Olivia Jordan

What Happens Inside the Brain During Performance Anxiety?

In my last post, I explored why performance anxiety happens and learned that it is not caused by a single factor. Our thoughts, biology, past experiences, and the environment around us all play a role. However, one question continued to interest me: What is actually happening inside the brain when we experience performance anxiety? Why do we sometimes practice something hundreds of times, feel confident during training, and then suddenly struggle when the moment arrives?

The answer begins with the brain’s natural response to stress. Throughout human history, our brains have been designed to protect us from danger. When the brain senses a threat, it activates the fight-or-flight response, a survival system that prepares the body to react quickly. This response was extremely helpful for our ancestors when they needed to escape physical dangers. However, the brain does not only respond to physical threats. It can also react to situations where we feel judged, evaluated, or afraid of failing, such as competitions, auditions, exams, presentations, or performances.

When the fight-or-flight response is activated, the body releases stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol. These hormones create physical changes that prepare us for action. Our heart rate increases, breathing becomes faster, muscles become tense, and attention becomes focused on the perceived threat. These reactions can be helpful in certain situations, but they can become a problem during activities that require precision, creativity, and calm decision-making. For example, a violinist needs fine control of their fingers, a skater needs precise timing and coordination, and a student taking an exam needs clear thinking and access to stored information. Too much stress can interfere with all of these abilities.

One part of the brain that plays an important role in anxiety is the amygdala. The amygdala helps detect emotional threats and decides whether a situation requires a protective response. During performance situations, the amygdala may interpret being watched, judged, or making a mistake as a threat, even though there is no actual physical danger. For someone experiencing performance anxiety, the brain may react as if the performance itself is something to survive rather than an opportunity to share a skill they have developed.

Another important part of the brain is the prefrontal cortex, which helps with concentration, decision-making, emotional regulation, and controlling our responses. Under high levels of stress, the connection between the emotional parts of the brain and the thinking parts of the brain can become disrupted. This helps explain why people sometimes “blank out” during important moments. The information is still stored in the brain, and the skill has not disappeared. However, anxiety can make it harder to access that information when it is needed most.

This discovery helped me understand something I experienced many times while figure skating. There were moments when I knew exactly how to perform a jump during practice, but during a competition, my mind suddenly became filled with thoughts about what could go wrong. Instead of focusing on the movement itself, I became overly aware of every detail. Do I have enough speed for the jump? Was my landing going to be clean? How should I recover if I fell? The more I tried to control every part of the performance, the harder it became to let my training take over.

Researchers call this phenomenon “reinvestment,” which happens when athletes or performers consciously think about movements that have normally become automatic. During practice, skills are repeated so many times that they become stored as automatic patterns. However, under pressure, anxiety can cause people to focus too much on the individual steps of a skill. This can interrupt the natural flow of performance. A skater may think about each part of a jump instead of trusting their training. A musician may focus on every finger movement instead of allowing the music to flow naturally.

Learning about the brain reshaped how I viewed performance anxiety. Before researching this topic, I thought struggling during important moments meant I needed more practice or stronger discipline. Now I understand that the brain itself can influence how we perform under pressure. The challenge is not simply about knowing how to do something. It is also about being able to access those skills when emotions are high.

Understanding the science behind performance anxiety does not mean anxiety will disappear immediately. However, learning what is happening inside the brain is an important first step. When we understand that anxiety is a response created by the brain and body, we can begin exploring strategies that help us manage it. Instead of fighting against ourselves, we can learn how to work with our minds and bodies to perform with greater confidence.

Coming Next…

Can Performance Anxiety Be Treated?

After learning about the causes and brain science behind performance anxiety, the next question I really wanted to answer is: What can we do about it? In my next post, I’ll explore different treatment approaches, including psychological strategies, training techniques, and technology-based tools that may help people manage performance anxiety.

Reflection Question: Have you ever experienced a moment when you knew how to do something but struggled when you felt pressure? Looking back, do you think your thoughts, emotions, or physical reactions affected your performance?

References

The ideas in this article are based on published research in psychology, neuroscience, sports psychology, and performance science. The references below are provided for readers who would like to learn more.

1. Arnsten, A. F. T. (2009). Stress signalling pathways that impair prefrontal cortex structure and function. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 10, 410-422.
2. LeDoux, J. E. (2000). Emotion circuits in the brain. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 23, 155-184.
3. Yerkes, R. M., & Dodson, J. D. (1908). The relation of strength of stimulus to rapidity of habit formation. Journal of Comparative Neurology and Psychology, 18(5), 459-482.
4. Beilock, S. L., & Carr, T. H. (2001). On the fragility of skilled performance: What governs choking under pressure? Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 130(4), 701-725.