Overcoming Performance Anxiety

By Vicki Eaton

performance anxiety (pe(r)-for'-men(t)s an-zi'-et-e), n. 1. an almost paralyzing force experienced by some people, no matter how smart, talented or well prepared they are, when in front of an audience or when under pressure to perform well; 2. a possible powerful limitation on your career, social life or self-esteem.

Imagine yourself in front of a group of people or in a situation where you want to perform to your best ability. What pictures come to your mind? If you regularly experience performance anxiety, perhaps you recall memories of times when you believe you performed poorly...you stumbled over your words... your mind "blanked out" and you lost your concentration... you struggled to get your breath... the quality of your performance was considerably lower than the quality of your rehearsal. And do the pictures and memories replay over and over again in your mind while you anxiously say to yourself, "I hope that doesn't happen again...what if it does?"

Does this sound familiar? Unfortunately, if these are the pictures from which you draw as you prepare for future performances, presentations, interviews or competitions, then you are not only rehearsing the problem, but you are programming yourself to experience more performance anxiety.

The good news is that if you have an image in your memory bank of ever having done something well... with competence and confidence and enjoyment... then you have a resource within that you can access in preparing for future performances. The idea is to learn to substitute the confidant picture for the anxious one, then daily recall that memory with intensity. Replay that in your mind and several things will likely begin to happen:

You can re-experience those feelings of competence, confidence and joy, and decrease anxiety. You can begin to reprogram your mind to believe you can perform in that manner in the future.

Here's how to do this...

First, get comfortable and do a breathing exercise.

Second, let yourself relax.

Third, once you are relaxed, do an imagery exercise in three steps.

Step 1: Recall an old memory of a time when you did very well on something. It doesn't need to be a memory of a time when you were in front of a group. It doesn't matter what it was or whether you were a child, adolescent or adult when it occurred in your life, but it needs to have been a time in which you felt a real sense of accomplishment and pleasure. Perhaps you built a birdhouse by yourself when you were 10. Maybe you organized the kids in your neighborhood to put on a circus. Perhaps you did well on an important exam after studying diligently for it. Whatever it was, "relive" the event by recalling sights, sounds, smells and kinesthetic memories associated with it. Recall how good it felt to succeed in what you were doing. Hold on to those feelings and transfer them to the next image.

Step 2: Recall your very best experience in making music (playing sports, acting in a drama, etc). Again, it is not important if you were a child, adolescent or adult, nor does it matter if it was during a rehearsal time, during "show" time, or whether you were just doing this purely for you own enjoyment. Either see yourself in the picture performing at your best, or recall how it felt in your body. Also, recalling the sounds you heard can be helpful. As in Step 1, recall as much detail as you can, and let yourself remember how good it felt to be doing your best. Feel the energy you experienced at that time. Take your time on this, as you want to create a mental picture of yourself doing what you desire to do with excellence and exhilaration.

Step 3: Once the image has fully developed and you have re-experienced the good feelings you associated with it, transfer that picture and feelings to a future event in which you are anticipating being involved. See yourself making music, acting, presenting, playing in a tournament, or whatever you desire to do well. See yourself doing this in front of an audience with confidence and calmness. See it, hear it in your mind, or feel it happening in your body. Remember, anything is possible in your imagination! Hold the mental image and ask your body and mind to do whatever it needs to do to experience this in real life. Tell yourself that soon you will begin to experience this in future auditions, performances, or any other time you are in front of an audience.

Practice the above every day. It takes time to build that up inside your mind, and you likely will not see results right away. Allow at least 6 to 8 weeks before expecting to see changes. The tendency is to move in the direction of the pictures we hold in our minds. You can choose the ones on which you want to focus.