating Anxiety in Highly Trained and Elite Cyclists Carol Royle PhD Student, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences. Northumbria University, email: carol.royle@nothumbria.ac.uk Professor Derek, Farrell MBE: Professor in Trauma Psychology and Veterans Affairs, Northumbria University and Dr Mark Corbett * School of Sport and Exercise Science, University of Worcester Background - Performance anxiety exists in highly trained and elite cyclists. - Self-criticism is perceived by some cyclists as a positive strategy for performance. - Still, some cyclists perceived self-criticism as negative and felt that it impacted their cycling preparation and performance. - Some cyclists found a crash affected their performance and caused hesitation. Aim A pilot study of Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR) as a treatment intervention for highly trained and elite-level cyclists who report re-experiencing related to personal crashes and following witnessed crashes. Discussion All the participants show improving trends in the 3 metrics over the course of therapy. Three of the research participants did not meet the diagnostic criteria for PTSD at the start of therapy, and Participant 1 did meet the criteria midway. The researcher proceeded with EMDR Therapy as there were clear symptoms of distressing memories related to crashes on the bike which were above a SUD rating of three. Conclusions There is evidence that EMDR therapy reduces general anxiety, sports anxiety and distressing memory symptoms. The researcher hypothesises that cyclists are likely to underrate their symptoms due to the nature of cycling and part of cycling is to get back on the bike and continue. Data collection for 3- and 6-month post therapy is ongoing. Greater numbers of participants for the research are needed but recruitment remains asignificant challenge. References Dominguez, Sarah K., 'EMDR Therapy as a Transdiagnostic Psychotherpy, in Derek Farrell, Sarah J. Schubert, and Matthew D. Kicman (eds), The Orfond Handbook of EMDR (online edn, Oxford Academic, 20 Apr. 2023), hups:/doi.org/10.1093/0xfordhh/9780192898357 013.18, accessed 30 Apr. 2024. Royle, C., Farrell, D., Corbett, M. (2022). Investigating anxiety in highly trained and elite cyclists. EMDR Europe Workshop Conference, 10-12 June 2022, Valencia, Spain. 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