Overcoming Performance Anxiety

Performance anxiety can be a significant barrier to achieving your goals, whether you're an athlete, student, or working in a high-pressure job. It can manifest in various ways, from underperforming and physical symptoms to negative thoughts and emotional withdrawal. Understanding how performance anxiety shows up for you is the first step toward managing it effectively.

Identifying Your Anxiety Symptoms

Performance anxiety can manifest in different ways, and it’s important to identify your unique triggers and symptoms. Here are some common signs:

1. Physical Symptoms: These can include nausea, muscle tension, sweating, or even headaches. These are often signs that your body is in a state of stress.

2. Behavioral Withdrawal: Some people may underperform or intentionally pull back to avoid failure. This can be an attempt to protect yourself from judgment, but it only reinforces the cycle of anxiety.

3. Racing Thoughts: Constantly replaying scenarios, worrying about potential mistakes, or having intrusive negative thoughts can all lead to overwhelming anxiety and self-doubt.

4. A Combination: You might experience a mix of these symptoms, such as sweating while also mentally ruminating or withdrawing from the situation altogether.

Grounding Techniques to Reduce Anxiety

Grounding techniques can help bring you back to the present moment, reducing physical symptoms of anxiety and calming your nervous system.

Box Breathing

This technique involves controlling your breath to slow your heart rate. To practice box breathing:

   1. Inhale deeply through your nose for a count of four seconds.

   2. Hold your breath for four seconds.

   3. Exhale through your mouth for four seconds.

   4. Hold your breath again for four seconds.

   5. Repeat this process for several rounds, focusing on breathing through your stomach.

Five Senses Technique

This involves grounding yourself by engaging your senses in the present moment:

   1. Sight: Look around and notice five things you can see.

   2. Touch: Notice four things you can feel (e.g., the ground under your feet, the texture of your clothes).

   3. Sound: Identify three things you can hear.

   4. Smell: Identify two things you can smell.

   5. Taste: Identify one thing you can taste (or the sensation of taste in your mouth).

By focusing on your senses, you break the cycle of anxious thoughts and anchor yourself in the present.

Reframe Your Thoughts Around Mistakes

Instead of seeing mistakes as something to be ashamed of, try viewing them as opportunities for learning. When you make a mistake, ask, “What can I learn from this?” or “How can I improve next time?” This mindset shift can make a huge difference in how you approach challenges and setbacks.

Remember, mistakes don’t define you. They are just part of the process, and you can use them to grow stronger and more resilient. The more you embrace this, the less power anxiety will have over you.

Uncovering the Root Fear of Anxiety

Performance anxiety often has deep roots—something beneath the surface that activates feelings of fear or insecurity. For many people, the underlying fears might include:

• Fear of Failure: Worrying that failure will make you look incompetent or unworthy.

• Fear of Judgment: Concern about how others perceive you and whether you will be judged or criticized.

• Fear of Embarrassment or Shame: The anxiety that comes from the possibility of being humiliated or exposed.

A key step in overcoming anxiety is separating your worth from your performance. The outcome of an event, whether successful or not, does not define who you are as a person. You are worthy of love, respect, and compassion, regardless of how you perform in any given moment.

By affirming your intrinsic value, you can release some of the pressure that performance anxiety creates. This mindset shift allows you to focus on the process instead of obsessing over the outcome.

Taking Action: How Small Steps Help Alleviate Anxiety

Taking action, even imperfect action, is one of the best ways to alleviate anxiety. The longer you avoid or ruminate on a task, the more your anxiety will grow. Instead, try taking small, manageable steps toward your goal. This will help you build momentum and confidence over time.

When you do make a mistake, take a moment to reflect and evaluate it from a neutral perspective. Instead of criticizing yourself, think about what you can learn from the experience. Ask yourself: “What went well? What can I do differently next time?”

