How do i turn my bad anxiety into good energy?

Hi all.
This is my first thread on ATS ever. I was not sure where to put this thread, so mods please move it to the appropriate location if i got it wrong.

Well on to the subject-
I am a musician and i play in a band. I got a gig tommorrow and i get really bad anxiety a day before a show-it only progressively gets worse.
My hands start to shake, i pace around a lot, and ultimately it effects the way i play. It just makes me feel like crap afterwords...=[

Are there any techniques to get rid of this anxiety or turn it into positive energy? I am open minded and appreciate any advice given.


[edit on 22-7-2008 by hentaiboy22]

Originally posted by hentaiboy22
Hi all.
This is my first thread on ATS ever. I was not sure where to put this thread, so mods please move it to the appropriate location if i got it wrong.

Well on to the subject-
I am a musician and i play in a band. I got a gig tommorrow and i get really bad anxiety a day before a show-it only progressively gets worse.
My hands start to shake, i pace around a lot, and ultimately it effects the way i play. It just makes me feel like crap afterwords...=[

Are there any techniques to get rid of this anxiety or turn it into positive energy? I am open minded and appreciate any advice given.


[edit on 22-7-2008 by hentaiboy22]

I don't know if this will help, but I have a fear of public speaking & it became a real issue a couple of years ago. Here are some of the things that help me overcome the jitters leading up to any speaking engagement;
working out, meditation, cross-word puzzles or maybe a book if you like to read. Basically, keep your mind focused on anything but your gig.

Also, if you can, arrive early to the venue so you can become a little familar with it. Remind yourself of what you want the audience to take from your music & get yourself into the same mindset you want them in.

That's all I can think of right now, but if I remeber anything else, I'll post it.

there are many techniques to turn the energy into positve energy.

First remember, that all energy is connected and is the same. Recognize that the energy is, and fully immerse yourself in the anxiety. Put yourself in the moment and feel all the shivers, and feel the sweat. soak in all the thoughts and emotions that you have and stay immersed for 5 minutes.

Now

Observe yourself from outside yourself. See yourself being anxious. see yourself nervous with a stomach full of butterflies. See yourself observing yourself and realize that if you can observe these reactions, YOU ARE MORE THAN THEM!

I suggest you check this
out and also check this out

As soon as you observe your self, you create your response.

so observe and create your own reality.

you are going to have a great show tomorrow...

when you say

Originally posted by hentaiboy22
I got a gig tommorrow and i get really bad anxiety a day before a show-it only progressively gets worse.
My hands start to shake, i pace around a lot, and ultimately it effects the way i play. It just makes me feel like crap afterwords...=[

[edit on 22-7-2008 by hentaiboy22]

you actually create this reality and your brain, being so fantastical, will prove this to you.

i used to be the same way...restless in worry and stress over even the tiniest of thing.

there is no real instant technique, i found out. it's all just mind control. do you let your mind dwell and play out every possible scenario good and bad? over-imagination, over-thinking, leads to anxiety.

it's a matter of just letting go...not giving a crapola. of what others opinions are. the quality of performance. the expectation. it's just rolling with the punches.

it was a transition for me that took years and during which i hardly recognized until afterwords.

meditation...calming the mind...even just distracting the mind from dwelling on anything for too long that's negative...these things will help and hopefully will.

for me...my whole life crafted me into who i was...a worrisome anxiety-riddled guy, with zero confidence or self-asteem. it took redefining myself...my values...the way i was raised...the information fed to me as truth to gain a glimpse of the inner power i now know resides in me and all of us.

Strangely I know alot about this topic! It is sad and funny that "performance anixiety" makes only a smaller percentage of us lock up like a deer in the headlights of a semi.

Meanwhile, others don't give it a second thought. They in fact say when asked "you just don't think about it". This is a statement that baffles those of us who suffer from performance anixity.

Some of the top reasons for P.A. are:

feelings of being unprepaired for the performance.
fear of being judged by others harshly.

I think it has really to do with two major aspects.

1. P.A. Suffers want to do a higher level of perfomance then by focusing on that we start panicing about panicing.
2. P.A. Suffers overthink the event, they imagine, and we assume a highly stable sense of self.

Really we do over think it. The advice to "Just don't think about it" is really sound, but no so much achieveable.

If you're like me you think those that seem to bloat their egos are full of themselves. Unforntually, we can out play them but because of our disability we seem to stumble.

A little egobloating is okay as long as it is realistic and useful. So Rock on, tell yourself you're a guitar hero or jukebox hero and realize those people are there to SEE YOU! They've already assumed to were going to give them a good time, and you are.

Learn to count cards or mentally resite the roster of a baseball team. Then when you are getting ready to go on, start counting or resiting the roster or what ever as long as it is a mundane mind event, this is just to keep your mind board and active enought not to start sending posion thoughts into your conscious system.

You could also do as I do and find some funky fool to tell you how your a failure, then you realize that fool is full of funk and foresite will kick in.

The more experience you get, the less 'unknown' factor there will be, the more you will relax and enjoy it, and utilise the energy for your performance rather than subtract from it. Just commit yourself to the show and know that one day you'll look back at your early live experiences with nostalgia. Oh and maybe a drop of single malt beforehand

reply to post by hentaiboy22


I used to act alot on stage a few years back, but on account of family and time constraints I have had to give that part of my life up.

I have always had 'the jitters' when getting up on stage, lucky for me it seems I never had them as bad as you, but for me they were the source of my energy. About 1 hour before the curtains were opened the butterflies and the sweating started. I was sure I'd forget all my lines and basically make a fool of myself on stage.

