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Expansion Psychology

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Bedford
Expansion Psychology

Dr Maja Jankowska,
A Clinical & counselling psychologist (HCPC registered), Cognitive Behavioural T

29/12/2025

Navigating the holiday season as a performer brings a unique set of rhythms - whether you're in the middle of a festive whirlwind or facing an unexpectedly quiet diary.

This "break" can amplify pressure, financial strain, or that loud inner critic. 🎭

Wherever you find yourself, please hold these four clinically-informed reminders close:

1. Your worth is not your workload.
2. Name your inner critic to disarm it.
3. Purposeful connection builds resilience.
4. Downtime is a chance to understand your unique anxiety patterns.

👉 I’ve created a carousel to walk you through each of these points. Save it for when you need a gentle, professional reminder.

**A FREE tool: The Stage Fright Symptom Profiler**
It’s designed to help you map your unique patterns of anxiety. It is the first step toward mastering it.

🔗 **Find the direct link in my bio.**

This season, please be kind to yourselves. You are so much more than your next gig or audition.

25/12/2025

What if "calming down" is the wrong move for performance anxiety? 🧠
New research shows anxiety and excitement feel the same in your body. Your system is primed for action - it just needs the right label.

The key isn’t to fight your nerves, but to reframe them.

✨ Want to go deeper? I help pros master their unique anxiety patterns.

👇 Get my FREE Stage Fright Symptom Profiler (link in the bio).

The full-length deep dive (nearly 10 minutes) is now up on YouTube! I break down the groundbreaking science of harnessing your nervous system as a superpower. Watch the full video link in the comments

21/12/2025

Successful performers don't have perfect focus - they have excellent focus recovery.

Here's the 3-step protocol I teach performers:

1. NOTICE (no judgment)

2. ANCHOR (return to one sensory point for 3 breaths)

3. RESUME (continue performing)

Practice when calm (important !).
Use under pressure (only after you practiced when calm).

🎯 DM "PROFILER" for my Stage Fright Profiler

📹 Full video on my channel: "How Performers Stay Focused Under Pressure". Link in the comments.

20/12/2025

I'm developing a 3-day transformative training for professional performers struggling with stage anxiety - those who've experienced criticism, rejection, or humiliation that's left a mark, and who are ready to finally understand why anxiety persists despite all your experience and practice.

This isn't surface-level breathing exercises. It's psychology-backed work to identify the root causes of your performance fear, understand your nervous system's threat response, and learn proven clinical tools to rewire your reactivity and build genuine, unshakeable confidence.

If you're a musician, singer, actor, or stage performer who's tired of anxiety stealing your joy and ready to reclaim your artistry, DM me 'FREEDOM' and you'll be first to know when doors open.

11/12/2025

The first step to overcoming your stage fright isn't learning more techniques but understanding your unique anxiety profile.

What are your specific triggers?
Which symptoms dominate your experience?
When does your anxiety peak: before, during, or after performance?

Once you understand your individual pattern, you can target the interventions that will actually work for your type of performance anxiety.

Understand your unique stage fright profile with a tool used in clinical practice.

👉 Get your Free Stage Fright Symptom Profiler delivered immediately (link in the bio) or DM 'profiler'
https://421f-performers.systeme.io/freebie-stage-profiler-sign-up-page

I have created this clinical assessment tool to help you identify your specific anxiety pattern and understand why certain strategies haven't worked for you, so you can finally target what will.

Feel free to reach out if you have any comments or questions.

08/12/2025

If you get anxiety before performing, you're stuck in "worry mode" 😰

Here's the psychological shift that changes everything: Worry to Wonder 🌟

Instead of:
❌ "I'm worried I'll make a mistake"
Try:
✅ "I wonder what I'll learn from this performance"
Instead of:
❌ "I'm worried I'll look nervous"
Try:
✅ "I wonder how I'll connect with the audience"

This isn't toxic positivity - it's cognitive reframing. You're shifting from threat detection to opportunity scanning.

Your brain processes these COMPLETELY differently:
→ Worry = avoidance mode (closes you down)
→ Wonder = approach mode (opens possibilities)
You're not ignoring fear. You're replacing it with curiosity and growth-oriented thinking.

Want to identify YOUR specific stage fright pattern? 👉 DM me 'PROFILER' to get my free Stage Fright Profiler Drop a 💭 if you've been stuck in worry mode!

06/12/2025

I'll never forget watching a young performer shake uncontrollably on stage. Brilliant talent. Hours of rehearsal. But her body betrayed her the moment she stepped into the lights.

I knew exactly what was happening in her nervous system and I knew it wasn't her fault.

