Combatting Performance Anxiety
As a former professional dancer, auditioning would require me to learn choreography and compete for limited spots against the best dancers in LA. The pressure of these situations would bring out the symptoms of performance anxiety in me. Self doubt, mind wandering, intrusive thoughts, panic, sweating, butterflies, sometimes body inertia. Although being a dancer required me to show up within a unique set of physical circumstances, the “fight or flight” response that many of us experience when called upon to articulate our point of view in a meeting, give a presentation to a group of people, or navigate a workplace conflict is all too well known.
A 2000 Gallup poll found that 40% of the American population cited Public Speaking Anxiety (PSA) or “Glossophobia” as their worst fear. However, the good news is that mindfulness can help. Mindfulness is defined by the American Psychological Association as the “awareness of one’s internal states and surroundings. Mindfulness can help people avoid destructive or automatic habits and responses by learning to observe their thoughts, emotions, and other present-moment experiences without judging or reacting to them”. Meditation and breathwork practices are a means towards mindfulness.
Mindfulness practices are intrinsically linked with the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS). The ANS regulates bodily functions and is divided into two branches. The Sympathetic Nervous System, or SNS, activates all stress responses to the body. It creates adrenaline and triggers that well known “fight or flight” response which was useful when we had to react to potentially life threatening stimuli, but can be less helpful in modern contexts, for example when it signals to our bodies that we are in mortal danger when we get called upon in a meeting. This is where the Parasympathetic Nervous System, or PNS, comes in. By voluntarily controlling our breathing during meditation and breathwork we also slow our heart rate down which activates our PNS. If we train it right, it can work to kick in and counterbalance the SNS. These unconscious actions can return the stress indicators to normal; lowering heart rate and blood pressure and relaxing the intestine (placing us into a so-called “Rest and Digest” state.)
Now we understand how mindfulness practices can calm us in the moment, so some deep diaphragm breathing immediately prior to giving a speech can settle us, but the benefits may have a longer tail. It appears that we can actually train parts of our brain with meditation to help us when we are stressed out later. Research has shown that regular meditation can decrease gray matter volume in the amygdala, the part of the brain responsible for fear and anxiety. It can also lead to increased activity in the insular cortex, the part of the brain that is activated when we experience empathy and compassion. All of this reduces stress and improves emotional regulation.
With a mindfulness or breathing practice developed over time, maybe the thought of a difficult work conversation will make our minds go a little less blank, and that presentation that we rehearsed so hard for will not be derailed by a cracked voice and rushing heart.