To be honest I think I would have made many more mistakes if it wasn't for 'the jitters'. It made my focus clear and my mind sharp. The problem begins when you let the fear control you, instead of using it as fear is supposed to be used. To make you perform better.

First of all everyone reacts differently to this type of fear, and I reackon every one will have their own 'cure'. Just don't stop performing, it will get better as you get more used to the feeling. Ask youself; what the worst thing that can happen is. Then realise that even if it does happen it's not the end of the world. A little embarrasing perhaps but that's it, it wont kill you.

It seems to me that you let your fear take a bit of control, and that's not what you want. But you don't want to lose the feeling altogether. My worst performances have always been when I haven't really felt 'the jitters' and felt I had it all under control. Over-confidence is a killer.

Keep at it and I'm sure you'll find your method.

Try to just acknowlage the feelings of anxiety and fear,but don't let them effect you. Say to yourself,ok,this is what anxiety and fear feel like,but it can't effect me. And don't let it,it's your mind and you can control it. Take a few good deep breaths before during and after thinking about this.

Wow thank you all for the replys.
This is all good advice i will try to absorb =D

It seems like for me the "performance anxiety" ( thanks Incarnated that is actually a great way to put it! ) is something i have never really found a cure for. I never really knew i had it so bad until i joined Cross Country and Track back in highschool. Before a race or event i would get it really bad and it would cause me to lose my apetite.
When i get this anxiety i do not eat or drink the WHOLE day...i just can't =/

Thank you all again for your time and advice. I will do my best to take in everything i am learning from you all =)

Originally posted by banyan


for me...my whole life crafted me into who i was...a worrisome anxiety-riddled guy, with zero confidence or self-asteem. it took redefining myself...my values...the way i was raised...the information fed to me as truth to gain a glimpse of the inner power i now know resides in me and all of us.

I can definitely relate to you about this. I had a big issue about my self-esteem and had little to no confidence in myself. I had a really hard time growing up in school because i was made fun of so much and it was not much better at home- my step-dad would be much worse than the kids at school.
I am not one to blame my problems on anybody though, and i am not sure if that is the root of my anxiety. Forgive and forget right?
Thanks for your reply banyan =)

reply to post by iiinvision


Thanks for the Links iiinvision.
I will definitely read up on this.

I personally think that visualization is one of the most powerful things we have.

We all have had the scenario at one point in our lives, where we visualize something bad happening, like tripping over your own feet, and that is exactly what happens.

What my public speaking college course taught me, was that you need to visualize yourself doing well. You need to not focus on everything that can go wrong. Visualize a good performance, and the audience applauding afterwards.

The human brain is an amazing thing. Many people believe that with just thoughts, we can change reality. So, don't let your thoughts make your experience bad, change them to good.

Good Luck

Have faith in your ability. You seem to fear something. Maybe messing up or being in front of a crowd. Don't let it get to you. Trust who you are and what you do and even if you mess up add another notch of experience to your belt. All of these replies are good methods. Wish ya the best.

BTW if anyone is wondering how the show went, i did really well.
I tried some of the techniques and it helped out a lot.
I didn't let my anxiety consume me, i just thought that we couldn't do worse than the bands before us lol.
The energy from the crowd helped me a lot too.
Thanks again all

Yeah dude I am a guitarist as well... and I remember being really nervous at my first couple of shows... but each time, what I did was I just got angry at my fear, like if I got the feeling like I wanted to turn around and run, instead I'd jump forward and flip out raging on some riff, and it made me actually play better than normal. My buddy and I nailed that solo in them bones, where in the middle of the solo we'd trade off rhythm to solo, and we did it PERFECTLY. It was awesome. Fight fire with fire.

You never forget the first couple of shows.

Originally posted by jam321
Have faith in your ability. You seem to fear something. Maybe messing up or being in front of a crowd. Don't let it get to you. Trust who you are and what you do and even if you mess up add another notch of experience to your belt. All of these replies are good methods. Wish ya the best.

Nobody really notices if you mess up.... at least not the audience. If your band members give you # for missing a couple notes, they are tight wads. Indie is sloppy, man. It's cooler that way.

reply to post by dunwichwitch


Yea we happen to be in an Indie band.
You are right about the fact that people don't really notice mistakes you make on stage.

[edit on 23-7-2008 by hentaiboy22]

I used to get really worked up about public speaking, so I can relate in some way.

Basically what your situation boils down to is this. You're going to play, so why dwell on it and worry? Think positive! You're going to play, and you're going to kick ass. Yes? Don't concern yourself with the intimidation of playing a show, think about how much you'll enjoy it. If that doesn't help, try not to think about it at all. Maybe practice for the show instead to hone your skill some more. Or just go take a nap, walk outside, read a book, play a game, etc.

It's all about how you approach the situation. You can either worry and fret about it, or you can be positive about it. From the moment you wake up in the morning, keep a positive outlook, and you'll be surprised just how much that helps with the rest of the day. When you get up don't let yourself get caught up in the negative. Say to yourself, "I'm going to have a good day today." And then go out and have a good day. I know that sounds very simplistic, but to be honest, it is.

[edit on 23-7-2008 by John_Q_Llama]

Every reply here makes great points, and i suppose that really goes to show that there are so many ways to deal with anxiety like this. I've definitely been there; played in bands for at least the last 10 years and played loads of shows, yet still i get really nervous before the performances. The only thing that helps is to just be well rehearsed, knowing that i know the material so well i cant possibly make a mistake if my mind wanders. Also a few pints can help