Most of us have experienced performance anxiety at some point in our lives, whether it be the feeling of dread and anxiety at the thought of speaking in front of an audience, or not being able to concentrate at an exam or focus on a work assignment out of fear you’ll perform underperform. Known also as ‘stage fright’, performance anxiety relates to a strong, excessive fear that you won’t be able to accomplish and succeed at a specific task. The task needn’t be something big, like a talk in front of many people. Performance anxiety can also occur in more personal, intimate matters, such as around sexual intimacy, for instance, or in the workplace, when we fear we cannot meet deadlines, will not produce work to a high enough standard or that we won’t perform well in a sporting event, music recital, and so on. 

Common symptoms of performance anxiety include:

• Excessive sweating
• Nausea
• Difficulty breathing
• Panic
• Forgetting things
• Self-doubt
• Fearing humiliation or rejection
• Overthinking
• Fearing judgement

Whilst anxiety is a very normal response to wanting a positive outcome when something is very important to you, performance anxiety can often be excessive, causing emotional distress, physical symptoms and hinder someone from achieving their goals. Performance anxiety is often rooted in childhood, with certain personality types more prone to experiencing such anxiety. Children brought up in a competitive environment, for instance, where parents and teachers have high expectations of the child in terms of academic performance, sporting achievements and so on, are more likely to become adults who struggle with performance anxiety. This is because growing up in such an environment can instil perfectionist tendencies and teach a child that their worth is conditional, based predominantly on their achievements. Such attitudes also do little to teach children self-compassion and build healthy self-esteem.

So, by now you may be wondering, what can I do to stop experiencing performance anxiety when it hits? Below you’ll find some suggestions for managing performance anxiety:

Practice deep breathing

Breathing, and learning how to regulate it when anxious, can have a powerful impact on your nervous system. It’s proven to slow your heart rate, reduce blood pressure and increase the flow of oxygen, making you feel calmer and more relaxed. There are numerous techniques you can try, including box breathing, belly breathing, extending your exhale, and so on, all of which can be found online. You may want to try out different techniques and see which you find most effective.

Take care of your wellbeing

Anxiety levels, and your general mood, are directly impacted by various factors, including the quality of your sleep, your diet, social support, if you feel fit and healthy, and so on. Take a good look at your lifestyle and assess whether you could be doing more to ensure you’re living a healthy, balanced life which includes time for rest and relaxation, time to practice hobbies, meet friends and family, and do things which are important to you.

Set realistic expectations

It’s okay to want to do well and set yourself goals to achieve. However, setting goals which are excessively ambitious or demand more from you than is realistic, will have a negative impact on your health and may actually knock your confidence. Instead, try setting goals which are incremental, allowing you adequate time to work towards improving your skills and knowledge so you can achieve such goals. Remember, life is not a race or a competition to achieve the most in the quickest possible time. 

Think positive

There’s nothing worse than imagining yourself making a fool of yourself, forgetting what you need to say in an important meeting or going blank in an exam. Whenever you start imagining such scenarios or thinking things such as ‘I’m not good enough’. ‘What was I thinking, imagining I could achieve this goal?’ or ‘I’m bound to fail’, stop for a moment and remind yourself that such negative self-talk is damaging and unkind. Instead, replace such negative thoughts with more encouraging ones, such as ‘I’m going to do my best and things will be okay’ or ‘I can do this’ or whatever else could make you feel more positive. 

Visualise success

If you can, take 5-10 minutes every day lying or sitting down in silence, breathing deeply until relaxed. When you’re calmer, imagine yourself breezing through that exam or talking confidently in your work meeting. The more you can really immerse yourself in the visualisation, the more you’ll slowly start to believe you can achieve your goal, whatever it may be.

Be patient and kind with yourself

Have you ever heard someone tell you that being criticised and shamed made them perform better? No? That’s because shame and criticism wear down someone’s self-esteem and confidence, only worsening performance. Be kind and patient towards yourself as you face your challenges, treating yourself as you would someone you care about.

Develop a growth mindset

Failure is so often seen as something to be avoided at all costs. What if I told you, however, that failure is an inevitable part of life and the fulfilment of your goals? If we could change our relationship with failure and stop seeing it as proof that we’re not capable or good enough, we wouldn’t feel devastated or humiliated by failure. Instead, we may feel disappointed but we’ll dust ourselves off and try again, knowing that it’s okay to fail and something which helps us grow both personally and professionally.

If you try the above suggestions and still feel you need some additional support, I suggest speaking to a therapist or counsellor, who would be able to support you to reduce performance anxiety. In time, you’ll not only experience less anxiety, but you’ll develop healthier attitudes around how you see yourself and your achievements.