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    I Cant Go On

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    achilles2000
    The document discusses coping with stage fright, also known as performance anxiety. It describes the physical symptoms of stage fright such as sweating, increased heart rate, and negative thoughts. It explains that a certain level of excitement is necessary for a good performance, but too much stress turns into anxiety that can negatively impact performance. Strategies are provided for dealing with stage fright without medication, including thorough preparation, practice performances, distraction techniques, deep breathing, exercise, and complementary therapies.

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    I Cant Go On

    Uploaded by

    achilles2000
    55 views3 pages
    The document discusses coping with stage fright, also known as performance anxiety. It describes the physical symptoms of stage fright such as sweating, increased heart rate, and negative thoughts. It explains that a certain level of excitement is necessary for a good performance, but too much stress turns into anxiety that can negatively impact performance. Strategies are provided for dealing with stage fright without medication, including thorough preparation, practice performances, distraction techniques, deep breathing, exercise, and complementary therapies.

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    coping with stage flight

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    I_cant_go_on

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    The document discusses coping with stage fright, also known as performance anxiety. It describes the physical symptoms of stage fright such as sweating, increased heart rate, and negative thoughts. It explains that a certain level of excitement is necessary for a good performance, but too much stress turns into anxiety that can negatively impact performance. Strategies are provided for dealing with stage fright without medication, including thorough preparation, practice performances, distraction techniques, deep breathing, exercise, and complementary therapies.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    55 views3 pages

    I Cant Go On

    Uploaded by

    achilles2000
    The document discusses coping with stage fright, also known as performance anxiety. It describes the physical symptoms of stage fright such as sweating, increased heart rate, and negative thoughts. It explains that a certain level of excitement is necessary for a good performance, but too much stress turns into anxiety that can negatively impact performance. Strategies are provided for dealing with stage fright without medication, including thorough preparation, practice performances, distraction techniques, deep breathing, exercise, and complementary therapies.

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    PAGE 1 OF 3

    BAPAM FACTSHEET 7
    I CANT GO ON!
    Coping with stage fright
    Stage fright, or performance anxiety, is a feeling of dread and fear that comes
    over a performer before and/or during an appearance or performance in front of
    an audience. It occurs especially, but not only, when performing for the first time,
    though even well-established performers can suffer.
    It usually starts on the day of the performance and may get worse as the show gets
    closer, but it can happen at any time, without warning. If your nerves take over,
    your performance could really suffer. Here are some of the symptoms:
    Sweating especially in the hands
    Dry mouth
    Heart beats faster and can be felt in the chest
    Breathing gets faster and heavier
    Dizziness
    A sick feeling (although actual vomiting is less common)
    The urge to keep rushing to the loo
    You may also have some negative thoughts, being very worried about the
    performance and feel as if you might not be able to cope with it, etc. This may
    become so persistent that you cant think of anything else.
    Some level of excitement is necessary to make a good performance, but when this
    turns into stress, it can be a problem. The graph below shows how this can work.
    The more the pressure of performance increases, the more the excitement goes up,
    but after a certain level, the performance level starts to drop as excitement turns
    into stress. This effect is driven by the acute stress hormone adrenaline.
    How excitement turns into stress
    By Dr Sanchita
    Farruque, BAPAM
    Acknowledgments:
    Andrew Evans, Thames Valley
    University (from The secrets of
    musical confidence, by Andrew
    Evans. Thorsons, 1994)
    Dr Aaron Williamon, RCM
    Dr Penny Wright , BAPAM
    Challenge
    (excitement)
    P
    e
    r
    f
    o
    r
    m
    a
    n
    c
    e
    l
    e
    v
    e
    l
    Stress
    (anxiety)
    Pressure level (adrenaline)
    PAGE 2 OF 3
    BAPAM FACTSHEET 7
    The many causes of stage fright can be grouped into certain types:
    First time performing on stage, although it should be noted that it can strike even
    the most seasoned performers.
    Poor preparation if you havent learnt your piece or lyrics properly.
    Nervous personality type which might also have deeper psychological causes.
    The importance of the performance itself.
    Outside factors about the gig: the venue, difficulties with promoters and/or staff,
    poor acoustics, etc, that you have no control over.
    How you can deal with stage fright
    There are a few ways of trying to reduce stage fright, but it may never completely
    go away and some people would say that a performer needs a certain amount of
    nerves to perform well. What this means is that, as long as the energy feels more
    like excitement than dread, then its fine to have a little bit of anticipation.
    However, because this can be very hard to judge, its not always possible to
    control the excitement and stop yourself feeling afraid.
    The triad of performance anxiety
    Below are some strategies for reducing these feelings. First, we list non-medical
    strategies, followed by medical interventions:
    Ways of dealing with stage fright that dont require medication
    You can work on the physical/mental/technical aspects by:
    Preparing for your gig! Learn your parts/words, etc. and do this well in
    advance. The night before is NOT enough!
    Doing some less important performances to take the edge off the main
    performance that is worrying you.
    Distracting yourself with other activities. Anything that takes your mind off things
    will do, but dont get too engrossed in your displacement activity!
    Managing the adrenaline with deep breathing. Use the bottom parts of your
    lungs (abdominal breathing) to slow down your heart rate and calm the nerves.
    Doing some physical exercise or warm-up as this helps to relax you. See the
    warm-up exercises factsheet Dont cramp your style.
    Trying complementary therapies, such as massage, meditation, yoga, Tai Chi,
    Pilates and Alexander technique, to name but a few. These will help to relax you
    physically and mentally.
    Eat foods that release serotonin (the happy hormone). Examples are bananas
    ADRENALINE
    You cannot change this but you can learn
    to deal with the symptoms better
    PERFORMANCE
    You cannot change this (unless you
    cancel the performance)
    FEAR You can change this by working on the negative thoughts
    to turn fear back into excitement

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