That moment ignited my passion for working with stage performers. Because performance anxiety isn't weakness. It's a nervous system response most performers are never taught to understand or manage.

In this carousel (+ full article on LinkedIn - link in the comment below), I break down:
✨ The neurobiology of stage fright
✨ Why "just relax" doesn't work
✨ How trauma amplifies performance anxiety
✨ Evidence-based strategies that actually help

To every performer: You can be anxious AND extraordinary. You can shake and still be phenomenal. Your worth isn't determined by how calm you appear.

But you DO deserve support.
You deserve to understand what's happening in your body. And you deserve tools to regulate it.

Want to understand YOUR unique anxiety profile?
DM me "PROFILER" for my Stage Fright Profiler - to help you understand your unique anxiety profile and give you targeted, evidence-based tools to perform with confidence instead of fear.

You don't have to white-knuckle your way through performances anymore. There's another way. 💙

05/12/2025

Sweaty palms? Racing heart? That's not anxiety - it's energy.

Here's the research-backed reframe that can transform your performance: anxiety and excitement create identical physiological responses. Your body doesn't know the difference.

The only thing that changes? Your interpretation.

Studies show that reappraising anxiety as excitement improves performance outcomes more than trying to "calm down." Why? Because you're working with your activated nervous system, not against it.

Next time you feel that pre-performance surge, try this:

"This is my body preparing me for a challenge. I am ready and I am excited for it!"

It sounds simple but it's backed by decades of performance psychology research. You're not lying to yourself; you're accurately labelling what's happening in your body.

Your sweaty palms aren't sabotage. They're preparation. 💪

What physical signs does your body give you before a performance? Drop them in the comments 👇

If you would like to understand your anxiety patterns with more clarity, DM me for the Stage Fright Profiler – an evidence-based tool designed to map your triggers and guide your next steps in building healthy, sustainable performance habits.

01/12/2025

Ever wondered how your therapist's brain might be working during your session on performance anxiety? 😅 As a psychologist who's trained in most of these, here's my affectionate (and slightly cheeky) take.

From CBT putting your thoughts on trial, to the existentialist inviting you to sing into the abyss... each therapy modality has its own lens on stage fright.

The truth is, there's wisdom in many approaches. But for performing artists, a one-size-fits-all model often misses the mark. Your craft is unique, and your psychology needs to be understood in that context.

The real question is: what's YOUR unique "Stage Fright Profile"?
Are you a Catastrophic Thinker, a Body-Locked Panicker, or a Perfectionistic Critic? Knowing your specific pattern is the first step to a targeted, effective strategy.

👇 I’VE CREATED A SIMPLE GUIDE TO HELP YOU FIGURE IT OUT.
DM me the word "GUIDE" and I'll send you my "Stage Fright Profiler" guide for free. It’s a quick, insightful tool to point you towards the most effective calming strategies for your brain.

29/11/2025

Your brain can't tell the difference between a frozen lake and a stage. 🥶

This morning, I did a parkrun and then plunged into a frozen lake. And as I stood there, gasping in the icy water, I thought of every performer I work with.

Because what you do on stage is its own form of a brave plunge. You voluntarily step into a space of vulnerability, adrenaline, and high stakes, where every instinct can scream to run back to safety.

This is why I often talk about "brave challenges" with my clients. Stepping far outside your comfort zone in life isn't just a random act - it's strategic training for your mind, because:
1) It Builds Your "Courage Portfolio." When performance anxiety whispers, "You can't handle this," you can counter with hard evidence: "I handled a frozen lake. I can handle this audition."
2) It Reboots Your Nervous System. Activities like a cold plunge teach your body that intense, shocking sensations are manageable and temporary. You learn to regulate the very physiology that fuels anxiety.
3) It Fuels Creativity. Breaking your routine with a powerful physical experience shakes your brain loose. You return to your craft with a refreshed perspective, often breaking through creative blocks.

The stage is your frozen lake. A place where you feel exposed, but where you also discover your own immense strength. My job is to give you the tools to not just survive that plunge, but to thrive in it.

Your turn: What's one 'frozen lake': one brave or crazy challenge you've faced recently? Share it below! 👇

And if you're ready to build a tailored toolkit to master your stage anxiety...

👉 DM me "GUIDE" for my free Stage Fright Profiler! Let's build your unshakable confidence, together.

Address

Bedford

Opening Hours

Monday	8am - 4pm
	7pm - 9pm
Thursday	7am - 4pm
	7pm - 9pm
Friday	7am - 4pm
	6pm - 9pm
Saturday	11am - 1pm

Website

http://www.expansionpsychology.com/

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