Performance anxiety is a common problem among athletes, musicians, actors, dancers, speakers, writers, and anyone else who performs regularly. In fact, performance anxiety affects nearly half of all Americans. If you suffer from performance anxiety, chances are you’ve tried everything under the sun to overcome it. But here’s the thing: performing well doesn’t mean you’ll become great at anything. You might even end up getting worse at what you do because you’re afraid of failing.
In this article, we’ll look at how to break the cycle of performance anxiety. We’ll talk about why you shouldn’t try to improve yourself by trying to perform better; why you should stop trying to control every aspect of your life; and why you should focus on improving your skills rather than worrying about whether you’re doing things correctly.
1. Relaxation techniques
Circular Breathing – When you feel stressed out, take a deep breath in and hold it for 5 seconds. Then exhale slowly while imagining yourself relaxing your body. Repeat this process 10 times.
Progressive Muscle Relaxation – Imagine your muscles are like springs. You want to make sure each spring is loose enough to move freely. Start with your toes and work your way up your body. For every part of your body, tense and release your muscles one at a time. Do this for about 15 minutes.
Chronic Pain Relief – If you suffer from chronic pain, progressive muscle relaxation might be helpful. You can use this method to relieve tension in your neck, shoulders, arms, legs, and feet.
2. Guided imagery
Guided imagery is an effective tool for relaxation and improving one’s sex life. There are many different types of guided imagery, including mindfulness meditation, hypnosis, self-hypnosis, biofeedback, and even yoga. Each type works differently, but the goal is always the same: to focus on something relaxing while you practice it.
The benefits of guided imagery include increased blood flow to the genitals, improved arousal, better orgasms, and overall greater satisfaction during intercourse. It can also help reduce stress, increase pain tolerance, and decrease anxiety about sexual performance.
3. Positive self-talk
Negative thoughts make performance anxiety worse. When you’re feeling anxious about a big presentation, it’s easy to start imagining disaster scenarios. You might think about how nervous you are, what you’ll say, whether you’ll mess up, etc. This type of negative thinking makes performance anxiety worse.
Positive selftalk helps relieve performance anxiety. If you’ve ever been really worried about something, you know that positive self-talk can help calm you down. For example, if you’re worried about giving a speech, telling yourself “I’m great at public speaking,” or “I’ll do fine,” can help give you confidence.
Writing down positive selftalks helps keep your mindset focused. Another way to cope with performance anxiety is to write down positive selftalking. Write down everything that you like about yourself, your skills, and your abilities. Then read those things out loud every day. Doing this keeps your mind focused on success.
4. Facing fears
Fear is one of those things we often try to avoid. But what happens when we face our fears head on? We might find out that we are actually stronger than we thought.
Fear is a natural emotion that helps to keep us safe. It is our body’s way of telling us that there is danger nearby and that we need to be careful. While fear can be helpful in some situations, it can also be paralyzing. When we are faced with a fear, we often have two choices: we can either avoid the thing that we are afraid of or we can face it head on. Avoiding our fears might make us feel better in the short term, but it can also stop us from living our lives to the fullest. On the other hand, facing our fears can be difficult and scary, but it can also help us to grow and learn more about ourselves. Sometimes the best way to deal with a fear is to confront it directly.
5. Lifestyle changes
Eating healthy foods helps reduce anxiety, boost energy and improve mood. Here are some tips to help you live healthier:
1. Eat breakfast every day. A study published in the journal Appetite found that people who ate breakfast had better concentration and memory recall compared to those who skipped it. Breakfast boosts metabolism, keeps hunger pangs away and gives you energy throughout the morning.
2. Drink lots of water. Water flushes out toxins and excess salt, helping keep you feeling hydrated and energized. Aim to drink eight glasses per day.
3. Get moving. Exercise is one of the best ways to reduce stress and boost mood. Research suggests that exercise improves brain function and reduces depression and anxiety.
4. Don’t skip meals. When you’re stressed, eating small frequent meals may actually increase appetite, making you feel hungrier later. Instead, try to eat three smaller meals each day, spaced evenly apart. This way, you’ll avoid overeating and still get enough calories.
5. Limit alcohol consumption. Alcohol affects the body differently depending on how much you consume, whether you use it regularly, and what type of alcoholic beverage you choose. For example, red wine contains resveratrol, a compound that may help protect against heart disease. But too much alcohol can cause dehydration, headaches, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and even liver damage.
6. Keep a food diary. Keeping track of everything you eat can give you insight into your dietary habits and help identify areas where you might want to make improvements. You can do this online with apps like MyFitnessPal, LoseIt!, Calorie Counter and Diet Diary.
