Trick To Reduce Anxiety Before An Important Event
There are many important situations in life that can raise our level of anxiety to the point of testing our ability to control. These include, for example, a job interview, a public presentation, an exam or the first day of a new project. On these occasions, almost everyone needs an extra dose of self-confidence and sometimes we can’t find it.
For some, it is simply additional tension that they shed very easily. For others, it is a time of instability that they are unlikely to overcome. There are those who see these episodes of great tension as an experience that borders on trauma. What is certain is that hardly anyone faces an important event without a minimum of nervousness.
A little fear is inevitable when we are faced with an important situation. However, there is a trick, or rather a method, that can possibly help you to manage anxiety. It was developed by some Harvard University experts and its effectiveness is proven. Below we will explain what it is.
An experiment to evaluate the control of anxiety
This method was devised by Harvard Business School psychologists from a series of studies on momentary crises. On the basis of the conclusions, it seems that in these cases it is necessary to resort to a ritual, that is a sequence of actions with a high symbolic value.
Experts have found that when a person creates and practices a ritual to defy anxiety, it typically works very well. To test their hypothesis with scientific data, they decided to carry out an experiment. The participants had to be in a state of great nervousness. To do this, the researchers told them they would have to sing a difficult song in front of a large audience.
They noticed that most of the participants followed some sort of ritual. Some would repeat aloud: “Be calm!”, Or “It will be over quickly!” or the classic “You can do it!”. They did so with the intent of lessening the anxiety they felt. However, these actions did not appear to be very effective.
The researchers then selected a group of people who applied a different strategy. They asked them to draw how we felt at the time. Then, they had to tear the design into a thousand pieces and throw them in the trash can. People who did this simple exercise were able to manage anxiety better.
How to control anxiety in difficult times
Psychologists have revealed that forcing yourself to stay calm is not the best strategy. The only result of this method is the same as when someone is asked to calm down during a moment of great agitation. What you often get is the exact opposite: irritating him even more. The same is true when we are the ones who are anxious. We tell ourselves to stay calm, instead we get more and more nervous because we also find ourselves managing the frustration of not being able to get what we want.
What generates greater anxiety, in the moments preceding an important event, is the anticipation of the lack of control. Not knowing what will happen or not knowing a way to control all the variables that can predict a negative result. An automated ritual, such as the one proposed by Harvard researchers, helps eliminate that feeling of lack of control over what is to come. Also, 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 dealing with a stressful situation helps reduce anxiety. To be a ritual, it must always be done in the same way. Singers sometimes simply warm up their voices before a performance. The players, on the other hand, touch the grass on the pitch, make the sign of the cross or enter the field by making some particular movement. Some celebrities from the show have a cup of tea or sleep five minutes before a live broadcast.
Examples of effective rituals can be the ones we propose to follow. Carrying out breathing exercises while retracing symbolic moments of your abilities in your memory or bringing with you and looking at photos of people who are a source of inspiration can also be a photo of you at a different time in your life.
If it is a photo of you, the ideal would be that it reminds you of a moment similar to the one you are about to live. Even on that occasion, in fact, you had to face a complicated challenge over which you had no control, but you succeeded.
It’s also okay to write your greatest fear on a piece of paper, chew it, and then spit it out. All this has nothing to do with magic and spells. Rituals of this type are simply aimed at the conscious and unconscious forces. In any case, the best thing is that you create your own ritual. Strange as it may seem to you, it is a great brake on anxiety and the negative thoughts that feed it.
