Dr. Xenia Pestova Bennett at the piano, photo by Paul Chambers

Performance anxiety is a universal experience, a survival mechanism that is hard-wired. Many of us react with shaky hands, lack of focus, shallow and fast breathing, rapid heart rate, and even feeling queasy. This is all perfectly natural – our protective sympathetic nervous system comes online to save us from danger, real or imaginary!  

However, we can make matters worse by exaggerating this response with negative thoughts, spinning into uncontrollable worry-loops instead of activating the relaxation response to return to equilibrium.

Luckily, simple and accessible interventions can help before, during and after performing to support our performing journey and find more joy and confidence in sharing music with others. Here are some tips that you might find helpful:

• 1. Before performing: does your mind tend to spiral into worry? Do you compare yourself to others? Simple movement-based sequences and stretches, particularly synchronised with breathing, are extremely helpful for recalibrating the nervous system and calming the mind. There is also the added benefit of warming up and relaxing the body while distracting ourselves from physiological symptoms of anxiety.

• 2. During performance: if you find yourself “spacing out” or even having memory slips / losing your place in the music, consider spending a few minutes daily on training your concentration and mindfulness to prepare (read on if you’d like to join a session on some of my favourite ways to do this!).

• 3. After performing: instead of berating yourself over mistakes or missed entries, try focussing on the positive. What went well? Celebrate your achievements, no matter how small they might seem to the inner critic – the very fact that you showed up and rose to the challenge of performing is already a great start! Positive reinforcement helps rewire old habitual neural networks in our brains, making it easier to try again.

I will be sharing some proven approaches for managing performance anxiety and working with negative thoughts in a free online session on Thursday October 30th at 6pm UK/Irish time.

This is an introduction to my Befriending Performance Anxiety programme, which starts in November. Don’t worry if you can’t join in real time – everyone who registers will also receive a video recording after the meeting.

Visit my website for more details and registration: https://xeniapestovabennett.com/wellbeing/perform/