Online therapy for performance anxiety
What is performance anxiety?
Performance anxiety refers to the feelings of fear, nervousness, and dread surrounding the completion of tasks that rely on your individual performance. This is often due to a fear of failure or being negatively perceived by others.
There are different types of performance anxieties, including:
- Public speaking
- Artistic performance
- Sports performance
- Examination performance
- Sexual performance
Performance anxiety is a common mental health concern, but although it is not a diagnosable condition.
Types of performance anxiety
Although performance anxiety is not a diagnosable condition, it is understood to be a manifestation of social anxiety disorder and can impact all aspects of your life, from personal relationships and hobbies to education and work.
There are different types of performance anxiety, which can be split into different categories:
Stage fright and public speaking anxiety
Many people have a fear of public speaking, and this can cause anxiety for people who have to perform in public, such as actors, dancers, musicians, and speakers. This is often referred to as ‘stage fright’ or stage performance anxiety.
You might also experience this type of public speaking anxiety in the workplace or at school. Having to perform a speech or presentation can cause anxiety and stress.
Sports performance anxiety
Athletes might experience sports performance anxiety about upcoming matches or competitions. They may experience extreme pressure to perform well and win, resulting in feelings of anxiety.
Sexual performance anxiety
Some people experience anxiety surrounding sex and sexual performance. This can stem from worries about being unable to satisfy a partner, having low self-esteem, or going through relationship issues.
Testing and examination anxiety
Worries around tests, examinations, and interviews can be considered a type of performance anxiety as they can evoke feelings of failure or shame if they don’t go as well as hoped. Individuals might also feel scrutinised by others if they have to share results they are unhappy with.
You are likely to deal with this type of performance anxiety at work or in educational settings.
Symptoms of performance anxiety
There are a range of symptoms an individual with performance anxiety might experience when engaging in a performance-based task, like public speaking or having to give a presentation at work. Symptoms can be both physical and emotional.
Many symptoms are similar to those of Generalised Anxiety Disorder, including:
- Increased heart rate
- Difficulty breathing
- Nausea
- Dry mouth and tight throat
- Sweating
- Trembling hands and voice
- Cold hands and/or feet
- Feeling dizzy or lightheaded
- Persistent thoughts of failure
- Freezing up
- Feeling irritable and on edge
- Becoming withdrawn
Therapy for performance anxiety
You should consider treatment for your performance anxiety if you experience the following:
You avoid speaking up in situations where it would benefit you to do so or engage in activities that may be rewarding (e.g., singing, acting and dancing) because of the fear of failure.
You experience increasing anxiety about delivering presentations, speeches and other public speaking tasks or engaging in sexual activities.
You are preoccupied or overly concerned with what others think about you when engaging in performance-based activities.
You notice that you are feeling down or judging yourself negatively in many performance-based situations.
Performance anxiety support with Onebright
Onebright has over 30 years of experience in providing expert online therapy for organisations and individuals. We support over 60,000 people a year with a range of mental health conditions.
As a trusted provider of evidence-based therapies, we can help you learn how to cope with performance anxiety. This includes learning how to overcome the fear of public speaking and how to deal with performance anxiety at work.
We offer Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for performance anxiety, as there is evidence to suggest it can be of support in terms of reducing symptoms and improving both daily functioning and quality of life.
Learn more about therapy for adultsAs a trusted provider of evidence-based therapies, we can help you learn how to cope with performance anxiety. This includes learning how to overcome the fear of public speaking and how to deal with performance anxiety at work.
We offer Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for performance anxiety, as there is evidence to suggest it can be of support in terms of reducing symptoms and improving both daily functioning and quality of life.
Benefits of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for performance anxiety
CBT is an evidence based, goal-oriented and collaborative psychological therapy approach that focuses on understanding the past and present connections between thoughts, feelings, and behaviours (termed the ‘formulation’). It offers powerful tools, strategies, and techniques to help you identify, challenge and reframe unhelpful thought patterns and associated feelings and behaviours. CBT can help significantly improve your mental health and quality of life.
Cognitive behavioural therapy for public speaking and performance anxiety can help you uncover the root cause of your anxiety and teach you strategies to help you manage it.
Book online CBTCognitive behavioural therapy for public speaking and performance anxiety can help you uncover the root cause of your anxiety and teach you strategies to help you manage it.
If you struggle with performance anxiety and would like support, we can help. Contact us online or call our team on 020 8175 4908 to book online therapy today.
Book therapy for performance anxiety
Our dedicated client liaison team are available Monday to Friday between 9am-5pm (excluding bank holidays).
You must be aged 18 years or above to access our therapy services.
You must be aged 18 years or above to access our therapy services.
Performance anxiety FAQs
There are different ways of managing your performance anxiety, including self-help techniques and professional therapy.
Tips for overcoming performance and public speaking anxiety that you can implement into your everyday life include:
- Practising before the performance and making sure you feel prepared
- Eating well and limiting caffeine and sugar intake on the day of the performance
- Shifting your focus from the negatives to the positives
- Practising breathing exercises and meditation
- Walking, stretching, shaking out your muscles, and moving your body before your performance
Seeking professional help, such as cognitive behavioural therapy, can also help you overcome performance anxiety by changing the way you approach public performances, presentations, and speeches, and teaching you coping mechanisms to help you manage the condition.
Tips for overcoming performance and public speaking anxiety that you can implement into your everyday life include:
- Practising before the performance and making sure you feel prepared
- Eating well and limiting caffeine and sugar intake on the day of the performance
- Shifting your focus from the negatives to the positives
- Practising breathing exercises and meditation
- Walking, stretching, shaking out your muscles, and moving your body before your performance
Seeking professional help, such as cognitive behavioural therapy, can also help you overcome performance anxiety by changing the way you approach public performances, presentations, and speeches, and teaching you coping mechanisms to help you manage the condition.
The fear of public speaking is common, and many people experience presentation anxiety. If you feel symptoms of anxiety when giving presentations, there are different strategies you can try to calm yourself down:
- Focus on friendly faces: If you have friends or family in the audience, turn your attention to them rather than the strangers in the room. If you don’t know anyone in the audience, choose people who look engaged and friendly. Smiling at them and making eye contact can help you think of them as friends and calm you down.
- Take it slowly: Try to concentrate on speaking slowly and clearly. If you lose your place or start to feel worried, take a moment to stop, gather your thoughts, and take a deep breath.
- Make yourself presentable: Dressing up and making yourself look good can make you feel more confident, helping ease your nerves about having to perform in front of people.
If you still struggle, seeking professional therapy can also teach you strategies to help you cope. Medical professionals might also be able to prescribe you medication to help ease your anxieties.
- Focus on friendly faces: If you have friends or family in the audience, turn your attention to them rather than the strangers in the room. If you don’t know anyone in the audience, choose people who look engaged and friendly. Smiling at them and making eye contact can help you think of them as friends and calm you down.
- Take it slowly: Try to concentrate on speaking slowly and clearly. If you lose your place or start to feel worried, take a moment to stop, gather your thoughts, and take a deep breath.
- Make yourself presentable: Dressing up and making yourself look good can make you feel more confident, helping ease your nerves about having to perform in front of people.
If you still struggle, seeking professional therapy can also teach you strategies to help you cope. Medical professionals might also be able to prescribe you medication to help ease your anxieties.
As performance anxiety is linked to social anxiety, having to speak in public can make you worry about making mistakes and being negatively perceived by the audience. This can trigger your body’s fight-or-flight response, causing feelings of anxiety and stress.