Dry mouth, sweat, shivering, stuttering, hesitation , bowel movements…all these phenomena are familiar to most people when faced with a situation that causes them high emotional stress.

Almost all of us have had an exam where we had something important at stake, a public exhibition, a date with someone we are interested in or a medical exam. When it’s important to us and we’re worried about the final result, nerves make us uncomfortable and tense and can even play tricks on us like going blank.

How to control the nerves? In this article you will find a series of recommendations that will allow you to either reduce the level of nervousness or not affect your performance so much.

Nervousness: an uncomfortable but useful phenomenon

Nervousness and stress are phenomena and reactions that are often distressing and unpleasant for us . It is logical to ask ourselves what use can be made of something that we find so aversive and can degenerate into pathological reactions.

The truth is that nervousness is a reaction to stimuli that we foresee will happen in the future and it is a very adaptive advantage that allows our survival. This is done by the autonomic nervous system, specifically the sympathetic system. It causes the body to activate and prepare itself to react to the situation that represents an emotional activation for us. Thanks to this we can, for example, be prepared and attentive in the exam in which we play to pass the course.

The problem occurs when this nervousness is excessive, does not yield or prevents or limits us from acting correctly (such as going blank). On these occasions it can be unadaptive. This is why, when faced with high levels of stress it can be useful to know how to disconnect and control the nerves . Let us see how this can be done.

Managing nerves: some strategies

Below are a number of ways and things to keep in mind to manage or control your nerves. However, one thing should be clear: these different recommendations may serve to reduce the nervousness or its effects, but they do not remove it from the root.

1. Relaxation techniques

Relaxation techniques are some of the first and best known recommendations for fighting and controlling nervousness. Usually recommended are the techniques focused on the control of breathing and muscular tension and distension , such as Jacobson’s well-known progressive muscular relaxation. In addition, some types of techniques require only a few minutes and can be performed anywhere.

2. Mindfulness or meditation

Mindfulness or meditation helps us to connect with the present, to put things in perspective and to concentrate on what is important. The level of tension can be greatly reduced and we can manifest a higher level of self-control. Meditation with the evocation of relaxing images is often very useful as well.

3. Self-instruction technique

I’m not able to do it, or I’m going to go blank. These are thoughts that some people have when they feel nervous. This is completely detrimental, since our expectations of our own performance can change our final behavior so much in the direction we thought (remember the Galatea effect and self-fulfilling prophecy).

On the contrary, sustaining positive thoughts and believing in our own possibilities can favour our final performance . Moreover, giving ourselves instructions on what we are going to do next helps us not to forget the key aspects.

4. Rehearse and prepare the situation

We are often extremely nervous about the fact that we do not know how we are going to act in the situation. Although it will obviously not be the same, a good way to get to know and improve your performance is to rehearse what you are going to do or say . For example, in front of a mirror or better yet, with other people different from those who are going to participate in the feared situation.

Although it is redundant, rehearsing allows us to practice the performances we are going to do, to get an insight into our strengths and the things we should improve before performing and to receive input from potential observers. In addition, we get used to the situation, so that part of the surprise or novelty will not affect us so much at the moment of truth.

It is usually recommended that such reviews or tests be done in the hours prior to the stimulus that causes the nervousness. However, for some people it is often beneficial and even the most productive time to prepare.

5. Be prepared, but leave room for improvisation

Rehearsal is necessary, but we must keep in mind that we should not pretend to have everything prepared and planned, memorized as if we were going to recite something written on a piece of paper. Besides the fact that the latter would be forced and unnatural in most cases, it is necessary to know what we are going to do and have an outline of the situation in general , but we must be ready so that the situation can have unforeseen elements.

6. Decatastrophy

We can put ourselves in the worst possible situation we can think of, and then ask ourselves what would really happen if what we feared happened . It is a matter of putting into perspective the importance of what we fear. We fail a test, the quotation goes badly or we go blank. They laugh at us or we miss an opportunity. So?

I can show up next year, get another appointment with him or the person in question or carry out another work. That’s not going to kill us. The point of this kind of performance is to give things the importance they have, no more and no less.

7. Expose to the situation and avoidance

One mistake that many people make not only in the face of normal nervousness, but also in the face of pathological anxiety, is to avoid the feared situation. This only reinforces the fear of what is to come and worsens our ability to cope. It is not a matter of provoking fear for pleasure, but of learning to face it in an adaptive way.

8. Drink drinks that allow you to relax and avoid excitement

Coffee, energy drinks or other exciting substances will increase the level of activation, which will generate even more nervousness. That is why we should avoid them especially in the moments before the situation that causes us nervousness. On the contrary, it can be beneficial to drink relaxing drinks such as lime blossom or chamomile . In some extreme cases, some type of tranquilizing drug may also be consumed, only by medical indication.

9. Do sport

Exercise activates our organism, but it can also allow us to free our mind and calm down. Endorphins and other substances are generated that facilitate the reduction of internal tension. It is useful to do exercises that leave us relaxed, but it is not necessary to do them until we fall asleep. Running or swimming are usually some of the typical examples of useful exercises.

10. Contact with nature

Noticing the wind and breeze, the feel of the grass or sand, the cold of winter or the sunlight can be very pleasant. In addition, it has been shown that being in contact with nature can be relaxing and greatly diminish our stress levels. This recommendation can go hand in hand with exercise.

Bibliographic references:

  • Barlow, DH. (2000). “Unraveling the mysteries of anxiety and its disorders from the perspective of emotion theory”. The American Psychologist.
  • Lorenzo Fernandez et al. (2013). Manual of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology. Pan-American.
  • Nuss, P- (2015). “Anxiety disorders and GABA neurotransmission: a disturbance of modulation”. Neuropsychiatrist Dis Treat.