Event nerves!
The anticipation!
What is that all about?
I have always had really bad event nerves. Maybe why I prefer being the organiser not the attendee. The thought of being an attendee at an event, a real event, leaves me always regretting agreeing to go.
I’m not sure why.
Maybe because I get bored easily. Maybe it’s because I worry I get trapped in a long row of chairs and can’t get out without a scene. What if my stomach makes really loud rumbling noises (even though I’m not hungry). What if I say something really stupid. What if I fall over. What if. What if. What if.
What nonsense! And maybe it’s none of that above. Because I’m not really that bothered if any of that happens.
So what is it?
A small bit of research and I discover anticipatory anxiety.
‘Anticipatory anxiety is when you are fearful for an extended period of time about an imagined future situation you perceive as an unpredictable threat.
This mental health condition is usually not seen as a disorder, but rather a symptom of certain anxiety-related disorders, including panic disorder, generalised anxiety, and social phobia.
Your anxious feelings can reach a peak in the hours before a scheduled event or last for months prior to a situation that may or may not happen.’
It’s a thing!
The advice is to develop a relaxation, coping technique. Something that helps your shoulders sink.
And to reframe the experience, what if you looked forward to it?
And to rethink so that it’s done your way.
The research suggests that anticipatory anxiety sometimes comes from a feeling of not being in control. When you go to an event, you wonder - what will they make me do, will I know what to do, will I enjoy it.
(There is some great research on how to reduce event anxiety through pre comms, room lay outs, seating plans, even exit doors and windows make a difference! )
So it feels like letting go of the thought without needing it to disappear. That you can look forward to an event, and feel nervous.
The anticipation can often be worse than the actual thing.
It’s worth working on letting go of it!
eleanor