Performance anxiety can also manifest as anxiety or panic attacks in certain circumstances. Somatic disorders are also often associated, such as migraines, digestive disorders, muscle tension, increased blood pressure, insomnia, etc.
What are the causes of this disorder?
Several factors can explain and promote this performance anxiety. First of all, some of us suffer from low self-esteem. A tendency toward anxiety can also come into play. Perfectionism also enters the equation. It is the “tendency to place excessively high demands on performance which is accompanied by overly critical self-evaluation,” specifies the University of Sherbrooke. However, “perfection does not exist”, recalls Sophie Maretto, psychologist in Paris.
And this search for perfection is “accentuated by the society of ego in which we evolve and which is favored by the likes and hearts of social networks, which are interpreted as evaluating our value as individuals”, she continues . Constant comparison promotes performance anxiety in all areas.
How to combat performance anxiety?
“It is important to congratulate yourself, to reassure yourself, to be gentle with yourself,” advises Sophie Maretto. To accept that we cannot achieve perfection, we must “accept our fragilities, make peace with our history and forgive ourselves,” she continues. It is indeed a question of “being lenient with ourselves, because we are not robots”, she adds again.
But of course, when faced with a situation of high anxiety, it can be useful to seek help from a psychologist.
Shingles: a disease in need of knowledge
