What is the Root Cause of Performance Anxiety?
If you are an athlete, dancer, singer, gamer, manager, CEO, or someone looking for a job -basically most of us-, you may be struggling with performance anxiety from time to time. Think about the very first time you had to show what you got to others, were you shivering? Or maybe you were sick to your stomach?
Perhaps you were injured and put away from your talent for a while. How was it coming back? Were you doubting yourself since then? The unease and discomfort should dissipate in time, as you perform more and more. But what if it doesn’t?
Performance anxiety affects many people and the way you feel during the performance depends on much more complex qualities than just the performance itself. Old experiences, self-image, anxiety, confidence, the crowd, and practice; all accumulate to play a significant role in performance anxiety. So what is at the root of your performance anxiety? And what can you do about it?
Is performance anxiety common?
Did you know performance anxiety affects nearly 20% of people in high-stakes situations like public speaking, job interviews, or even sports? That’s one in five—so if you’ve ever felt your heart race or your mind blank at the worst moment, you’re in good company. This common struggle comes from our natural “fight-flight” response, designed to keep us safe but often overreacting in non-threatening scenarios.
As you can tell, performance anxiety affects lots of people. So next time when you go see a performance or interview someone, keep in mind that they may be potentially struggling with performance anxiety as well!
What are the symptoms of performance anxiety?
The symptoms of performance anxiety all stem from the body’s stress response going into overdrive. Physically, you might feel your heart pounding like a drum, your palms sweating profusely, or your hands shaking as if you’ve had too much coffee. For some, there’s a tightness in the chest, a dry mouth that makes speaking feel impossible, or an upset stomach that comes at the worst moment.
Mentally, it’s just as challenging. You might experience a loop of self-critical thoughts, feel consumed by fear of judgment, or even “blank out” completely, unable to remember the words or actions you’ve prepared. These symptoms can make you feel trapped as if you’re fighting your own body and mind in real-time. The experience is deeply personal—some people feel mild nervousness, while others are completely immobilized by the fear.
How to identify the root cause of performance anxiety?
There may be many reasons for performance anxiety. There may be one core reason, or there may be multiple things contributing to this problem. For example, if you have an anxious personality or if you have an anxiety disorder, this may make you more prone to performance anxiety.
A common cause can be a negative memory that you suppressed subconsciously. Perhaps during childhood or even as an adult you felt embarrassed or shamed when you were performing in front of others. Even if the crowd didn’t mean to make you feel that way, it’s very common and possible to feel intimidated in performance-related situations.
Personality-related factors can contribute to performance anxiety as well. For example, being an introvert, language barriers, or feeling inadequate in the topic of presentation may make one feel uncomfortable in front of others as well.
Finally, confidence is the biggest contributor to success with performance. Therefore, a lack of confidence in self and self-doubt can lead to performance anxiety. Even if you are good at what you do, if you don’t believe in yourself and your abilities, you will be blocking your optimal performance.
Hypnotherapy can help identifying the root cause of performance anxiety while helping improving your performance.
How do you break the cycle of performance anxiety?
The thing is, once you have a negative experience because of performance anxiety, you may find the anxiety worsening the next time. Because your mind will do everything possible to prevent pain and disappointment. It’s necessary to break this cycle at its core so it doesn’t affect other areas of your life.
Thankfully, there are some small steps you can take to optimize your performance without being crippled with anxiety. Here are some things you can try to prepare for your next performance.
Manage anxiety
If you deal with anxiety in your day-to-day life, address the anxious part of you. You may consider starting a self-care practice like meditation or breathwork. Or starting therapy might be the best avenue for you. When you feel more in control, you can feel more in the flow during your performance as well.
Practice, practice, practice
Practice not only makes it perfect but also gives us the confidence we need to successfully perform in front of others. Even if one is not confident in themselves, if they are confident in their knowledge or experience, they can still display an amazing performance in front of others.
Plus, when we repeat something in the mind so many times, it turns into muscle and verbal memory.
Mental rehearsal
Mental rehearsal is a great technique to optimize your performance. It’s a technique that is used by many athletes, Olympians, singers, and actors. When we rehearse successfully performing in front of others, in our mind, we motivate ourselves to turn it into reality. When we use mental rehearsal repeatedly, sometimes the subconscious mind takes it as reality as if it had already happened, boosting energy, motivation, and the outcome of the performance!
Try hypnotherapy to dig deeper
After trying these, if you still find yourself struggling, you may need to dig deeper to find any root cause or negative subconscious associations. Hypnotherapy helps uncover subconsciously suppressed issues as well as bring to light any childhood memories that are still triggering you.
Hypnotherapy can also help you optimize your performance with suggestions and even more powerful mental imagining.
Final words
Performing something in front of others is a matter we all have to face at some point. For some people, this experience can involve 100s of people, while for some others, it could be just a few people. No matter what your performance is about, it’s possible to be yourself and showcase your talent while you are still in front of that same group. Start with the steps outlined above to maximize your performance and if you find that you are still struggling, it may be time to explore other options such as hypnotherapy!