If anxiety continues to feel overwhelming, you're not alone. At Bridger Peaks Counseling, our anxiety therapists provide compassionate support to help you better understand your patterns. Anxiety counseling in Missoula, MT can also help you develop sustainable tools to move forward with more ease and clarity.

By approaching mistakes with curiosity rather than judgment, you can break the cycle of negative thinking and build a more resilient, growth-oriented mindset.

Final Thoughts from an Anxiety Therapist in Missoula, MT

Performance anxiety can be overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to control your life. By recognizing your anxiety, using grounding techniques, reframing mistakes, and separating your worth from your performance, you can start to reduce the grip of anxiety and build greater confidence in yourself. Remember, it’s okay to make mistakes, and it’s okay to feel nervous. What matters most is how you respond to those feelings and how you continue to move forward with self-compassion and determination.

You are capable of more than you realize, and with the right tools, you can overcome the anxiety holding you back. Trust the process, be patient with yourself, and take small steps toward your goals. You’ve got this.

Get Support for Perfomance Anxiety in Missoula, MT Today

Whether you're stepping onto a stage, presenting at work, or simply trying to show up fully in everyday situations, you don’t have to face this alone. At Bridger Peaks Counseling, we help individuals navigate performance anxiety with curiosity, compassion, and practical tools that actually work. Anxiety therapy can uncover what’s beneath the pressure, shift unhelpful patterns, and build confidence from the inside out.

1. If you’re ready to feel more grounded, focused, and free to perform at your best—reach out today to schedule a consultation.

2. Learn more about anxiety and treatment options by exploring our blogs.

3. You deserve support that helps you show up as your fullest self, not just in high-pressure moments, but in your everyday life too.

Other Services We Offer In Addition to Anxiety Counseling

At Bridger Peaks Counseling, we’re dedicated to offering a diverse range of mental health services to support your unique needs. Our anxiety therapists provide teen counseling, group therapy, couples counseling, and body image counseling. We also offer specialized care for depression, grief and loss, and online therapy options. Other services include EMDR, postpartum anxiety and depression counseling, and psychiatric care.

How Anxiety Therapy in Missoula, MT Can Help You Feel Like Yourself Again

Anxiety doesn’t always show up as panic or obvious distress. Sometimes, it’s the constant tension in your shoulders. The way your mind races when you try to rest. The sense that no matter how hard you try, you’re never fully at ease—not even with yourself.

If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Many people in Missoula are quietly carrying the weight of anxiety every day. Whether it's related to work, family, past experiences, or simply the stress of being human in a rapidly shifting world, anxiety can gradually erode your sense of well-being. Over time, you might start to feel disconnected from the person you used to be.

Anxiety therapy isn’t a quick fix. But for many, it’s a steady path back to clarity, calm, and self-trust. Here in Missoula, anxiety therapy offers space to slow down, understand what’s happening inside, and learn how to meet yourself with more compassion.

What Does Anxiety Really Feel Like?

Anxiety can look different for each person. You might find yourself:

• Constantly overthinking or catastrophizing

• Avoiding social situations, decision-making, or even small tasks

• Struggling to sleep, eat regularly, or focus

• Feeling irritable, restless, or numb

• Living in a constant state of “what if”

It’s not just “being stressed.” Anxiety can affect how you move through your day, how you relate to others, and how safe you feel in your own mind and body. Many people describe feeling like they’ve lost their internal anchor—that grounded sense of who they are. Others say they’re functioning on the outside but feel exhausted and disconnected inside. This is where therapy can help.

Understanding the Root Causes of Anxiety

While anxiety can sometimes feel like it comes out of nowhere, it often has deeper roots. Exploring these underlying causes in therapy can be an important part of the healing process—not to dwell in the past, but to make sense of your patterns with greater compassion and clarity. Some common contributing factors to anxiety include:

• Early Attachment Wounds
  Experiences of inconsistency, neglect, or emotional invalidation in childhood can shape how safe we feel in relationships and within ourselves. These early patterns often echo into adulthood, especially in times of stress

• Perfectionism and High Self-Expectation
  Many people with anxiety hold themselves to impossible standards. You might find yourself driven to “get it right” all the time, even when no one is asking that of you. This internal pressure can become exhausting—and isolating.

