The treatment of performance anxiety most commonly involvestalk therapyas well as medications like antidepressants or beta-blockers.
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What Causes Performance Anxiety?
Although the terms are sometimes used interchangeably, anxiety is not the same thing as fear.
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Fear is a short-term response to something specific that threatens you.
With anxiety, you respond to theanticipationof something, resulting in longer-lasting distress.
While fear is an appropriate response to a present threat, anxiety is more broadly focused and future-oriented.
Performance anxiety is the anxiety associated with a specific performance.
The tensions may only emerge in later life as performance anxiety, either occurring abruptly or developing gradually.
Performance anxiety can be a one-time event, recur occasionally, or get progressively worse.
Is Performance Anxiety an Anxiety Disorder?
There are many types of anxiety disorders, includingseparation anxiety disorderandpost-traumatic distress syndrome.
The term “performance anxiety” is not an anxiety disorder per se.
In severe cases, a person with performance anxiety may experience an extreme subtype of anxiety called aspecific phobia.
Risk Factors
Several personality types are seen to be vulnerable to performance anxiety.
Rather, it is a manifestation of SAD and one that is not always well-defined in the medical literature.
Even people who have to make a presentation at work can experience stage fright.
Studies suggest that most stage performers have experienced performance anxiety at some point in their careers.
Choking is a common concern among athletes, amplified by the need to not only perform but to win.
This is especially true among elite athletes in whom perfectionism is expected.
Sexual Performance Anxiety
Sexual performance anxiety is a fear or worry related to having sex.
It can be due to uncertainties about your general ability to satisfy a partner.
It may also be related to a negative body image, relationship problems, or other factors.
Sexual performance can have a cause-and-effect relationship withsexual dysfunction.
Cultural or family pressures can further amplify the stress.
Treating Performance Anxiety
Treatment options for performance anxiety depend on the severity of your symptoms.
The main form of treatment is talk therapy with or without medications.
It involves identifying and changing negative thought and behavior patterns to develop more effective ways to cope.
Medications
SAD is sometimes treated with treated with medications.
A common option is a class of antidepressants calledselective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).
Another class is known asserotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs).
Performance anxiety may occur with public speaking, athletic competition, during sex, or in other similar situations.
It can be treated with psychotherapy or medications such as SSRIs or beta blockers.
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