Your tricky human brain is still the prehistoric ‘don’t get killed’ machine that thrives on social connection and treats the possible withdrawal of approval as threatening.

As relatively small and weak animals, working in groups has been to our evolutionary advantage.

Your brain is hardwired to care what your audience, colleagues, audition panel and teacher thinks of your music performance. You cannot switch this part of your brain off.

A raised heart rate, sweaty hands and a dry mouth, for instance, are normal ‘fight, flight, freeze’ response to real or perceived threat of evaluation and judgement. It is also normal to be distracted by these loud feelings and not be able to concentrate on your performance.

It is also normal not to want to have these feelings and avoid situations when you think you might feel this way. It is also normal for your overall wellbeing to be effected by these unpleasant experiences.

It is normal for your performance quality to suffer and it is normal to feel disappointed with yourself. It is normal to feel embarrassed and ashamed and to not want to talk about this.

You do not need to get rid of these feelings. It is possible to have these feelings and experiences and still perform well. Most great performers experience something similar and still give engaging and competent performances.

You do not need to be fixed. You are not faulty. You are not a bad musician. You are not lacking talent if you struggle with this.

In this interview with psychologist Shae Meddings, I talk about my longing to call myself a musician while growing up, panic attacks while studying, the challenge of stage fright in auditions, seeing a psychologist the persistence of performance anxiety across through my performing life.

So many of us have had struggles when it comes to stage fright.. maybe you have considered performing for a sounds on the couch event and are trying to build up the courage.

Listen to this interview with Karen Harding from Sounds on the Couch

Deborah is a guest on the the SBS Insight show. “You don't win auditions when you fall apart in auditions, so you don't get the job that you want,” she says.

Here is another interview for the show and here is an article I wrote for the show.

Can ACT help you overcome performance anxiety?

‘I am a woman on a mission – I want to teach as many people as possible, before I shuffle off this mortal coil, about how Acceptance and Commitment Therapy can move you closer to being the performer you truly dream of being.’

You can also read and interview with flautist Chloe Chung here.