Performance Anxiety Examples

For those who struggle with performance anxiety, navigating life can be difficult. Whether it's giving presentations in the workplace or performing on stage, our fears and anxieties can become a barrier to succeeding in essential tasks. It's an all-too-familiar feeling of dread and helplessness when we face public speaking or put ourselves out there for judgment. Although these instances may cause us to feel overwhelmed and uncertain, don't let fear control your life! In this blog post, I will provide examples of common sources and signs of performance anxiety so you can better understand how to tackle it head-on.

Do you know that even top performers can experience anxiety before the big moment? The pressure and excitement surrounding their performance is a natural response. When that anxiety becomes overpowering, it hampers your ability to perform well, leading to performance anxiety. Whether you're singing, playing sports, or presenting at work, performance anxiety can feel overwhelming. Let's discover more about its nature and how to handle it successfully.

What is performance anxiety? 

Performance anxiety commonly affects people of all ages, genders, and backgrounds. This occurs when you excessively worry about your ability to carry out a specific task. It can cause physical symptoms like stomach discomfort, shaking, nausea, and increased heart rate. You may also experience intense avoidance behaviours, like postponing the performance or backing out at the last minute. To perform at your best without being hampered by anxiety, it's essential to be aware of these symptoms and strategies for managing them.

Typical forms of performance anxiety

Performance anxiety can strike during any task, but specific situations commonly trigger intense anxiety in many individuals. Below are the most prevalent scenarios associated with performance anxiety.

PUBLIC SPEAKING ANXIETY

Do you know that public speaking anxiety/stage fright is estimated to affect a whopping 73% of people? If you're one of them, you're not alone! Many share a fear of being judged, rejected, or looking foolish. This fear can present itself in meetings, on stage, or in the classroom. 

But one of the most daunting concerns for those with public speaking anxiety is freezing or forgetting parts of their performance. Unfortunately, the fear of it happening can actually increase its likelihood. An increased heart rate is a typical physical response when facing your fears. It's completely natural and something you can learn to manage.

TEST ANXIETY

Among students, test anxiety is one of the most important reasons why even a hardworking student can fail to complete an exam successfully. Approximately 67% of Australian students suffer from test anxiety. Test anxiety usually feels like psychological stress, worry about succeeding academically, fear of failure, and self-doubt. 

Even though some students can do better with test anxiety, there is also a significant portion of students whose results and success gets affected negatively because of test anxiety.

SEX PERFORMANCE ANXIETY 

Sexual performance anxiety is not as rare as one might believe. It often links to bad body image, specific health struggles during sex, or the awful fear of rejection. This creates an unhealthy cycle whereby anxiety decreases sexual performance, leading to more anxiety and further decline. 

ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE ANXIETY

Are you someone who finds themselves motivated and doing their best under pressure? While pressure can push us to be our best selves, too much of it can be harmful. Enter athletic performance anxiety - which can manifest in many ways, including sleepless nights, excessive worry, or making mistakes during the game. Factors like low self-esteem, inadequate preparation, or fear of failure could all be culprits. It's important to acknowledge and address the problem head-on to improve your athletic performance.

Reduce Performance Anxiety with Hypnotherapy

Performance anxiety is a real issue and can affect anyone regardless of their experience level or confidence. It's essential to recognise the signs in yourself or others early before it begins to take hold and spiral into something more serious. Don't let performance anxiety negatively affect your life any longer reach out for help if you need it! Inspired Mindset Hypnotherapy Canberra provides tailored, personalised hypnotherapy sessions designed specifically for you to manage performance anxiety issues in a safe and comforting environment. Online sessions are available.