How to Handle Performance Anxiety as an Athlete

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsAnxiety and Sport PerformanceSignsCausesThrive Under PressureCoping

Table of ContentsView All

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Table of Contents

Anxiety and Sport Performance

Signs

Causes

Thrive Under Pressure

Coping

Close

Performance anxiety symptoms are often present in athletes. While some people become “pumped up” during the competition, if you interpret the rush of adrenaline as anxiety andnegative thoughtstake over, this can interfere with your ability to perform.

Before you learn how to manage the symptoms of anxiety during competitions, it is critical to understand the relationship between anxiety and athletic performance.

How Anxiety Affects Sport Performance

A certain level of physical arousal is helpful and prepares us for competition. However, when the physicalsymptomsof anxiety are too high, they can interfere with your ability to compete.

A certain amount of worry about how you perform can be helpful in competition.At the same time,negative thought patternsand expectations of failure can create a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Anxiety may be affecting your performance if there is a large difference between how you fare during practice and how you do during competitions.

How to Handle Performance Anxiety as an Athlete

Signs of Sport Performance Anxiety

While everyone’s individual experience differs, some common signs of anxiety in sport performance include:

In some instances, people can experience panic attacks due to performance anxiety. During a panic attack, a person may experience intense, overwhelming fear, nausea, chest pain, pounding heart, difficulty breathing, and dizziness.

Causes of Sport Performance Anxiety

Sport psychologyis adivision of psychologyaimed at better preparing an athlete’s mind for competition. Most sports psychologists work with athletes to help them understand what causes this anxiety and to overcome anxiety about performance during competitions.

Several factors can play a role in causing anxiety in sport performance. Some of these causes include:

Having greater fan support and being more familiar with the location helps to reduce anxiety.

How to Thrive Under Pressure

How are elite athletes consistently able to rise to the challenge when faced with the tough competition? Research shows that self-confidence plays a role in how you respond to symptoms of anxiety during athletic performance.

If you are confident in your ability, you are more likely to have a positive reaction to being “pumped up” and will thrive on the challenge of competition. Elite athletes are often so focused on their behavior that they interpretarousalas excitement rather than anxiety.

In general, self-confidence tends to be highest when you believe in your ability and feel that you have adequately prepared for a competition.

Worry and confidence are at opposite ends of the spectrum; when confidence is strong, it tends to crowd worry out of the mind.

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Coping With Anxiety in Sport Performance

There are many strategies you can employ to reduce performance anxiety symptoms, such as the following:

You can also use several strategies to help manage anxiety and induce relaxation related to athletic performance, including visualization andprogressive muscle relaxation.

A Word From Verywell

If you find that youranxiety symptomsare severe and do not improve withself-help strategies, plan avisit to your doctoror contact a therapist to discuss your concerns. Severe anxiety in sport performance can be a sign of social anxiety disorder. In such cases, professionaltreatmentcan provide relief and help address anxiety before it interferes with your life and ability to function.

The 7 Best Online Anxiety Support Groups

14 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Ford JL, Ildefonso K, Jones ML, Arvinen-barrow M.Sport-related anxiety: current insights.Open Access J Sports Med. 2017;8:205-212. doi:10.2147/OAJSM.S125845Judge LW, Urbina LJ, Hoover DL, et al.The Impact of Competitive Trait Anxiety on Collegiate Powerlifting Performance.J Strength Cond Res. 2016;30(9):2399–2405. doi:10.1519/JSC.0000000000001363Hardy L, Hutchinson A.Effects of performance anxiety on effort and performance in rock climbing: a test of processing efficiency theory.Anxiety Stress Coping. 2007;20(2):147–161. doi:10.1080/10615800701217035Rowland DL, van Lankveld JJDM.Anxiety and performance in sex, sport, and stage: Identifying common ground.Front Psychol. 2019;10:1615. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01615National Institute of Mental Health.Panic disorder: When fear overwhelms.Osoria, Fd, Crippa, JAS, Hallak, JEC, Loureiro, SR.Social anxiety disorder, fear of public speaking, and the use of assessment instruments.In: Selek, S, ed.Different View of Anxiety Disorders.2011. doi:10.5772/18629Alder DB, Ford PR, Causer J, Williams AM.The effect of anxiety on anticipation, allocation of attentional resources, and visual search behaviours.Hum Mov Sci. 2018;61:81–89. doi:10.1016/j.humov.2018.07.002Pluhar E, McCracken C, Griffith KL, Christino MA, Sugimoto D, Meehan WP 3rd.Team Sport Athletes May Be Less Likely To Suffer Anxiety or Depression than Individual Sport Athletes.J Sports Sci Med. 2019;18(3):490–496. PMID: 31427871Kang, H, Jang, S.Effects of competition anxiety on self-confidence in soccer players: Modulation effects of home and away game. J Men’s Health. 2018;14(3). doi:10.22374/1875-6859.14.3.9Kang H, Jang S.Self and relative effects of competitive state anxiety on perceived performance in middle and high school taekwondo athletes: An actor and partner interdependence model analysis.Iran J Public Health. 2021;50(6):1167-1176. doi:10.18502/ijph.v50i6.6415Brooks AW.Get excited: reappraising pre-performance anxiety as excitement.J Exp Psychol Gen. 2014;143(3):1144-1158. doi:10.1037/a0035325Rowland DL, Moyle G, Cooper SE.Remediation strategies for performance anxiety across sex, sport and stage: Identifying common approaches and a unified cognitive model.Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(19):10160. doi:10.3390/ijerph181910160Walter N, Nikoleizig L, Alfermann D.Effects of self-talk training on competitive anxiety, self-efficacy, volitional skills, and performance: An intervention study with junior sub-elite athletes.Sports (Basel). 2019;7(6):148. doi:10.3390/sports7060148Pelka M, Kölling S, Ferrauti A, Meyer T, Pfeiffer M, Kellmann M.Acute effects of psychological relaxation techniques between two physical tasks.J Sports Sci. 2017;35(3):216–223. doi:10.1080/02640414.2016.1161208

