How to Keep Anxiety From Spiraling, on Stage and Off

As a kid, I had a habit of scanning the audience to see if I could catch a glimpse of my mom's reactions to my performance.Generally, she'd be making a frowny sort of face, which didn't feel great then, but I now understand was probably more a look of concern, rather than disapproval.I don't know why I did that, because it didn't help. And how freaky must that have been for the people in the audience? Especially in the vicinity of my mom? Like, what the heck is this kid looking at? Wait...is ...