How Anxiety impacts your Confidence?

Anxiety often significantly affects our confidence; the impact can be direct and evident, or it can be more subtle yet equally influential.

Increasing self-doubt and lack of self-worth

When we feel anxious it can lead us to doubt our abilities and value our self-worth. We might focus on the worst-case scenarios or magnify potential mistakes, making us question our skills or decisions.

This continuous self-doubt eats away our confidence because we start to feel unsure of our ability in situations where before we might feel capable.

Anxiety leading to burnout

Chronic Stress and Burnout

Ongoing anxiety can lead to chronic stress and burnout, which can make us feel drained and incapable of handling new tasks or responsibilities. This can erode our confidence over time, as we are less likely to take on new challenges when we are constantly feeling overwhelmed.

Overthinking and Perfectionism

Anxiety often causes overthinking, which can lead to perfectionism. We may worry about every small detail, second-guess our actions, or fear that even a minor mistake will have major consequences.

This ongoing desire to be perfect can make us feel like we are never "good enough," which undermines our confidence. I find with clients that this happens most in family gatherings such as weddings and Christmas.

Avoiding Challenges

When anxiety takes hold, we might avoid situations where we feel uncertain or where failure is possible, even if these situations could lead to growth or success.

This avoidance behaviour reinforces a lack of confidence because we never give ourselves the chance to prove that we can handle challenges.

The more we avoid, the more anxious and less confident we become in facing similar situations in the future and this can snowball from a small momentary event at school into an all encompassing avoidance of what could lead us to enjoying our true potential and celebrating who we are.

Negative Self-Talk

Anxious thoughts often involve harsh self-criticism or catastrophic thinking. When we're anxious, we might constantly tell ourselves we're not good enough or that something bad will happen.

This negative internal dialogue reinforces feelings of insecurity, making it harder to feel confident or capable of dealing with the task in hand.

Physical Symptoms

Anxiety often comes with physical symptoms like a racing heart, sweating, trembling, or shallow breathing.

These bodily reactions can make we feel vulnerable or self-conscious, especially in social situations or when we're expected to perform, such as giving a speech or presentation.

We might start to worry about how others think about us, which can further reduce our confidence.

While we are talking about the physical aspects I would like to add here that we often find anxiety is connected to and can manifest as stomach issues when we don’t address the underlying beliefs and it can also affect the spleen and pancreas.

Social Anxiety

For those who experience social anxiety, the fear of being judged or making a mistake in social situations can severely impact confidence.

We might avoid social interactions or feel like we're not as competent as others, which can lower our self-esteem and confidence in social settings or public speaking. I found this when I was first attending networking events and when I was asked what I did, and their face went blank and they made excuses to leave the conversation.

Imposter Syndrome

In my work I have found this more common than I expected. Anxiety can fuel feelings of imposter syndrome, where we believe we're not deserving of our success or that we're "faking it."

Despite evidence to the contrary, anxious thoughts can convince us that we are not qualified or that we don’t belong. For me, I was waiting for the wellbeing police to come and stop me working. Imposter Syndrome directly affects confidence, especially in work or in academic environments.

When you are ready to identify your underlying beliefs which are leading to your anxiety and potentially stopping you from enjoying life as much as you desire, then please get in touch. Using EFT and Matrix Reimprinting I can assist you to release and let go of these feelings for good. Your future self will thank you for it.