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Writer's pictureSarah Greene- Falk

PERFORMANCE ANXIETY VS. ANXIETY DISORDER

Updated: May 30, 2024

PERFORMANCE ANXIETY VS. ANXIETY DISORDER

In October 2021, I wrote an article called How to Overcome Performance Anxiety and gave 5 detailed skills to help. Recently, the topic has come up asking what is the difference between performance anxiety and an anxiety disorder. This leads to the question, “When do we seek professional help? Do we treat it any differently?


The Yerkes-Dodson Law on arousal explains that we need a certain amount of stress or anxiety to perform well. If the stress or anxiety is too high or too low, it will hinder our performance.  Therefore, we try to be "in the zone" by bringing ourselves up or down. Anything labeled a "disorder" is interfering with one's daily life and possibly even causing the individual to avoid situations that might exacerbate symptoms.


THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN ANXIETY DISORDER AND PERFORMANCE ANXIETY IS WITH THE INTENSITY AND FREQUENCY OF THE ANXIETY. 

People can manage an anxiety disorder that causes performance anxiety AND performance anxiety itself in the same ways. However, with more severe symptoms, the work is more frequent and can be more intense, including consulting with a psychiatrist for medication. Some may only experience anxiety when they are put in performance situations. Those with an anxiety disorder will feel anxiety more often and in different situations, even if they can better manage it in some situations over others. If someone finds the anxiety is more in control than they are, that's when I would recommend seeking professional help; When anxiety is interfering with day-to-day life and it’s hard to control. If you are seeking counseling, use www.psychologytoday.com and filter for sports psychology or email me sarah@psych-edge.com


DO YOU PERFORM BETTER IN PRACTICE THAN IN COMPETITION?

DO YOU SEE YOUR PERFORMANCE NOT IMPROVING DESPITE THE HARD WORK YOU’RE PUTTING IN?

If you answered yes to one or both of these questions, this can be performance anxiety or an anxiety disorder.  Again, it depends on the intensity and frequency of symptoms. Typically, an anxiety disorder can also show itself by someone letting their behaviors be dictated by the anxiety such as choosing not to perform or avoiding performances. Injuries are more likely when there's more performance anxiety because we hesitate. Hence, Simone Biles pulling out of the Olympics. She did what was right for herself and that is important!


One can seek sports & performance psychology coaching (www.psych-edge.com) to have someone to teach and guide them through the skills to self-manage anxiety, build confidence, resilience, and obtain flow state/consistent peak performance regularly. You can also purchase the Peak Performance Online Training Webinar that teaches all the skills in detail with pdf’s like a workshop. It’s like having a sports psychologist in your pocket! Be sure to watch the Highlights video (25 min) to get a taste of the Peak Performance Online Training Webinar.


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