Playing Free
"Please, Lord, send someone else"
Performance Anxiety
Part One
Performance Anxiety
Part One
Are you familiar with the term performance anxiety? Maybe you know of it because you, a fellow teammate or friend have experienced it. Or maybe you know of it because of news or social media attention. With endless information at our fingertips let us explore a true picture of performance anxiety using a biblical worldview. God’s word gives wisdom and understanding of the “why” behind it and what can be done to overcome it.
Let us start by looking at anxiety in general and the misinformation that is out there.
Having anxiety is a problem. - The American Psychological Association defines anxiety as an emotion characterized by apprehension and somatic symptoms of tension in which an individual anticipates impending danger, catastrophe, or misfortune. As an emotion it can manifest physically such as nausea or heart racing. However, just experiencing anxiety or anxiousness does not mean it is a problem or that you are not supposed to. Anxiety is an emotion. As humans we are created with a wide range of emotions. Everyone experiences anxiety at one time or another and/or at various levels.
All anxiety is bad. – Experiencing the wide range of emotions, we are created with can have a purpose. In healthy doses, anxiety can alert us to a danger or problem. If a true danger is present, it can initiate our “fight or flight” response. On the other hand, signs that anxiety is unhealthy is when it alerts us to threats/dangers that are not really threats/dangers, intense physical symptoms and/or the frequency of it is debilitating interfering with daily life tasks.
A diagnosis of an anxiety related disorder means I will suffer from this for the rest of my life. – This is just not true. There is a lot to the mental health assessment and treatment of anxiety related disorders and for the purpose of what I am speaking to today I will not go in dept to that. However, there are treatments that are successful in treating and overcoming anxiety related disorders. Also know not every experience or incident of anxiety is diagnosed as a disorder but skills and strategies may still be needed to help overcome it.
Now let us look specifically at performance anxiety. The American Psychological Association’s definition of performance anxiety states it is an apprehension and fear of the consequences of being unable to perform a task or of performing it at a level that will raise expectations of even better task achievement. Performance anxiety is not a new issue. Throughout history we see incidents of individuals suffering from performance anxiety although it may not have been noted by that name. For example, in my younger years the common term I heard was “stage fright.” This term did not just apply to actors, but anyone who found themselves struggling to perform a task in front of a group (large or small).
One of the biggest pressure filled situations where we are expected to perform in front of a large group of enthusiastic, at times hostile, people is in the sports arena. For some athletes that environment is what pushes or motivates them. For some that might be why they pursue that sport. The thrill and energy of it all. For others it could be what holds them captive to self-defeating beliefs, unbearable physical symptoms, fear and a desire to walk away from their sport.
Why does this happen? Let us take what was discussed about anxiety in general and incorporate it with the performance piece. If anxiety has the purpose of alerting me to a possible danger or threat and I am experiencing increasing anxiety when it comes to performing in my sport (whether it’s in practice, during a game or even coming back from an injury) what could it be alerting me to? What is the danger or threat? Although, the details of what is experienced may differ such as how the physical symptoms present or the current circumstances faced, the underlying common danger or threat is the unhealthy amount of weight or significance placed on either ourselves, that individual performance or the sport altogether.
As humans we all have the ability of interpretation. Example, we can look at a picture of a dog. Most of us do not just tell ourselves “That is a dog”. What we do is we add an interpretation to that such as “Aww that is a cute dog” or “That dog looks mean” or “Forget the dog show me a cat”. That interpretation tells us what that person, thing, situation, circumstance, etc. means to us. Depending on that meaning, it will have a certain amount of weight, value or significance. This can be very individually based because as individuals we have different personalities, experiences, beliefs and so on.
We may be able to clearly identify and communicate the symptoms we are experiencing relating to our anxiety such as dizziness, nausea, hands trembling, mind racing or shortness of breath. However, trying to figure out or process through what is the unhealthy weight or significance that we are crumbling under is where we may need help. Our interpretations, meanings and beliefs can be so engrained that it is hard to understand them as a viewing lens that can be changed.
I want to share mental health help that comes from God’s word. Maybe you have never thought about your mental health through the lens of your faith, but I will challenge you to do so. Mental health and our faith are often viewed separate or independent of each other, but that is just not true. Having a personal relationship with Jesus will help you view yourself, other people and the world through a biblical worldview which will include your mental health. The bible is full of relatable accounts of individuals suffering through the same things we do today and seeing how God worked through them and at times healed them can guide us today. We are going to take a dive into Exodus and learn about Moses’s experience with what sounds a lot like what we may describe as performance anxiety.
