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Are You Suffering From Performance Anxiety and Stage Fright



No matter how successful and seemingly confident an artist is, they could well be suffering with stage fright or performance anxiety behind closed doors. It’s a natural part of most of our personalities, especially in a career which involves giving so much of yourself. Amongst the artists who have spoken out about using hypnotherapy for stage fright are Olivia Colman and Adele.

What Causes Stage Fright?

Many people find that performance anxiety develops when they least expect it. Sometimes it’s present at the start of a career when auditions and rejection might be common. Other times it develops later as people find more success or become more recognisable. Olivia Colman spoke about suddenly developing stage fright after she had achieved success in TV and movies and was returning to the theatre.

Adele reportedly saw a hypnotherapist to help her battle stage fright before her performance at the Oscars. Sometimes a big event can trigger feelings we haven’t experienced before. A previously confident performer can suddenly start to wobble under the new pressures they are facing.

Stage fright is complex and can have many causes. It can be rooted in a fear of judgement, a lack of confidence, social phobia or anxiety. Even though a person might have made a career out of performance, human beings are not constant and unchanging. New outlooks and challenges can present new feelings. For example, many people are finding it’s not easy returning to the performance world after such a long break for the Covid pandemic. Especially when they might be working on film sets that feel empty or theatres half full of masked faces.

Are You Suffering From Performance Anxiety?

If so, you will know that this is a common fear for people appearing on stage, TV or film. Symptoms of performance anxiety include overwhelming anxiety, panic or fear before or during performances. It is often at its worst when performing at an audition. For those working in the performing arts, this anxiety can have a detrimental impact on their future career.

Those of us not working in the performing arts may still experience performance anxiety in our lives when faced with the challenge of public speaking. Whether it’s standing up giving a keynote address, a big pitch at work or giving a speech at a wedding or funeral, these are all performances.

So, how can you deal with the nerves?

Bring Out The Best In Yourself When Performing

  • Are you feeling anxious at the thought of performing?

  • Have you ever choked or lost focus when performing?

  • Are fear and nervousness affecting your performances?

  • Looking for a simple tried and tested solution?

Fortunately, hypnotherapy can be helpful and is a natural drug-free and safe treatment.

How Does Hypnotherapy Relieve Stage Fright?

Stage fright is an unfounded fear (in that it isn’t physically dangerous to you) but the fear feels very real. When under stress, the body reacts with a fight-or-flight response. This feeling of panic can be extremely debilitating and will prevent you from giving your best and authentic performance.

To overcome performance anxiety, we need to get to the root of the fear and unravel it. What has caused it? If it was a past event we can undo the fear by processing the event itself. Perhaps negative thought patterns have taken hold and are becoming more and more real. We need to unpick these unhelpful patterns and reprogram the mind with positive ones. We can use positive visualisations to train our minds to believe things will go well rather than worrying that things will go bad. This will give you a newfound belief, confidence and calm.


The Benefits of Anxiety Hypnotherapy

  • Gaining control of your anxiety

  • Feeling more confident in your abilities

  • Performing at your very best

  • Experiencing greater enjoyment when performing

  • Gaining confidence in your ability

Help For Performance Anxiety

If you’d like to learn more about how I can help you overcome performance anxiety and stage fright please do get in touch. I am happy to offer a no-obligation-free initial consultation either in my central London clinic or online.





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