When we are anxious, our body responds with tense muscles (Weinberg & Gould, 2015). Imagine training to perform something physical like a dance routine. During practice, you should be relaxed. There isn’t an audience and the only person watching is your instructor. On the day of the performance, you are nervous. There is an audience and your performance is being scored by judges. You recognize this as stressful and your body responds. You step on the dance floor a little tense. That tension will cause you to perform differently than you did in practice. Because your muscles are tense, you are not moving the same way as you practiced (Weinberg & Gould, 2015). This tension can reduce your performance and increase your risk of injury (Weinberg & Gould, 2015)!
Here are two great ways to test this. First, put your hand on the table and tense the muscles in your hand. Now, try tapping your first two fingers on the table as quickly as you can for 10 seconds. Notice how that felt. Next, try the same exercise but relax your muscles. You should notice that it is much easier to do this time. You can try this exercise while typing on your laptop or texting. The tighter your muscles, the more difficult it is to be accurate and quick.
Anxiety- the perceived difference between a task and the skills for a situation (Karageorghis & Terry, 2011). When we are anxious, our body responds with the same fight or flight response as if we actually encountered a danger (like a bear); with anxiety, the only threat is to our self-concept (Karageorghis & Terry, 2011).
Fear- the presence of a real danger (Balague, 2005).
So, the difference between anxiety and fear is like going on a hike in bear country. If you are anxious, then you are worried about encountering a bear during your hike. If you are fearful, you are actually encountering a bear. Our worry about the possibility of encountering a bear, can cause the same physical stress response. What determines how we respond physically is our perception of our own ability to control our environment and ourselves determines the stress response (Karageorghis & Terry, 2011). In the hiking example, a person who hikes often in bear country would likely feel more prepared to handle a bear encounter; a new hiker might be on high alert and worried about what might happen. So, this is the same situation (without the actual presence of danger), but different perceptions and different stress responses.
Ultimately, if a performer thinks they can control the anxiety and the environment and still reach their performance goal, it will be facilitative anxiety; if the performer believes that the anxiety will be in control rather than the performer, then this will be debilitativeanxiety(Weinberg & Gould, 2015). The perception of control is critical to this interpretation (Weinberg & Gould, 2015). You can see how this can be closely related to self-belief (Karageorghis & Terry, 2011).
How can it decrease performance?
Debilitative anxiety occurs when a performer perceives that they cannot control their stress response and the environment; performance would suffer (Karageorghis & Terry, 2011; Weinberg & Gould, 2015). Debilitative anxiety can result in (Balague, 2005):
Increased muscle tension- this causes inefficient movement. Basically, the body is busy being tense and worried rather than relaxing and performing.
Difficulty making decisions and focusing- the fight or flight response is activated, so survival is the priority rather than performance. Decisions are poor. Focus is limited. Thinking is not flexible.
Reduced enjoyment- it is difficult for a performer to enjoy this tense experience. Since performance will likely be impaired, they are unlikely to be successful and feel accomplished.
How can it improve performance?
Facilitative anxiety occurs when the performer interprets the symptoms of anxiety positively with the idea that this anxiety can be controlled; for example, some performers may rely on the pre-performance butterflies as an indication that they are ready to go perform (Weinberg & Gould, 2015). When anxiety is facilitative, it can inspire performers to put forth more effort and prepare more (Balague, 2005).
Strategies to Pivot
Strategy 1: Pay attention to psychological factors that influence performance anxiety (Karageorghis & Terry, 2011). Remember that all of these are dependent upon the performer’s perception.
- Event importance
- Audience effects (The presence of one person can change a performer’s perception.)
- Individual emphasis- How much attention is paid to the individual performer?
- Fear of injury
- Expectations of Success
Strategy 2: Learn to recognize symptoms of anxiety (Karageorghis & Terry, 2011).
- Physical Responses- Is your heart racing? Are palms sweaty?
- Mental Responses- Are you worrying? Are you focusing on failure?
- Behavioral Responses- Are you tapping your foot?
Strategy 3: Practice controlling what you can (Karageorghis & Terry, 2011; Balague, 2005)
- Relaxing muscles
- Controlling breathing
- Changing perspective
Training Questions
Using your mental performance log, answer these questions. Remember that the more thought and effort you put into them, the more you'll get from the experience.
1. Think about a time when you were fearful of something. Compare that to a time when you were anxious about something. What was happening physically in both situations? Mentally? 2. Describe a time when anxiety impacted your performance. 3. Describe a time when anxiety helped your performance. 4. Now that you know some ways to modify anxiety, what could you have done to prevent anxiety from interfering with your performance?