Performance Anxiety in HSPs: one method to overcome it

I am speaking from my experience, which may or may not be shared by you. Without going too deep into my HSP background, I have severe performance anxiety. The term anxiety may not be accurate - it's more like: enhanced stimulatory reception & internalization. When you're under pressure, you may want to withdraw; this may be more true for the 70% of us who are introverts. In performing, your sensory receptors are overloading. This is due to all those eyes watching you, but perhaps mostly, it's due to your 'inner eye' (mind) watching itself very closely. Your perfectionist wants to perform good, perhaps even better than others. You set high standards for yourself, and you're not going to allow proving yourself and others wrong.

Then the meltdown/shutdown occurs. You forget what you were going to do or say. Your muscles constrict. Your thoughts scatter. Your central nervous system is overheating! You end up performing much less than desired.

I have a specific memory of a competition where I was the top-rated performer of a certain niche sport during training/trials. I was expected to win by far and set a major record for this niche sport. As my coach/boss said right before the round began, "It's a sealed deal. They're already writing your name on the check!" I had a CNS shut-down during the round, and I got the lowest score.

That was 12 years ago, but the pain and burn of that shut-down stayed with me for a long time. I hated myself. I couldn't trust myself. Since then, in discovering more about myself through the lens of HSP, I realize that I did have the potential to win that tournament, but the "being watched and assessed by others" was an extra rule (obstacle) applied to me but not to the other competitors.

How I overcome it

After reading all of this, you may be disappointed to realize my own personal solution is quite simple. In order for me to perform publicly, I have to completely devalue the task I'm doing. I have to drain my thoughts of this task of its significance. These types of thoughts really help:

• It doesn't matter the outcome, everything will be okay.
• Nobody is expecting much of me; it's like they're not even watching/assessing me.
• I don't have to perform my best, just relax and do the task like I always do.
• It's okay if there are awkward pauses [speaking], they understand that my deep thoughts take time to process verbally.
• Muscle relaxation is better than speed. I'll win if I'm more relaxed, not faster than the others.

Some of these may sound careless, but for HSPs they may cause us to perform a lot better than if we tried to perform better! By devaluing the significance of your performance, you'll remove the obstacle of 'perfectionism'. Yes, you'll still have to deal with the sensory receptors, but you're so used to that already in day-to-day life. The word relax is key, but relaxation only comes when you remove all expectation of yourself to perform to a certain standard.

This may not answer all of the questions/issues about performing, but it's something I have experimented with several times and have noticed immediate increased benefit from. And I hope it can help you, too!