The Anxiety Cycle: Why You Feel It, Why It’s Normal, and How To Turn It Into Calm Consistency

Feb 13, 2025

Why You Choke When It Counts (And How To Stay Calm Under Pressure)

Here’s the problem with being human:

We don’t get certainty.

We’re not Mystic Meg – and, let’s be honest – she couldn’t predict the future either. She just had the confidence to write it in a newspaper.

But your brain? Your brain hates uncertainty. So when it can’t get answers, it does the next best thing: it starts imagining what could go wrong… and then it prepares you for it like it’s guaranteed.

That’s not weakness. That’s survival.

The problem is, if you don’t understand the mechanism, it turns into a cycle that compounds and it can hijack your performance right when you need calm consistency the most.

So let’s break down the performance anxiety cycle, and how to take control of it.

First: What Performance Anxiety Is Not

Before we talk strategy, let's talk clarity. Performance anxiety is not:

A disease (you’re not broken)
A sign you’re not talented (nerves don’t equal lack of ability)
Rare (almost everyone gets it, including top performers)
Terminal (it won’t kill you, even if it feels all-consuming)

Performance anxiety is a threat perception.

At some point, your brain decides: “This matters. Pay attention. Consequences are possible.”

And your body responds accordingly.

Why You Get Anxious When You Care So Much

Here’s the brutal truth:

You get nervous because it matters to you.

Selection matters. Identity matters. Your future matters.

That’s why your brain goes hunting for what could go wrong.

And if you go looking for problems… you’ll always find something.

Because nothing is ever perfect.

That’s where the spiral begins.

The 8 Phases of the Performance Anxiety Cycle

This is the merry-go-round most athletes don’t realise they’re on.

1) Awareness of threat

You sense something important is coming:

selection trial
major comp
key skill under pressure

Your spidey senses go off: “Something’s on.”

2) Fear and apprehension

You don’t even know exactly what’s wrong… but you start scanning for it.

And if you’re determined to find a crack in the armour, you’ll find it.

3) Escalation of consequence

Your brain turns a possible outcome into a catastrophic one:

“If this goes wrong… everything goes wrong.”

This is where imagination becomes a weapon.

4) Psychophysiological arousal

Your system goes into Defcon mode.

You stop thinking 'maybe' and start assuming:

“It’s inevitable. It’s coming.”

This is often the first moment of overwhelm.

5) Fight, flight, or freeze

Cortisol dumps into your body.

You go into survival mode:

fight (agitated, aggressive, forcing it)
flight (avoidance, excuses, wanting to pull out)
freeze (blanking, feeling stuck)

6) Reduced dexterity and thinking clarity

Your brain reallocates resources away from fine motor skill and logic.

That means:

timing feels off
touch and feel disappear
decision-making drops
you lose flow

For an elite athlete, that’s terrifying… and it fuels the cycle.

7) Increased negativity and catastrophising

Language collapses:

“I can’t.”
“I’m not ready.”
“I’m not good enough.”

And your brain starts prepping for survival, not performance.

8) Confirmation bias

The moment anything goes wrong, your brain goes:

“Told you.”
“See? I knew it.”

And here’s the kicker…

It doesn’t stop.

It loops.

And next time, it starts at a higher level.

Why Humans Are the Only Ones Who Do This So Badly

Most animals react to real threats. Humans imagine threats.

That imagination is why we built cities, roads, stadiums… and why you can visualise the perfect routine, race, fight, or performance.

But it’s also why your brain can create a horror movie about selection day, before selection day even arrives.

Your brain thinks it’s helping.

It’s not.

Not unless you learn how to manage the cycle.

The Dopamine Gorilla, the Cortisol Cactus, and the Serotonin Lemon Tree

Now let’s get nerdy (but useful).

Inside your head, there’s a party going on with three key players:

Dopamine (the big, hairy gorilla): “That felt good. I want more.”
Cortisol (the cactus): tough, robust, survival-focused, always ready
Serotonin (the lemon tree): needs care and nurturing, but it calms the system

Here’s the performance anxiety storm:

Dopamine wants the big moment (“I want selection, I want greatness.”)
Imagination shows you what could go wrong (“What if I fail?”)
Cortisol kicks you into fight/flight/freeze (“Danger!”)

If you do nothing, dopamine magnifies cortisol, and your anxiety momentum builds.

So the goal isn’t to remove the nerves.

The goal is to dampen cortisol by feeding serotonin.

The Fastest Way To Calm Your System: Recognition + Reward

Serotonin is released through recognition and reward.

Not fake hype.

Not Instagram quotes.

Data-backed acknowledgment of what you did well and what you’re building.

That’s why journaling works. It’s not “dear diary”.

It’s performance chemistry.

When you recognise progress, your brain releases serotonin, which dampens cortisol.

And dopamine? That gorilla magnifies serotonin too.

That’s the party you want.

And if you want to learn more about how this cocktail of chemicals works inside your body when you are under pressure, here's where I explain gorillas, cacti and lemon trees:

Warning Signs You’re In the Cycle

If you’re not sure whether anxiety is creeping in, look for these tells:

poor sleep (classic)
overthinking
compounding negative thoughts
avoidance (pulling out, “mystery niggles”, excuses)
overtraining → fatigue → “I’m not ready”
appetite/diet swings
getting sick pre/post comp (immune system compromised under high cortisol)

If you recognise yourself here, good. Awareness is phase one but now you’re aware of the right thing.

The Real Goal: Don’t Sink In It – Traverse It

You might not be able to stop anxiety showing up. But you can stop it driving the car.

When you can recognise where you are in the cycle, you can rewind:

Where did this start?
What threat did my brain perceive?
What story am I telling myself about consequences?
What evidence do I have that I’m capable?
What’s one controllable action right now?

That’s control.

That’s calm.

That’s consistency.

So it’s not Weakness... it’s your Survival Mechanism Trying to Future-Proof your Career

So, as you’re heading into a season, make this your baseline:

Don’t fear nerves – interpret them as importance
Learn the 8-phase anxiety cycle so you can catch it early
Feed serotonin daily through recognition + reward
Use JOBV as your non-negotiable structure
Stop prepping for survival – start prepping for performance

If you’re serious about representing in your sport, the difference isn’t talent.

At your level, everyone is talented.

The difference is who can stay calm, consistent, and dangerous… when it counts.

And that’s a skill. Not a personality trait.

If you want help building that skill, start by running JOBV for the next 7 days like it’s training you can’t skip.

Because it is.