“It’s wonderful to be involved in the pursuit of peak performance. It’s absurd to be paralyzed by fear of not being perfect.”
                                       – Jonathan Berent, L.C.S.W.

Listen to individuals who have
resolved performance anxiety

Work Makes me Nervous (Wiley and Sons)
Self-Help Book for Performance Anxiety at Work

Performance is a multi-dimensional dynamic that applies to many aspects and venues of life: academics, career, money making, public speaking, relationship building, sex, communication, sports, the performing arts and more.

“Performance” is multi-dimensional because it is composed of a “mind state” which includes thinking, attitude, and emotion, as well as physiology and behavior.

The fact that performance worries are at the basis of social anxiety – the anxiety disorder of the millennium – characterizes our highly competitive and technological society. The fact that competition and technology is increasing every day is a fact of life, which many individuals of all ages find distressing and unfair.

Common performance problems include fear of public speaking, fear of communicating, fear of groups, fear of intimacy, fear of being noticeably nervous as in blushing and sweating, fear of losing control, fear of panicking in public, fear of making mistakes in general and in specific venues like the athletic venues, school, or on stage, and eating disorders. When this fear/anxiety reaches the point where avoidance occurs, a phobia is present!

Logic teaches that experience will teach and improve skills and self-confidence. Often logic is overwhelmed by emotions of embarrassment, shame, and humiliation which create avoidance and handicap the development of skills acquisition. This avoidance perpetuates anxiety and inhibits self-esteem. It can create depression, career dysfunction, family chaos, and many stress related symptoms, including deep blushing and severe sweating.

Many individuals become so obsessed with the quest for perfection, or to be perceived as perfect, that they avoid situations where this is not possible, or “burn out” with worry and anxiety.

3 Crucial Concepts imperative for peak “performance”

1. Understand the “physiology of performance”. Learn to accept the flow of adrenaline (the physical nervousness) and it will be the source of productive energy.
2. Differentiate between performance and identity. There is a big difference.
3. Absorb the notion that “high performance” individuals embrace the opportunity to learn from mistakes!

There are many free self diagnostic options at www.social-anxiety.com