Performance Anxiety and Social Anxiety Can Be Related

Most professionals, athletes, musicians, and other public speakers are prone to performance anxiety. Performance anxiety will prevent you from performing on a regular basis and will impact your professional career in general. Worst of all, performance anxiety may also negatively affect your confidence and self-esteem. There is help for those who suffer from performance anxiety but first you must know how performance anxiety affects you.

Tremor disorder and Essential Tremor are both part of the psychiatric family of disorders. Essential Tremor is when you experience involuntary movements of your hands and legs. On the other hand, tremor can also be seen as a type of stuttering. This may be difficult to treat since some people say that tremor is a relative condition and therefore, essential tremor is treated separately from tremor by some practitioners.

Performance Anxiety is characterized by a set of fears, which cause the sufferer to have a series of symptoms. For example, during performances or shows where the audience is watching, some musicians have the fear of failure. The performance anxiety causes them to be unable to perform well. They might be overly sensitive to criticism and their performance might not be up to par.

Some musicians who suffer from performance anxiety have to engage in therapy. Therapists can use various techniques such as desensitization or exposure, cognitive restructuring, and biofeedback to help the patient overcome negative thoughts and worries. When a person with performance anxiety undergoes therapy, he/she will learn ways of managing and counteracting the negative thoughts that interfere with his/her performance.

The process of treating performance anxiety is quite challenging. First, the therapists have to identify the psychological factors that are triggering it. The physical symptoms caused by the anxiety are also examined. Usually, these physical symptoms include trembling, shaking, sweating, cramping, nausea, dizziness, lightheadedness, tightness in the throat, difficulty in swallowing, and increased heart rate. Sometimes, nervousness, fear, and worry can also be felt but are not always present in all performance situations.

When performance anxiety is caused by negative thoughts, the therapist has to confront those beliefs and try to remove them. This usually requires confronting the negative thoughts. For example, if the performer is afraid of failing in a performance, then the therapist might suggest doing the whole show from the stage. If negative thoughts are preventing the performer from enjoying the show, then the therapist might suggest creating alternate thoughts or visualizations that make it seem like the performance is going well. Changing the way you think about a situation can often overcome negative thoughts and fears.

Another challenge faced by therapists treating performance anxiety is assessing the physical symptoms and doing assessments. To do this, the therapist has to get information from the trustees about their symptoms and physical responses. There are also times when physical symptoms can be attributed to a mental problem. This is why it is important to have a proper diagnosis done by a professional before treating any anxiety disorder. The other major challenge faced is the process of changing the thought process associated with the negative thoughts.


Since the mpa and SME are both related to social anxiety, the treatment for both the disorders is often similar. Treating the anxiety is necessary in order to prevent the person from experiencing the negative consequences of performance anxiety or stage fright. Likewise, the use of drugs to treat these conditions may slow down the progress of recovery, because the mind can still be distracted by the side effects of the medication. If you suffer from either of these conditions, you should consider seeking the help of a qualified therapist who specializes in treating these conditions.