Dartitis: The condition where you try to throw a dart | Global News Avenue

Former professional darts champion Kevin Painter has been throwing arrows almost every day for 40 years.

Throughout his career, he thrived under pressure, Take part in the most prestigious competitions and received a prize of over £900,000.

But earlier this year, he went to throw a dart and it wouldn’t leave his hand.

“You’re shocked, I stood there for a long time. I just couldn’t lift my arm to let go of the dart,” he said.

Kevin suffers from dartitis, a mental illness in which the brain prevents players from releasing darts.

Finding a cure will become the 57-year-old’s latest challenge.

“(Boomeritis), without any physical trauma, is purely psychological,” said Dr. Linda Duffy, a professor of psychology at Middlesex University.

She was ranked No. 1 in the women’s world from 1982 to 1987, but also suffered from dartsitis.

“I used to fight it with extra practice. I heard about it at the time, but not many people talked about it,” she said.

Dalitis can affect all players, whether professional or amateur.

Darts referee and online content creator Jack Langston was just 12 years old when this first happened to him.

“There was a little pause before I threw the dart,” he said.

It was barely noticeable at first, but eventually became so severe that it took him 60 seconds to throw three darts.

He was forced to quit at the age of 13, thinking his darts career was over.

“You show up and get beat by the people you know you’re supposed to beat,” he said.

“It’s so frustrating. It’s a real mental struggle.”

Every case is different, and there’s no single reason, but many players report it’s due to fear of missing out.

“It’s caused by anxiety and stress,” Kevin said.

“Other people will have panic attacks, but for me it manifested as boomerangitis.”

After experiencing this for the first time, Kevin was introduced to a hypnotherapist.

Chris O’Connor runs Eccleston Park Hypnotherapy, the official hypnotherapy partner of the Professional Darts Players Association (PDPA).

Mr O’Connor said that during the treatment, the patient lay on the sofa and was guided into a hypnotic state, leaving him “full of confidence and motivation”.

“It’s all about getting them to visualize areas of their lives that they want to improve.”

After eight treatments, Kevin’s boomeritis appears to be in remission.

He thanked Mr O’Connor in a video posted on social media and said the treatment was working.

But it happened again two weeks later during a televised match on the World Senior Darts Tour.

“I’m really, really disappointed,” he said. “I thought it was gone.”

Dr. Duffy admits she doesn’t believe in hypnotherapy.

“I don’t think it will ever work because dart throwing is a conscious skill. So treating your unconscious movements, I don’t think is going to help,” she said.

Perhaps because of its name, athletes tend to view dartsitis as a problem unique to their sport and therefore in need of a unique solution.

But Dr. Duffy stressed that “it’s just another cognitive disorder, so it should be treated as such.”

She prefers to use cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which allows players to reframe dartsitis as a challenge they need to overcome.

Unlike Kevin, Jack managed to get over his dartitis with lasting results.

In January, the 31-year-old decided to start throwing left-handed.

“(It was) the biggest decision of my darts life,” he said.

But it worked, and within three months he was winning the amateur championship.

In addition to better performance, Jack discovered another benefit—he no longer needed to drink to play.

“I used to shake, and if I didn’t have a beer, I would get nervous,” he said.

“If you had told me a year ago that I would be playing darts sober, I wouldn’t have believed you.”

To aid his recovery, Kevin also began drinking less.

“It’s no secret that everyone likes to drink when they play,” he said.

“But you have to put in the effort (to get treatment). I like to go for a walk in the morning to clear my head.”

While drinking less is a welcome benefit, Dr. Duffy made it clear that she doesn’t believe there’s a link between drinking and boomeritis.

“The underlying mechanisms that cause boomeritis are the same mechanisms that cause any other anxiety disorder,” she says.

Kevin plans to continue his hypnotherapy treatments in the hope that this time his boomeritis will go away for good.

“Everyone has been very supportive,” he said.

“I talk to a lot of people who have or have had this disease. If I didn’t have boomeritis, I wouldn’t be having these conversations.”