How to manage nerves

i choked 3 OTB games which i was completely winning from my nerves. Any tips anyone? It appears my chess performance is much worse from my nerves rather than when i hide my opponents rating online as I can see a person

Before every match I usually just try to chill ig. To me, the games don’t really matter so the nerves don’t kick in, lmao

How many tournaments have you gone to?

Me?

The nerves go away as you play more OTB

Exactly what I have to say.Chewing gum seems to settle some nerves for me during the games

just experience will remove the nerves, but in the short term you can take a few minutes to relax before the game after all the game doesn’t really have high stakes anyway

but at the same time I’m saying u need experience when you have probably been to twice as many otb tournaments than me

When I am playing OTB (c.1750), I actually try not to get up and move around. I tend to stay focussed on the board and make sure I have a sip of drink before each move after the opening. This calms me down and momentarily takes my mind off the game so I can then review the board one more time before I move). I tend to play very quickly even in longer time controls so I rarely have to worry about the extra 30 seconds this takes.

dont chew gun that ruined me at one of my recent events

Sometimes your nerves go away with experience. For me, some games I have no nerves, other games they go away after the game starts, and if I'm playing a particularly frightening opponent (like a little girl) they never go away.
I'd say you have to find some way to get yourself into the flow state where all you can do is concentrate on the game. Wear comfy clothes; often the hall is cold so be sure to layer up. Don't take your eyes off the board unless you have to, and therefore don't walk around and look at other games or drink so much water you'll constantly go to the restroom. Minimize distractions, and don't let yourself get psyched out.
If you're not used to playing at a particular time control, you may find yourself getting low on time or not using enough time. This can be a source of non-position-based stress which you have to learn to manage. It can also be a symptom of stress where if you're not sure about your calculations you tend to take longer or avoid the candidate move altogether. You must trust your calculation and realize that 1. You're quite likely to lose by missing something simple rather than overlooking something obscure or complicated 2. Some of your calculations will be wrong, and you just have to get better at it in the future. 3. Unless you're a computer, your calculations will never be perfect. But the best human players still trust their calculations.

Based on the person ig bcuz every tourney I chewed gum, I did well

I dont think youre allowed to eat gum at most tournaments

Limit caffeine before your games, take deep breaths, get out of your mind after each game, stop overanalyzing what happened, focus on ur next one, try herbal tea(this one, especially works for me).

I think that you aren't doing yourself any favors, by blaming your losses from superior positions, on subjective factors like "nerves." Look into factors like your time management, how you are evaluating the positions that you play, are the lines that you are calculating correct and do you have the knowledge and technique to convert your advantage to a victory.