Performance Anxiety
What is performance anxiety?
What are some symptoms of performance anxiety?
- Feeling nervous before speaking or performing
- Worrying about how others will perceive you
- Over-rehearsing conversations or presentations
- Avoiding situations where you may be evaluated
- Experiencing racing thoughts, sweating, shaking, or a racing heart
- Replaying interactions afterward and focusing on what went wrong
Where does performance anxiety come from?
Wanting to be accepted and viewed positively by others is a natural part of being human, and for some people, this concern can become amplified by certain beliefs or expectations.
You may find yourself thinking:
- “I can’t make a mistake.”
- “Everyone will notice that I’m nervous.”
- “If I say something wrong, people will think I’m incompetent.”
- “If someone disapproves of me, I’ve done something wrong.”
The cycle of performance anxiety
When we feel anxious, it is natural to want to protect ourselves. You might avoid eye contact, carefully plan every word, suppress signs of nervousness, or avoid certain situations altogether.
While these behaviours may provide temporary relief, they can reinforce the belief that the situation is threatening.
This can create a cycle:
Fear of judgment → anxiety → avoidance OR protective behaviours → temporary relief → more anxiety next time
How can we treat performance anxiety?
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is an evidence-based approach that can help you understand and change the patterns that contribute to performance anxiety. In therapy, you and your therapist can explore what happens before, during, and after situations that trigger your anxiety.
CBT treatment can help you:
- Recognize thoughts and assumptions that contribute to anxiety
- Reduce excessive self-monitoring and self-consciousness
- Identify behaviours that unintentionally maintain anxiety
- Test anxious predictions against what actually happens
- Build confidence through new experiences and evidence
You don’t have to let anxiety hold you back. With the right support from therapists at the Firestone CBT Clinic, you can learn to respond differently to anxious thoughts, approach challenging situations with greater confidence, and build new evidence that you’re capable of handling them.