焦虑是指一种缺乏明显客观原因的内心不安或无根据的恐惧。预期即将面临不良处境的一种紧张情绪，表现为持续性精神紧张或发作性惊恐状态，常伴有自主神经功能失调表现。

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Performance anxiety can be crippling. Entertainers who suffer from it come up with creative defenses. Bono has his purple shades. The indie rock singer Cat Power faces away from the audience. Others turn to more standard solutions like Xanax. But there might be a healthier quick fix: writing. Because new research reveals that writing about your specific worries just before a performance can reduce the risk of blowing it due to anxiety. The work appears in the journal Science. Researchers gave 20 students two math tests. The students did nothing special before the first test. But before the second test, students were told they’d receive money for high marks. Half of the students were then instructed to take 10 minutes and write down any concerns they had about the test. The other half sat quietly. Those who just sat waiting did 12 percent worse on the second test than on the first. But those who wrote about their fears showed a five percent improvement on the exam. Another part of the research found that writing in general didn’t work—it had to be about test-related concerns to trigger the effect. So to write may prevent some wrongs. —Christie Nicholson
表现性焦虑可能会带来严重后果。深受此害的专业演员们可谓是各出奇招。波诺用紫色来打掩护，独立摇滚歌手猫女魔力转脸不看观众，而其他人则通常用赞安诺等来舒缓焦虑。 但可能有更加快捷健康的解决方法：写作。因为一项新的研究发现，表演之前写下你担心的事情可以减小因焦虑而搞砸的概率。这项发现刊登在《科学》杂志上。 研究人员让20名学生参与测试。第一场测试进行时一切都很普通，但在第二场测试之前，他们告知学生测试成绩高可以获得金钱奖励。然后他们引导半数学生用10分钟写下关于测试的焦虑，另一半则只是安静地坐着。 坐着等候的学生的第二场考试成绩比第一场低了12%，但写下焦虑事项的学生成绩则高了5%。 研究的另一个实验发现话题广泛的写作起不了什么作用——必须是和测试有关的担心才有效。因此写作也许能够避免错误呢。