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Energy is another word that you’ll sometimes see sport psychologists use in reference to the physiological adrenaline response. You will typically see the word activation or arousal in the literature, and it all references just the physical things you experience when adrenaline and the sympathetic nervous system kicks in. So the increased heart rate, and feeling “up” is what I mean by “energy”.
The reason for the use of energy, activation, or arousal, is not to try to put a positive spin on what we experience under pressure, but to make sure we are clear what we’re talking about. You’ll often mistakenly see the word “anxiety” used, which is problematic because anxiety is a combination of both the physiological activation AND the mental worries, doubts, overthinking, fears, etc. that also can occur in pressure situations. The two have different effects on performance, and respond to different strategies, so hence the differentiation of the terms.
So at the end of the day, the main thing to remember is that energy refers to the physical feeling you get when you’re excited or nervous. Hope that helps to clarify!
