How to Deal with Performance Anxiety

Performance anxiety is something that affects people in all walks of life. Some estimates suggest that as many as 75 percent of all people have some fear of being in crowds or of being watched at their jobs. Performance anxiety cuts across profession, education level, and competence. Athletes and musicians are among the people most likely to discuss and have resources available for their performance anxiety because most people understand that the public nature of these jobs will come with some fears.

Medical professionals, too, have performance anxiety, though it is less recognized. Because people who work in healthcare make decisions affecting people's lives, the workers often face some inner fear about those decisions. Even positions such as medical billing can cause some performance anxiety because of the importance of the decisions.

Symptoms

Inability To Make Decisions - Some people will freeze up when they are faced with decisions they cannot make. Medical training is in part designed to help student learn to deal with this potential problem as a nurse who panics when she sees a gunshot wound is dangerous.
Dizziness - Many people find that they become short of breath when faced with performance anxiety. This shortness of breath leads to one breathing more quickly and then getting light-headed. Nursing schools try to help their trainees learn to avoid this symptom by learning what to do so thoroughly that the procedures become rote.
Irritability - Some people become frustrated when they cannot perform their jobs well. This frustration may come out as irritability to others. Someone who is not doing well at work may snap at others or seem angry as a defense mechanism.

Effects

Poor Decision-Making - The biggest problem with performance anxiety is that sometimes one will make a bad decision because of the fears associated with the phobia. Nursing training tries to guard against this poor decision-making by teaching nurses about the best choices for specific circumstances.
Indecision - An ancillary problem for people with performance anxiety is a lack of decision-making when faced with a crisis. In a musician, this effect comes out as someone who does not play a solo because he became too scared. For a medical worker, this indecision means doing nothing for a patient because of panic. In nursing school, the beginning clinical classes often focus on helping nursing trainees learn to make small decisions and move to emergency medicine to help alleviate this problem.
Physical Ailments - Some people's performance anxiety can become severe enough that the phobia manifests itself as a physical illness. This illness can be headaches, vomiting, or other physical symptoms but is a clue that the performance anxiety is becoming too much to handle.

Treatment

Repetitive Learning - For people whose performance anxiety is job-related, learning to make the decision or perform the action repeatedly is the best way to head off potential problem. Athletes run drills scores of times to help make their performance in a game seem like instinct. The same concept applies in nursing schools and other medical training facilities, such as biomedical technician schools and ultrasound diagnostics schools. The students learn to perform the same task so many times that doing so is second-nature.
Meditation - Deep breathing often helps reduce immediate stress. Medical coding may seem simple, but doctors and hospitals can receive official reprimands, or even contract cancellations, if they reach a certain number of incorrect billings. Someone in medical coding who is facing performance anxiety should not push through the process but should take a few deep breaths. A couple of minutes of quiet breathing and thinking will help one think more clearly.
Talking It Out - Dealing with performance anxiety often means not taking on a problem alone. Sometimes talking to a co-worker can help. In dental insurance billing, for example, one may ask a co-worker to look over a patient file and help make a decision. By talking through the file, one can overcome the performance anxiety related to the decision. Sometimes simply sharing frustrations about the job can be beneficial to someone trying to overcome performance anxiety.

Overcoming performance anxiety is not an immediate process. Most people who face concerns about their job performance need time to know that they are doing a good job. Performance anxiety also can be a clue that one needs more preparation for a job, so don't ignore the feelings you have. The key is developing a strategy that works. Deep breathing will be helpful for some but not others. Knowing which techniques work for you will help you train yourself to overcome your phobia.

Links:

* Symptoms of Social Anxiety Disorder

* Performance Anxiety Symptom Checklist

* Causes of and Coping with Stage Fright

* Breathing Techniques for Overcoming Performance Anxiety

* Panic Attacks Versus Social Phobia

* Learning How to Overcome Social Anxiety

* Coping Solutions for Stress-Induced Job Anxiety

* How to Cope With Performance Anxiety

* Effects of Performance Anxiety

* Advice on the Effects of Performance Anxiety

* Anxiety Disorders Association of America