Performance Anxiety Counseling – Counselors and Therapists in Round Rock, TX
Performance anxiety can mean different things to different people. For some people “performance anxiety” means sexual performance (not what we are talking about here, but give us a call and we can discuss that one), for others it is about day to day “performances.” Everything from the classic fear of giving a presentation in front of an audience, to saying your order correctly to the barista. Admit it, at least once you have repeated your drink order over and over while in line before saying it outloud (most people have). Performance anxiety could include emails you have to send, social media posts, notes or other paperwork, school projects. Almost anything that you have to do for work/school or outside, someone else might see. For a lot of people, the larger the audience, the worse the anxiety. For others, it’s the opposite. The less people that see it, the more personal the observer’s opinion is.
It makes sense. Our brains are old (design wise), and were made for simpler times. It is better to be afraid of a shadow in the water and live, than to find out it was a shark and get eaten. So we err on the side of caution, and mostly this is ok. The problem is that the same part of the brain that searches for sharks and makes us jump in the movie theater, is also checking the office for dangers while you talk about quarterly numbers. That part of the brain does not care about numbers, and is bored by your presentation (I’m sure it’s great anyway). So instead of paying attention to the content of your presentation, it keeps itself occupied thinking about how exposed you are in front of a group, how any mistake betrays a weakness. So for some people it looks through your eyes, sees the people watching, and thinks “what if someone out there attacked, we are exposed right now. Heart, get me extra blood pumping just in case” Then your lungs say “I see Heart, something is going on out there, bring me oxygen!” Next thing you know, the brain is saying “look at the body, Heart and Lungs are expecting action, I knew it! It’s game time, let’s do this!” Meanwhile, you are on slide 4 and just trying not to mess it up in front of your boss or teacher.
This can happen to anyone, and is likely to happen to almost everyone at some point in their life. If it happens to you often, in any setting or situation, give Thriveworks Round Rock a call at (512) 212-7045
It does not matter if the performance anxiety is at work, school, home, a restaurant, coffee shop, whatever. It does not matter if you know why it happens or not, if it has just started or has gone on all your life. Let us try and help. We have counselors and therapists with experience that look forward to working with you on it, and we won’t judge you for it. Nobody should have to live with anxiety about their day to day life.
