How did you get over it?
I don't recall having a lot of poker related anxiety, but it got really bad when I was super tryhard in Starcraft. What worked for me was not focusing on winning as much and make goals for myself like working on a specific part of my game. That way I went in not expecting to win but simply to improve. That and having a pre-game routine that involved some non-ladder practice that required very little willpower to get into and that made it easier to transition into ladder games.