14 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Ford JL, Ildefonso K, Jones ML, Arvinen-barrow M.Sport-related anxiety: current insights.Open Access J Sports Med. 2017;8:205-212. doi:10.2147/OAJSM.S125845Judge LW, Urbina LJ, Hoover DL, et al.The Impact of Competitive Trait Anxiety on Collegiate Powerlifting Performance.J Strength Cond Res. 2016;30(9):2399–2405. doi:10.1519/JSC.0000000000001363Hardy L, Hutchinson A.Effects of performance anxiety on effort and performance in rock climbing: a test of processing efficiency theory.Anxiety Stress Coping. 2007;20(2):147–161. doi:10.1080/10615800701217035Rowland DL, van Lankveld JJDM.Anxiety and performance in sex, sport, and stage: Identifying common ground.Front Psychol. 2019;10:1615. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01615National Institute of Mental Health.Panic disorder: When fear overwhelms.Osoria, Fd, Crippa, JAS, Hallak, JEC, Loureiro, SR.Social anxiety disorder, fear of public speaking, and the use of assessment instruments.In: Selek, S, ed.Different View of Anxiety Disorders.2011. doi:10.5772/18629Alder DB, Ford PR, Causer J, Williams AM.The effect of anxiety on anticipation, allocation of attentional resources, and visual search behaviours.Hum Mov Sci. 2018;61:81–89. doi:10.1016/j.humov.2018.07.002Pluhar E, McCracken C, Griffith KL, Christino MA, Sugimoto D, Meehan WP 3rd.Team Sport Athletes May Be Less Likely To Suffer Anxiety or Depression than Individual Sport Athletes.J Sports Sci Med. 2019;18(3):490–496. PMID: 31427871Kang, H, Jang, S.Effects of competition anxiety on self-confidence in soccer players: Modulation effects of home and away game. J Men’s Health. 2018;14(3). doi:10.22374/1875-6859.14.3.9Kang H, Jang S.Self and relative effects of competitive state anxiety on perceived performance in middle and high school taekwondo athletes: An actor and partner interdependence model analysis.Iran J Public Health. 2021;50(6):1167-1176. doi:10.18502/ijph.v50i6.6415Brooks AW.Get excited: reappraising pre-performance anxiety as excitement.J Exp Psychol Gen. 2014;143(3):1144-1158. doi:10.1037/a0035325Rowland DL, Moyle G, Cooper SE.Remediation strategies for performance anxiety across sex, sport and stage: Identifying common approaches and a unified cognitive model.Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(19):10160. doi:10.3390/ijerph181910160Walter N, Nikoleizig L, Alfermann D.Effects of self-talk training on competitive anxiety, self-efficacy, volitional skills, and performance: An intervention study with junior sub-elite athletes.Sports (Basel). 2019;7(6):148. doi:10.3390/sports7060148Pelka M, Kölling S, Ferrauti A, Meyer T, Pfeiffer M, Kellmann M.Acute effects of psychological relaxation techniques between two physical tasks.J Sports Sci. 2017;35(3):216–223. doi:10.1080/02640414.2016.1161208

