What does Performance Anxiety feel like?
What does performance anxiety feel like?
Have you ever sat backstage just before commencing your performance and felt some body sensations and racing thoughts that made you wonder why you are even doing this performance? Be it a music recital, a theatre play, a dance performance, a public speaking engagement or a sports competition, performances might be accompanied by any number of the following phenomena.
Bodily sensations: you might feel your heart beating very quickly, your hands, arms or limbs shaking, or that your breathing is shallow. You may even find yourself repeatedly visiting the restrooms.
Feelings & emotions: you might notice that you are feeling scared, and afraid of being judged. You may be worrying about making mistakes and get into a swirl of ‘what if’ thoughts of how dreadful the performance might turn out. Maybe you have a sense of panic and being out of control, and maybe you find yourself finding it difficult to concentrate.
Behaviour: these sensations and emotions may be so unpleasant that you find yourself turning down some performance opportunities and avoiding challenging situations.
Reading this, you might recognise a few or many of these markers of performance anxiety. Often, the impact may be felt in the quality of the performance and in the general emotional wellbeing and level of contentment.
In the movie As Good as it Gets, the character of Melvin Udall (brilliantly played by Jack Nicholson) says: “I’m drowning here and you’re describing the water!”. There is no intention here to ‘describe the water’ and leave it at that.
Stop & Think:
There are strategies, tools and techniques to manage our performance anxiety effectively, and to minimise the dread that is so often associated with performance especially in people who experience several of these phenomena. These strategies span the full timeline: from the early stages of practice, to the time leading up to the performance, the time of the performance itself and the time following walking off the stage.
You are welcome to contact us if you would like to explore a tailored approach to your individual experience with performance.