Performance Anxiety Profile 5: The Avoider. When your brain says "just don't show up"

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You felt relief when the performance got cancelled.
You made an excuse not to submit your audition tape.
You called in sick when you weren't really ill.
People think you're uncommitted. Unprofessional. Lazy.
But you're not. You're an Avoider - and your anxiety manifests as an overwhelming urge to escape.
This isn't a character flaw. This is a classic fear response: fight, flight, or freeze. You're choosing flight.

Here's the devastating cycle:

→ Anxiety spikes before performance → You avoid → Instant relief → Your brain learns: "Avoidance keeps me safe" → Next time, the fear is even bigger

You're not weak. Your brain is trying to protect you from what it perceives as danger.
But you're not in danger. You're about to perform.

In this video:
✅ Why avoidance isn't laziness - it's a neurological fear response
✅ How every avoidance reinforces the anxiety cycle
✅ Why 'just push through it' makes things worse
✅ The Gradual Exposure Ladder - a clinical technique to safely rebuild performance tolerance
✅ How to start with a difficulty level of 3 or 4 (not 10)
✅ Why you must stay with the anxiety instead of running

The key: You don't push through. You build tolerance slowly and safely.

📺 WATCH THE COMPLETE SERIES:

Video 1: 7 Types of Performance Anxiety (Start Here)

Video 2: The Catastrophiser - "What If" Loops

Video 3: The Somatic Sensor - Physical Symptoms

Video 4: The Imposter Perfectionist - Conditional Worth

Video 5: The Comparison Constable - Social Comparison

Video 6: The Avoider 9this week)

Video 7: The Dissociator (coming next week)

Video 8: The Inner Tormentor (coming in 2 weeks)

About Dr Maja Jankowska: Clinical & Counselling Psychologist (HCPC registered, PhD, BPS Chartered) specialising in performing artists' mental health.
I work with professional musicians, singers, actors, and stage performers.

🌐 www.beyondthespotlightpsychology.co.uk

💬 AVOIDERS: What do you avoid most? Auditions? Performances? Sending tapes? Share below - you're not alone. I will respond to your questions and comments

🔔 Subscribe so you don't miss the rest of the series.
Each video covers a different anxiety type.

See you next week!