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Ford JL, Ildefonso K, Jones ML, Arvinen-barrow M.Sport-related anxiety: current insights.Open Access J Sports Med. 2017;8:205-212. doi:10.2147/OAJSM.S125845Judge LW, Urbina LJ, Hoover DL, et al.The Impact of Competitive Trait Anxiety on Collegiate Powerlifting Performance.J Strength Cond Res. 2016;30(9):2399–2405. doi:10.1519/JSC.0000000000001363Hardy L, Hutchinson A.Effects of performance anxiety on effort and performance in rock climbing: a test of processing efficiency theory.Anxiety Stress Coping. 2007;20(2):147–161. doi:10.1080/10615800701217035Rowland DL, van Lankveld JJDM.Anxiety and performance in sex, sport, and stage: Identifying common ground.Front Psychol. 2019;10:1615. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01615National Institute of Mental Health.Panic disorder: When fear overwhelms.Osoria, Fd, Crippa, JAS, Hallak, JEC, Loureiro, SR.Social anxiety disorder, fear of public speaking, and the use of assessment instruments.In: Selek, S, ed.Different View of Anxiety Disorders.2011. doi:10.5772/18629Alder DB, Ford PR, Causer J, Williams AM.The effect of anxiety on anticipation, allocation of attentional resources, and visual search behaviours.Hum Mov Sci. 2018;61:81–89. doi:10.1016/j.humov.2018.07.002Pluhar E, McCracken C, Griffith KL, Christino MA, Sugimoto D, Meehan WP 3rd.Team Sport Athletes May Be Less Likely To Suffer Anxiety or Depression than Individual Sport Athletes.J Sports Sci Med. 2019;18(3):490–496. PMID: 31427871Kang, H, Jang, S.Effects of competition anxiety on self-confidence in soccer players: Modulation effects of home and away game. J Men’s Health. 2018;14(3). doi:10.22374/1875-6859.14.3.9Kang H, Jang S.Self and relative effects of competitive state anxiety on perceived performance in middle and high school taekwondo athletes: An actor and partner interdependence model analysis.Iran J Public Health. 2021;50(6):1167-1176. doi:10.18502/ijph.v50i6.6415Brooks AW.Get excited: reappraising pre-performance anxiety as excitement.J Exp Psychol Gen. 2014;143(3):1144-1158. doi:10.1037/a0035325Rowland DL, Moyle G, Cooper SE.Remediation strategies for performance anxiety across sex, sport and stage: Identifying common approaches and a unified cognitive model.Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(19):10160. doi:10.3390/ijerph181910160Walter N, Nikoleizig L, Alfermann D.Effects of self-talk training on competitive anxiety, self-efficacy, volitional skills, and performance: An intervention study with junior sub-elite athletes.Sports (Basel). 2019;7(6):148. doi:10.3390/sports7060148Pelka M, Kölling S, Ferrauti A, Meyer T, Pfeiffer M, Kellmann M.Acute effects of psychological relaxation techniques between two physical tasks.J Sports Sci. 2017;35(3):216–223. doi:10.1080/02640414.2016.1161208

Ford JL, Ildefonso K, Jones ML, Arvinen-barrow M.Sport-related anxiety: current insights.Open Access J Sports Med. 2017;8:205-212. doi:10.2147/OAJSM.S125845

Judge LW, Urbina LJ, Hoover DL, et al.The Impact of Competitive Trait Anxiety on Collegiate Powerlifting Performance.J Strength Cond Res. 2016;30(9):2399–2405. doi:10.1519/JSC.0000000000001363

Hardy L, Hutchinson A.Effects of performance anxiety on effort and performance in rock climbing: a test of processing efficiency theory.Anxiety Stress Coping. 2007;20(2):147–161. doi:10.1080/10615800701217035

Rowland DL, van Lankveld JJDM.Anxiety and performance in sex, sport, and stage: Identifying common ground.Front Psychol. 2019;10:1615. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01615

National Institute of Mental Health.Panic disorder: When fear overwhelms.

Osoria, Fd, Crippa, JAS, Hallak, JEC, Loureiro, SR.Social anxiety disorder, fear of public speaking, and the use of assessment instruments.In: Selek, S, ed.Different View of Anxiety Disorders.2011. doi:10.5772/18629

Alder DB, Ford PR, Causer J, Williams AM.The effect of anxiety on anticipation, allocation of attentional resources, and visual search behaviours.Hum Mov Sci. 2018;61:81–89. doi:10.1016/j.humov.2018.07.002

Pluhar E, McCracken C, Griffith KL, Christino MA, Sugimoto D, Meehan WP 3rd.Team Sport Athletes May Be Less Likely To Suffer Anxiety or Depression than Individual Sport Athletes.J Sports Sci Med. 2019;18(3):490–496. PMID: 31427871

Kang, H, Jang, S.Effects of competition anxiety on self-confidence in soccer players: Modulation effects of home and away game. J Men’s Health. 2018;14(3). doi:10.22374/1875-6859.14.3.9

Kang H, Jang S.Self and relative effects of competitive state anxiety on perceived performance in middle and high school taekwondo athletes: An actor and partner interdependence model analysis.Iran J Public Health. 2021;50(6):1167-1176. doi:10.18502/ijph.v50i6.6415

Brooks AW.Get excited: reappraising pre-performance anxiety as excitement.J Exp Psychol Gen. 2014;143(3):1144-1158. doi:10.1037/a0035325

Rowland DL, Moyle G, Cooper SE.Remediation strategies for performance anxiety across sex, sport and stage: Identifying common approaches and a unified cognitive model.Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(19):10160. doi:10.3390/ijerph181910160

Walter N, Nikoleizig L, Alfermann D.Effects of self-talk training on competitive anxiety, self-efficacy, volitional skills, and performance: An intervention study with junior sub-elite athletes.Sports (Basel). 2019;7(6):148. doi:10.3390/sports7060148

Pelka M, Kölling S, Ferrauti A, Meyer T, Pfeiffer M, Kellmann M.Acute effects of psychological relaxation techniques between two physical tasks.J Sports Sci. 2017;35(3):216–223. doi:10.1080/02640414.2016.1161208

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