Sports Psychologist clearly defines the terms and responds to common questions
Have you ever felt nervous about doing something in front of other people? Maybe you felt apprehensive or restless before stepping on to the shooting line? Or perhaps you recall going ‘blank’ or feeling hesitant and shaky in the middle of your match? You may also recall having similar experiences during a job interview, school or work presentation; getting sweaty and flustered, your heart going at a hundred miles, as if “jumping out of your chest”, your thoughts racing. If the idea of doing something in front of other people gives you a sense of dread, it could be performance anxiety.
What is performance anxiety?
The term ‘performance anxiety’ is used to describe fear or anxiety about doing something (or the prospect of doing something) whilst being watched.
The ‘performance’ can be any act in front of an audience, for example, performing in a concert or play, meeting with your boss for a review, going on a first date etc. Many people can also experience performance anxiety around intimacy. The audience can be just the one person or a thousand, consisting of people you know, or it may be a bunch of complete strangers. Today, in the age of remote communication and video platform use, simply knowing that you are being monitored or recorded remotely can also trigger that feeling of being in the spotlight! It is important to note that performance anxiety is not a disorder or a diagnosis in itself; it is something that all of us can experience at some point in one-off situations like being put on the spot to give a comment during an interview or a toast at a wedding. But if the stage fright is severe, constant, and the fear is not diminishing, it can develop into an anxiety disorder like social anxiety. So, it is important to notice and address the symptoms to prevent that from happening and to help us cope better if we feel under pressure.
What are the symptoms of performance anxiety?
The clue is in the name – ‘anxiety’. The symptoms are physical and are very similar to panic symptoms. Anxiety is a body’s natural response to stress or something we perceive as danger. Anxiety triggers the fight-or-flight response in our body to produce the unpleasant physical symptoms which include increased heart rate, faster and shallow breathing, sweating, muscle tension etc.
However, anxiety is not inherently bad; it is in fact a normal response to stress, vital for guiding our behaviour to help us survive! In fact, having some degree of anxiety can boost your focus and energy, it can help you make important decisions faster and perform better. It is about finding a balance between being alert and composed to ensure good control of your body and mind to achieve best performance.
Aside from physical symptoms we may also notice worrying, or negative or self-critical thoughts, signalling to ‘fight’ or ‘flee’, to remove the source of danger or ourselves from it as quickly as possible.
The thoughts of being ‘assessed’ and ‘judged’ can be very hard to deal with. If your mind is occupied with worrying thoughts about making a mistake, or losing a shoot-off, you cannot focus on the task at hand and control your body, while your mind is preoccupied with worrying thoughts; this inevitably leads to a decrease and breakdown of your performance. Furthermore, poorer performance may prompt even more anxious feelings and thoughts like: “Oh, No! Why did I do that? What’s happening? Did everyone see that?”, thereby creating a vicious cycle.
Who can have performance anxiety?
The answer is – anyone. While the lesser skilled individuals and novices are more likely to experience performance anxiety due to lack of skill and confidence, seasoned competitors and people who are used to being in front of an audience are not immune and can suddenly experience stage fright. Triggers may involve specific sports-related events such as losing a tournament, being injured, or any other events outside the sport which may affect your self-esteem or cause you stress.
Why do people have performance anxiety?
The reasons are many and individual in each case, but the core reason is the fear of being judged, disliked, and potentially rejected by others for poor performance or outcome. Humans are social by nature (yes, even the introverts!). Unrealistic expectations, fear of failure, low self-esteem, or thinking you are not good enough, can contribute to anxiety and reduce confidence in performing your best in a match.
For many of us, we might initially get stage fright, but it will diminish and pass over time if we consistently expose ourselves to the feared situation until we adapt to it. For example, imagine a beginner who might be feeling self-conscious, inexperienced; they might initially have performance anxiety, but will likely gradually become more confident as they keep learning and gaining mastery. Remember how you felt when you first started shooting; do you still get anxious about some of the same things today?
How does anxiety break down performance?
If you are anxious, you feel out of control; your focus is on the anxious thoughts, sensations and feelings rather than on the activity or task you are trying to perform.
Anxiety is a mental state; feeling worried and afraid makes it hard to focus; but it is a very physical state with physical symptoms too. Excessive worry about “how you are going to do” can occupy your mind causing you to lose control over your body and actions. You may be distracted by or misinterpret and aggravate the physical symptoms of anxiety, such as increasing heart rate or breathing, making yourself feel even more anxious. It is a vicious cycle!Luckily, there are things we can do to break the vicious cycle – we can learn to notice and gather our thoughts.
The fight-or-flight response can be successfully reduced and de-escalated by tapping into just one of the symptoms. For example, de-catastrophising your thoughts will improve physical symptoms, or slowing down and controlling your breathing (physical symptoms) will help you think in less extreme terms and help you feel better, more relaxed.
What are most prevalent causes and triggers?
Though individual and nuanced, most common triggers include fear of judgement; “What will others think if I lose or make a mistake? Will my coach/team think I’m a fraud?”); negative past experiences (past failures or criticisms about your performance or skill); low self-esteem and confidence (feeling of being incompetent or lacking technical skill, “not good enough”, feeling like an impostor).
High-stakes situations, such as competitions, can be particularly triggering because of the increased pressure on achieving a certain outcome. In this case, it is important to understand specific triggers and to adjust your goals, expectations and perception of wins and losses. Ask yourself, is it the fear of making mistakes? Are you worried about the final outcome too much? Perhaps you are just generally feeling self-conscious about how you look? Or is it purely the presence of people on the tribunes that makes you feel off? All these and many other factors can alter our expectations about how we will do in the future. Understand and manage your triggers and expectations.
Addressing performance-related Issues
First steps include becoming aware of how you feel in performance situations to help you understand whether you might be getting anxious about your performance and what might be triggering it. Mindfulness and reflection skills are key skills you will need to help you start noticing signs and symptoms of anxiety.
Improving awareness skills through mindfulness
You can’t control something if you are not aware of it! Mindfulness exercises are all about practicing controlling your attention and learning to focus on the present moment; mindfulness is about noticing. With regular practice you can learn to sustain and switch your attention, this includes focusing away from negative thoughts and distractions. Begin with the basic guided video or audio body scan and progressive muscle relaxation practices. These exercises will help you learn how your body feels and how you can control the relaxation and tension in your body. Expand the range of practices and try a variety of exercises. Regular practice is key.
Suspect Anxiety? Reflect on it.
If you suspect you might have performance anxiety, try reflecting on it. Everyone’s experience is unique, and anxiety can be triggered by places, people, situations, thoughts, memories and many other things. It is useful to spend a few minutes to reflect on how and when you might be triggered. Think about archery-related scenarios e.g., practice sessions, competition rounds or any other archery-related activities.
Ask yourself these questions; first: to me anxiety feels like this … (*list symptoms); second: in my sport, I feel most anxious when … (*list situations); third: last time I noticed feeling anxious in an archery-related setting was … (*recall last relevant situation(s); fourth, recall: things that seemed to happen just before I felt this way were … (*list potential triggering events example).
Please remember that some anxiety in high pressure or competitive situations is expected. If you feel like your anxiety is too high, isn’t going away or getting worse, connect with a qualified professional or a specialist mental coach to help you understand and manage your anxiety.
Final remark
There remains one more important topic: competence. Paradoxically, many of us tend to overlook competence. Improving your skill should be a top priority as it is one of the most important strategies for preventing and managing performance anxiety. Knowing what to do reduces uncertainty and worry and improves self-confidence. Inconsistent process leads to inconsistent performance.
In the next Issue we will explore breathing techniques in sports.