• Chronic Stress or Burnout
  Long-term exposure to work pressure, caregiving demands, or lack of support can wear down your nervous system. Over time, what starts as manageable stress can morph into constant anxiety or emotional shutdown.

• Trauma (Big or Small)
  Traumatic experiences—from acute events like accidents to more subtle, ongoing situations like emotional neglect—can leave the body in a heightened state of alertness. This often shows up as anxiety, even years later.

• Life Transitions or Identity Shifts
  Even positive changes—becoming a parent, graduating, changing careers, or ending a relationship—can stir up anxiety. Transitions tend to bring uncertainty, which can trigger old fears or insecurities.

Understanding where your anxiety comes from doesn’t mean blaming yourself or others. It’s about seeing the full picture more clearly so that you can respond to your anxiety not just with tools, but also with insight, compassion, and self-trust.

How anxiety Therapy Can Help You Reconnect With Yourself

Therapy for anxiety in Missoula, MT isn't about “fixing” you. It’s about understanding the patterns you’ve developed to cope with, survive, and make sense of overwhelming emotions. Some of the approaches used in anxiety therapy in Missoula include:

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

CBT focuses on the relationship between your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. You’ll learn how to recognize unhelpful thought patterns (like worst-case-scenario thinking) and gently shift them over time.

Mindfulness-Based Approaches

Practices like breathwork, body scans, and present-moment awareness can help calm an overactive nervous system. These tools support regulation and help you stay connected to your body.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

Rather than fighting anxious thoughts, ACT teaches you to observe them and make space for them—while still choosing to live in alignment with your values. This can be especially helpful when anxiety feels sticky or persistent.

Relational and Attachment-Based Work

Anxiety is often connected to how we learned to relate to others. A relational therapist can help you understand these patterns and develop more secure, supportive relationships—including with yourself.

What to Expect in Your First Session

If you’ve never been to anxiety therapy or if you’ve had mixed experiences with therapy in the past, it’s completely normal to feel uncertain about starting. Many people worry they won’t know what to say, or that their problems aren’t “big enough” to justify therapy. The truth is, there is no one right way to approach this process. 

In your first session at Bridger Peaks Counseling, the therapist’s primary goal is to get to know you—not to diagnose or analyze you, but to understand what you’re carrying and how it’s affecting you. They’ll likely ask about your current struggles, what brings you to therapy now, and what you hope might feel different over time.

It’s okay if you don’t have clear answers to those questions. Many people come in feeling overwhelmed, scattered, or unsure. Figuring things out together at a pace that feels manageable is part of the process. A good anxiety therapist will respect your boundaries, check in on how you’re feeling, and collaborate with you to build a sense of safety and trust. This relationship becomes the foundation for change. 

A Gentle Path Forward: Anxiety therapy in missoula, mt

You don’t have to be in crisis to start therapy. In fact, many people begin simply because they’re tired of feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or like a stranger in their own life.

If you're in Missoula and considering therapy for anxiety, know that help is available—and that reaching out doesn’t mean something is wrong with you. It just means you’re ready to live with more intention and less fear. No matter where you are in your process, you deserve to feel whole again.

1. Reach out to us here to get paired with a compassionate therapist.

2. Learn more about anxiety treatment by exploring our blogs.

3. Start feeling like yourself again, free from burnout, stress & anxiety.

Additional Services We Offer in Bozeman & Missoula, MT

At Bridger Peaks Counseling, we’re dedicated to offering a diverse range of mental health services to support your unique needs. Our therapists provide teen counseling, depression therapy, medication management, and body image counseling. We also offer postpartum anxiety and depression counseling, grief and loss therapy, and online therapy options. Other services include EMDR, trauma therapy and more.