been there, done that, don't want no BB's or a t-shirt!!
I was prescribed beta-blockers for blood pressure and a somewhat dicey heart. Took them for about ten years, hated them! They took away the alertness and little bit of tension needed to perform my best. Pool, I just never felt quite awake. Really burned me in sports where I needed fast reflexes. My best draw and first shot into a small target was 0.75 seconds. Not blazingly fast but certainly respectable. Unfortunately on beta-blockers my first shot time from the same hands up "surrender" position was more like 1.25 seconds. With six or eight people on the line at once for some matches I heard a shot or two before I fired.
Beta-blockers are usually prescribed in conjunction with another medication. About ten years or so ago, not really certain when, the medical community decided it was the other medication doing the work and beta-blockers were just along for the ride. I talked to my doctor and got off of beta-blockers without any repercussions. There are a lot of different medications out there. Pays to educate ourselves on the ones we are taking. I have been prescribed new med's a few times over the years, contacted my doctor about possible conflicts with other drugs, and been told to flush the new medication.
When a race horse is 100% fit and healthy there is nothing that will make them perform better. I have long suspected humans are the same way. I have won in good company, I have set a few small records. Damned nice to be able to say I did it on the natch with no crutches or aids.
The best way to control emotions is as simple as breathing. I have used breathing to control my emotional temperature for decades. Ease off by yourself, close your eyes, think of a place you have been that was quiet and peaceful. I can do that for even a few minutes and drop my pulse and blood pressure significantly. By the same token, before explosive action I will take some slow deep breaths to oxygen load, then a handful of short shallow breaths to raise my emotional temperature just a bit. I may be slow, but I don't leave much in the tank. My draws were pretty much consistent within a hundredth or so of a second.
I could be confusing them with something else but best I recall beta-blockers work in the brain. Is it really worth jacking with your brain to try to gain a slight advantage that can be reached other ways?
As always, my opinions and my experience. Others mileage may and will vary!
Hu