9781422287668

13

What Are Fear and Anx i e t y?

Knowing we’ll have an audience for our performance is a factor that often heightens anxiety.

game, though. Only a few people watched most of Mya’s games, mostly parents and friends. There would be hundreds of people at the championship game, some of them traveling from out of town. All of them would be watching Mya and her teammates win—or lose. Mya didn’t feel any better as the morning wore on. She thought maybe eating breakfast would make her stomachache go away, but it didn’t. She wasn’t very hungry, and she didn’t eat much. Mya’s heart was pounding. She knew she had to snap out of it if she was going to play well and score goals.