Performance anxiety will be experienced by everyone at some point, and we all respond in different ways. Performance Psychologist, Dr Anna Waters, shares insights, techniques and some simple exercises to help performers manage this common challenge.
Everyone suffers from performance anxiety at some point in their lives. You might experience your mind going blank during an important interview, your heart racing as you wait to begin a keynote presentation, your palms sweating as you walk on stage, or feeling like you want to run away from the stage, rather than walk on.
Even great musicians, like the cellist Pablo Casals, have encountered painful paralysing bouts of stage fright, “Nerves and stage fright before playing have never left me through-out the whole of my career. Can you realize that at each of the thousands of concerts I played at, I felt as bad as I did on that first occasion?”
Despite her confident performances and powerhouse vocals, singer Adele still feels vulnerable before stepping on stage: “I get so nervous with live performances that I’m scared I’ll faint or throw up.”
The Role of Performance Psychology
Performance psychology helps people to understand the connection between what happens in our minds and how we perform. It can significantly help with performance anxiety, through providing tools and strategies to manage both the physical and mental symptoms.
Techniques like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), relaxation exercises, and visualisation can help performers understand their individual performance anxiety. They can learn how to reframe negative thoughts, reduce physical tension, and focus on the present moment, which will lead to improved performance and reduced anxiety.
Rather than simply calming nerves, I can help performers to gain insight into the root cause of the anxiety, pinpoints individual triggers, and can help reshape unhelpful beliefs, expectations and patterns of behaviour.
Uniqueness
Everyone is unique and the way each of us experience performance anxiety (PA) will be different. Rather than use predetermined measures, I always ask the performer to describe to me exactly how PA feels for them, physically and mentally. This allows the performer to identify their individual experiences and gives us insight into the specific areas that need managing.
You could try this out yourself. Take a few moments to think back to a performance where you felt nervous, or anxious. Make some notes, using the prompts below as a guide:
- How did you feel physically?
- How did you feel emotionally?
- What thoughts were going through your mind?
- How did you behave when you felt anxious?
Have a look at what you have written down. Can you see any patterns, typical negative thoughts, or unhelpful beliefs, which may be triggering your PA?
Use the tools and techniques which follow, to start to address and manage your PA.
Negative And Self-Critical Thoughts
Performance anxiety often brings a flood of negative self-talk streaming through our minds. These thoughts can come from:
- deep rooted beliefs about being ‘being worthy’ or ‘needing to be perfect to be accepted’
- constantly comparing yourself to other performers around you
- harsh feedback and comments made by teachers, parents or others
- the emotional thinking team in your brain, the amygdala, interpreting the situation as threatening and offering the flight, fight, freeze, or fawn response
A simple way to change these negative thoughts is to use cognitive restructuring. This involves identifying and challenging unhelpful beliefs, and then replacing them with realistic helpful ones.
Here are some examples to bring it to life:
- “I’m going to mess up in front of everybody” replace with:
- “I’m well prepared and ready to perform in front of everybody.”
- “My mind will go blank and I’m going to forget everything” replace with:
- “If I forget my music, I can pause, breathe, and use my prompts to get back on track”
- “People will find out I’m not good enough” replace with:
- “I’ve learned every skill through practice, and I trust myself”
See if you can have a go at changing any of your unhelpful beliefs, using the same method.
In The Moment Technique
If you feel a sudden rush of anxiety, you can shift your focus away from the anxiety by refocusing on something more constructive you would like to be doing, or thinking about:
- Imagining the first few bars of music and how you would like to play it
- Focusing on relaxing your shoulders and feeling the floor under your feet
This technique helps you to re-centres your focus on the music/play/dance, rather than self-judgment, or distractions. Practise in a variety of settings, to increase your ability to use this skill under pressure.
3 Performance Psychology Skills To Manage PA
- Visualisation/mental imagery: Mentally rehearse successful performances to build familiarity and reduce fear. Create realistic, multisensory mental simulations of success. Rehearse specific difficult moments, so they feel familiar when they arise.
- Breathing and relaxation exercises: Try out diaphragmatic breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, or biofeedback to lower physiological arousal.
- Develop a mental warm up: include breathwork, visualisation of yourself performing confidently – mentally rehearse the performance – see, hear, and feel it going well. Have a few positive affirmations ready ‘my practise has gone well’, ‘I trust in my skills and preparation,’ check energy levels and stay in the moment.
Further Resources
BAPAM Information Sheet: Managing Performance Anxiety | BAPAM
InTune: Get InTune – The freely accessible digital tool from PRS Members’ Fund and BAPAM provides personalised health and wellbeing tips, resources and insights into your personal wellbeing. Access free resources on topics such as Visualisation Techniques, Advice for Creators with Neurodivergent Traits, Adopting a Regular Mental Health Practice, and Dealing with Conflict.
BAPAM Information Sheet: Visualisation for Performers