When you hear the phrase “performance-enhancing drugs”, you probably start thinking about the darker side of top level sport. But the fact is we're all affected by them.

Cortisol (as I've previously mentioned) is most commonly linked to stress, but it is in actual fact a performance-enhancing steroid hormone. (Yes, you're on steroids as well.) Its main purpose is to increase blood pressure and blood sugar, to give us focus and energy. The trouble begins though, when we start worrying.

According to most studies, public speaking is people's number one fear. Number two is death! As Jerry Seinfeld said, “This means to the average person, if you go to a funeral, you're better off in the casket than doing the eulogy.”

Whether it's having to give a speech, organizing a big event or meeting a certain deadline, you need a boost.

You want focused performance energy, but you don't want the worry – the performance anxiety. The trouble is, your adrenal gland can't tell the difference between you needing the energy at work, to you worrying about it at night. The cortisol tap gets turned on and left on and that's when you get all those negative effects that are associated with stress.

One of the problems is that we call it stress. The word “stress” has so many negative connotations, that when we tell ourselves we're stressed, it's just going to make it worse.

Take the term “performance energy” – it sounds like a good thing doesn't it? Well, stress is just performance energy that's outstayed its welcome.

So the first thing is to forget about stress and think instead how to control your performance energy and make it work for you.

Turn Performance Anxiety into Performance Energy

To start with, we often spend too much time thinking and not enough time planning and doing.

The danger is that the time we spend thinking leads to self-critical thoughts, which leads to stress, which leads to a big hit of cortisol and the next thing you know you're bent over double, breathing into a paper bag.

If you've got a project to finish, don't worry about whether you're going to finish it or not, just get to work on it. If you've got a speech or presentation to make, don't imagine how it's going to go, just write down what you're going to say and practise it.

Keep focusing on what you're going to say and not the event itself. If you are starting to get nervous, practising what you're going to say gives your performance energy somewhere to go.

If you ever see a stand-up comedian perform on different nights, you'll be amazed at how similar the performances are. All those moments that felt improvised and spontaneous are often written. They've sweated over every single word. Now I'm not saying you have to go to those lengths but being well prepared will make you feel more confident and help you relax.

Of course there will inevitably be times when self-critical thoughts will creep into your head and you'll start feeling anxious. If this happens it's good to have a few tricks up your sleeve.

First, try reading. In tests at Sussex University, cognitive neuropsychologist Dr David Lewis found that it reduced stress by 68%. Subjects only needed to read silently for six minutes to slow down the heart rate and ease tension in the muscles. In fact, he said, it took their stress levels to lower than before they started the test.

Listening to music reduced the levels by 61%, having a cup of tea or coffee lowered them by 54% and taking a walk by 42%.

You could also try eating dark chocolate, which is a proven stress buster. So “death by chocolate” cake does kill. It murders stress. Maybe that's why stressed backwards spells desserts.

But what's most important is to be well prepared. If you really want to challenge yourself you can create the symptoms of performance energy. Run up and down the stairs a couple of times and then once you've got your breath back, try running through what's causing you to be stressed. The increase in blood pressure, will at least give you a feel of what it will be like on the big day.

It's all about giving you confidence and helping you feel relaxed in the lead up to whatever upcoming event you're getting stressed about.

Keep practising and not thinking. Then when the time comes, you'll have the focus of performance energy and not the stress of performance anxiety.