Defeating Performance Anxiety

Whether it’s triggered by pressure to perform, feeling overwhelmed, nervous about the future, or any number of other reasons, many of us experience anxiety from time to time. Stress could be helpful in certain situations. For example, feeling stressed about a test may lead you to study. Feeling nervous about a big game might implore you train and prepare more. Other times, stress could be debilitating, with several mental and physical ramifications. Let’s talk about what’s happening when someone experiences anxiety, how it hinders performance, and what we can do about it.

In all facets of life, whether it’s academics, athletics, social situations, personal issues, etc., anxiety is likely to occur under these circumstances:

1) When the outcome is perceived to be important. (Ex: Big games, conversations with certain people, job interviews)

2) When the situation is new. (Ex: Taking on a new role, playing an away game)

3) When there is unpredictability. (Ex: You don’t know what’s going to happen. Remember, the key to confidence is preparation. So if you can’t prepare, you won’t be confident.)

4) When you feel like you have no control over the outcome. (Ex: When you’ve done all you can do, and now you’re waiting for the result. Something is out of your hands.)

5) When you are dealing with other life stressors at the same time. (Ex: Studying for a test becomes more stressful when you’re also having issues with your significant other.)

Common physical symptoms of anxiety include:

• Difficulty breathing

• Elevated heart rate and blood pressure

• Difficulty maintaining focus

• Increased muscle tension and reduced flexibility

• Inability to stay in the present moment

Does this seem like someone ready to perform at a high level?

As a mental performance coach, I work with athletes on battling the physical symptoms of performance anxiety using breathing and mindfulness techniques. But we also mitigate symptoms of anxiety by challenging and addressing the 5 origins:

1) Importance - Anxiety activates the nervous system and sounds the alarm bells, claiming that we’re in danger. But we are rarely in “danger” on a daily basis. Instead, we have “fears:” Fear of failure, fear of judgement, fear of difficult conversations. An intervention to use to challenge the importance of these fears is called De-Catastrophizing, where we create a reasonable, objective scope of outcomes and determine the likelihood that we’ll be okay if each of them plays out. Are there available perspectives that are rooted in reality that can lead to more productive thoughts and behaviors?

2) Novelty - It’s a fine line between excitement and anxiety. How we contextualize our experiences will lead to helpful or unhelpful outcomes. For example, does being in a new environment or having a new role have to be considered a bad thing? Grounding techniques to stay present could be helpful in uncomfortable situations.

3) Unpredictability - Reviewing best case, worst case, and most likely outcomes so we can create a mental game-plan for all scenarios.

4) Lack of control - 2-part approach. We need to identify and then come to terms with aspects of the situation that are out of our control, and we need to create a plan of action for aspects of the situation that we can have control over.

5) Other stressors - I use a holistic approach with athletes to always focus on and address issues that may be impacting them off the field. Athletes should have goals, motivators, and priorities in their academic, athletic, social, and personal lives. We also discuss compartmentalizing — the ability to focus and put all of your attention on one thing at a time, and not letting other areas of your life bleed into performance.