Are You Suffering from Performance Anxiety? 5 Common Ways It Shows Up in Daily Life
Performance anxiety impacts more people than you might think. At its most basic level, it’s fear about your ability to perform a specific task. You might experience it at work, in unexpected everyday situations, or even in your relationships.
It’s more common than most people realize. That’s why it’s so important to recognize how it shows up in daily life. You might be struggling with the effects of performance anxiety without fully realizing it.
When you do start to understand how it shows up in daily life, you’ll be able to get a hold of your symptoms, know your triggers, and even seek out the help you might need to get through it.
With that in mind, let’s look at five common ways performance anxiety shows up in daily life.
1. Fast Physical Changes
If you feel fine one minute and then anxious the next, it’s important to look at the situation you’re in and ask yourself why. Performance anxiety often comes with trembling hands, a racing heart, and nervous sweating. If you’re about to do something new or something you’re uncomfortable with, pay attention to these signs.
2. Sudden Illness
Another physical problem performance anxiety can cause is nausea. Or, simply an uneasy feeling in your stomach.
It’s easy to attribute those feelings to “nerves,” and, undoubtedly, that may be a part of it. But, most people can recognize the difference between feeling a bit nervous and actually feeling anxious over something.
3. Dissociation
Dissociation is often discussed when it comes to people dealing with trauma. It’s your mind’s way of going emotionally numb to protect itself.
The same thing can happen when you’re faced with a performance situation that you feel you can’t handle. Your mind might go “numb” in an effort to protect you. In actuality, though, it’s only causing you to avoid the situation. Unfortunately, dissociating might make things worse later on.
4. Memory Malfunction
Does your memory tend to slip when you’re faced with certain tasks? This could be another way your mind is trying to protect you from panic. This can manifest itself in different ways. Maybe you forget how to do something, or maybe it slips your mind that you’re even supposed to.
When your brain decides to block things out, it’s difficult to know exactly when or how it will happen. But, if you notice frequent memory slips, it could be that you’re dealing with performance anxiety.
5. An Inability to Perform
The most obvious sign of performance anxiety is the inability to get a task done. People deal with this in different ways. Often, it’s simply a matter of “freezing up” when presented with a specific task or project.
Unfortunately, the inability to perform can fuel a vicious cycle of anxiety. If you’re not able to do something, you’re bound to be more anxious the next time you’re faced with it.
That cycle can be difficult to get out of on your own. Even recognizing the common signs of performance anxiety listed here isn’t always easy when you’re the one facing them.
Learning more about performance anxiety and how it can impact you on a daily basis will make a significant difference in how easy it is for you to see your own struggles. Once you start to recognize what you’re dealing with, you can get the help you need to move past your fears.
If you’re struggling with performance anxiety, you don’t have to tackle it on your own. Please read more about anxiety treatment. Also, feel free to contact me for more information or to set up an appointment. Together, we’ll get to the root of your anxiety and work on ways to manage your symptoms every day.