Trick To Reduce Anxiety Before Doing Something Important

There are many important situations capable of increasing our anxiety to levels that test our ability to control. These include, for example, a job interview, a public presentation, an exam, or the first day of a new project. At such times, almost everyone needs an extra dose of self-confidence, and we don’t always find it.

For some, this is simply an additional tension that they can resolve relatively easily. For others, it is a moment of instability that is difficult to overcome. There are also those who see these episodes of great tension as an experience that borders on trauma. The truth is, hardly anyone can make it through those moments before an important event without a bit of nervousness.

It is inevitable to feel a certain degree of fear when we have to face an important situation. However, there is a trick, or rather a method, that can help us to prevent anxiety from betraying us. It was created by experts at Harvard University and its effectiveness has been proven.

An Experiment to Assess Anxiety Control

The method was devised by psychologists at the Harvard University Business School. It was established from a series of studies on these momentary crises. According to his conclusions,  what should be done in these cases is a ritual, that is, a sequence of actions with a high symbolic value.

Experts have shown that when a person believes and performs a ritual to overcome anxiety, it usually works very well. To verify their hypotheses with real data, they performed an interesting experiment. They wanted a group of people to be very nervous. To do this, they said that within minutes they would have to sing a song in front of an audience of listeners.

They noticed that many of the participants had a kind of ritual of their own. Most of them repeated aloud: “Calm down!” or “It’s not like that”, or even the classic “You can do it!”. They did this with the intention of reducing the anxiety they felt. However, these actions did not appear to be very effective.

The researchers selected a group of people to apply a different strategy. They asked the participants to draw a picture that showed how they were feeling at the moment. Then they would have to tear it into several pieces and throw it away. Those who performed this simple exercise were better able to control their anxiety.

Controlling Anxiety in Tough Times

Psychologists have said that reminding yourself of the obligation to remain calm is not appropriate. They claimed that what we get with this strategy is what we often get when we ask someone who is out of their minds to calm down. Sometimes what we get is just the opposite: piss off that person even more. The same is true with anxiety itself. You say to yourself “Calm down!” and he gets even more nervous, because in addition to the anxiety, he still has to deal with the frustration of not getting what he wants.

What most generates anxiety in the moments before this important event is the anticipation of lack of control. Not knowing what’s going to happen or knowing a way to control all the variables that can produce a negative result. Therefore, an automated ritual, such as the one proposed in the study, helps us to eliminate this feeling of lack of control over what is to come. Furthermore, if the sequence of actions has a special meaning for us, it will be even more effective.

In conclusion, creating and performing a ritual before facing a stressful situation reduces anxiety. In order to be considered a ritual, it must always be performed in the same way. Usually singers simply warm their throats before a performance. Soccer players touch the pitch, make the sign of the cross, or enter the field making a specific move. Some television hosts have tea or even sleep for five minutes before facing a live show.

Here are some examples of effective rituals. Doing a series of breathing exercises while retrieving from our memory symbolic moments of our capacity, or taking with us and looking at photographs of people who can inspire us, can even be a picture of ourselves at a different stage in our lives.

If it’s a photo of our own, the best thing is that it reminds us of a moment similar to what we’re going to experience. We also had a complicated challenge, over which we didn’t have full control, and yet it was enough to get us through it.

It’s also worth writing down our biggest fear on a piece of paper, chewing that paper and then spitting it out. None of this has to do with magic or spells. These types of rituals are simply directed at conscious and unconscious forces. In any case, it is best for you to believe in your own symbolic ritual. As absurd as it may seem, it is a great brake on anxiety and the negative thoughts that feed it.