Let us start by looking at anxiety in general and the misinformation that is out there.
Having anxiety is a problem. - The American Psychological Association defines anxiety as an emotion characterized by apprehension and somatic symptoms of tension in which an individual anticipates impending danger, catastrophe, or misfortune. As an emotion it can manifest physically such as nausea or heart racing. However, just experiencing anxiety or anxiousness does not mean it is a problem or that you are not supposed to. Anxiety is an emotion. As humans we are created with a wide range of emotions. Everyone experiences anxiety at one time or another and/or at various levels.
All anxiety is bad. – Experiencing the wide range of emotions, we are created with can have a purpose. In healthy doses, anxiety can alert us to a danger or problem. If a true danger is present, it can initiate our “fight or flight” response. On the other hand, signs that anxiety is unhealthy is when it alerts us to threats/dangers that are not really threats/dangers, intense physical symptoms and/or the frequency of it is debilitating interfering with daily life tasks.
A diagnosis of an anxiety related disorder means I will suffer from this for the rest of my life. – This is just not true. There is a lot to the mental health assessment and treatment of anxiety related disorders and for the purpose of what I am speaking to today I will not go in dept to that. However, there are treatments that are successful in treating and overcoming anxiety related disorders. Also know not every experience or incident of anxiety is diagnosed as a disorder but skills and strategies may still be needed to help overcome it.
Now let us look specifically at performance anxiety. The American Psychological Association’s definition of performance anxiety states it is an apprehension and fear of the consequences of being unable to perform a task or of performing it at a level that will raise expectations of even better task achievement. Performance anxiety is not a new issue. Throughout history we see incidents of individuals suffering from performance anxiety although it may not have been noted by that name. For example, in my younger years the common term I heard was “stage fright.” This term did not just apply to actors, but anyone who found themselves struggling to perform a task in front of a group (large or small).
One of the biggest pressure filled situations where we are expected to perform in front of a large group of enthusiastic, at times hostile, people is in the sports arena. For some athletes that environment is what pushes or motivates them. For some that might be why they pursue that sport. The thrill and energy of it all. For others it could be what holds them captive to self-defeating beliefs, unbearable physical symptoms, fear and a desire to walk away from their sport.
Why does this happen? Let us take what was discussed about anxiety in general and incorporate it with the performance piece. If anxiety has the purpose of alerting me to a possible danger or threat and I am experiencing increasing anxiety when it comes to performing in my sport (whether it’s in practice, during a game or even coming back from an injury) what could it be alerting me to? What is the danger or threat? Although, the details of what is experienced may differ such as how the physical symptoms present or the current circumstances faced, the underlying common danger or threat is the unhealthy amount of weight or significance placed on either ourselves, that individual performance or the sport altogether.
As humans we all have the ability of interpretation. Example, we can look at a picture of a dog. Most of us do not just tell ourselves “That is a dog”. What we do is we add an interpretation to that such as “Aww that is a cute dog” or “That dog looks mean” or “Forget the dog show me a cat”. That interpretation tells us what that person, thing, situation, circumstance, etc. means to us. Depending on that meaning, it will have a certain amount of weight, value or significance. This can be very individually based because as individuals we have different personalities, experiences, beliefs and so on.
We may be able to clearly identify and communicate the symptoms we are experiencing relating to our anxiety such as dizziness, nausea, hands trembling, mind racing or shortness of breath. However, trying to figure out or process through what is the unhealthy weight or significance that we are crumbling under is where we may need help. Our interpretations, meanings and beliefs can be so engrained that it is hard to understand them as a viewing lens that can be changed.
I want to share mental health help that comes from God’s word. Maybe you have never thought about your mental health through the lens of your faith, but I will challenge you to do so. Mental health and our faith are often viewed separate or independent of each other, but that is just not true. Having a personal relationship with Jesus will help you view yourself, other people and the world through a biblical worldview which will include your mental health. The bible is full of relatable accounts of individuals suffering through the same things we do today and seeing how God worked through them and at times healed them can guide us today. We are going to take a dive into Exodus and learn about Moses’s experience with what sounds a lot like what we may describe as performance anxiety.
