Performance anxiety is a type of anxiety which you experience when you need to perform. Performance anxiety can occur in different areas in life. For example: you might experience it at work, school, or even at home. Some people, for example, have the feeling that they are responsible for certain things within their family life. But generally people experience performance anxiety when they have to perform well at school or at work.

Performance anxiety: what does it occur?

It mainly occurs when you need to perform in some way. However, it can also start to occur before you have to perform after some time. If you experience performance anxiety, you will start feeling it only in moments in which you have to perform. For example, you might experience the symptoms of performance anxiety when you are taking an exam. However, after a while the anxiety will extend itself. For example, you will start to experience fear of fear. When studying you then also suddenly experience performance anxiety symptoms because you are anxious about that which you know is going to happen. Your brain starts to anticipate the anxious situations. That is why it can be so that, after some time, this performance anxiety starts to reign over your life, because the anxiety becomes more and more general and you are constantly afraid of failing.

Performance anxiety: what are the symptoms of performance anxiety?

To describe the symptoms of performance anxiety, we look at 2 periods of time, namely the period in which we experience anxiety without experiencing an attack, and the times where we experience an anxiety attack. the symptoms of an anxious period are the following:

  • Worrying behavior
  • Constant worry
  • Restlessness
  • Agitation
  • Being irritable
  • Fatigue
  • Muscular tension

You will overwork your brain and this will lead to you feeling tired and your body tensing up. This is thus definitely not a comfortable state to be in. The symptoms of an anxiety attack however differ a little from the symptoms which you experience during an anxious period. You will notice that the feelings of anxiety stack up or trigger even worse symptoms:

  • A feeling of breathlessness
  • Anxiety and panic
  • Heart palpitations
  • A feeling of pressure on your chest
  • Sweating
  • Dizziness
  • A try mouth
  • Tingling feelings in hands and feet

This is the result of all the anxiety which you have gathered and which has been present for some time.

Performance anxiety: letting go of this anxiety?

It is not easy to just let go of this anxiety from one moment to the next. Many people need professional help for this. The earlier you treat your anxiety, the quicker you treat the generalization of anxiety. It is therefore useful to ask for help in order to treat your performance anxiety. If this step feels too big for you or you only experience a little anxiety, you can also get help through our online self-help program. This program was put together by doctors and psychologists, in order to give everyone a chance to get psychological help. Is the step too big toward a healthcare provider? Then you can follow this program on a daily basis from home, in order to treat your anxiety and the generalization of anxiety. You will notice that you feel happier in a short time because you are treating your performance anxiety symptoms!

Performance anxiety: test your performance anxiety?

To know to what extent you suffer from performance anxiety symptoms, you can take the free online anxiety test here at any time. This test can help you to further understand your symptoms and to find suitable treatment.