Panic Disorder And Public Speaking
Public speaking for people who suffer from panic disorder or even just general anxiety often becomes a major source of worry.
These do not necessarily have to be the traditional public speaking events but can be as simple as an office meeting to express an opinion. The fear of public speaking and panic attacks in this case centers on having an attack while speaking. The individual fears being incapacitated by the anxiety and hence unable to complete what he or she is saying. The person imagines fleeing the spotlight and having to make all kinds of excuses later for their undignified departure out the office window.
This differs slightly from the majority of people who fear public speaking because their fear tends to revolve around going blank while speaking or feeling uncomfortable under the spotlight of their peers. The jitters or nerves of speaking in public are of course a problem for this group as well‚ but they are unfamiliar with that debilitating threat which is the panic attack‚ as they most likely have not experienced one before.
So how should a person with an anxiety issue tackle public speaking?
Stage one is accepting that all these unnerving sensations are not going to go away overnight. What we need to do is build your confidence back to where it used to be before any of these sensations ever occurred.
It is said that most of the top speakers are riddled with anxiety before speaking‚ but they somehow use this nervousness to enhance their speech.
My first point is this and it is important. The average healthy person can experience an extreme array of anxiety and very uncomfortable sensations while giving a speech but is in no danger of ever losing control.
The real breakthrough if you suffer from public speaking and panic attacks happens when you fully believe that you are not in danger and that the sensations will pass.
What makes a panic attack come again and again is the fear of the fear — the fear that the next one will really knock your socks off and you feel you were lucky to have made it past the last one unscathed. Once you fully understand you are not under any threat‚ then you can have a new response to the anxiety as it arises while speaking.
There is always a turning point when a person moves from general anxiety into a panic attack‚ and that happens with public speaking when you think to yourself:
“I won’t be able to handle this in front of these people.”
That split second of self–doubt leads to a rush of adrenaline‚ and the extreme anxiety arrives in a wave like format. If‚ however‚ when you feel the initial anxiety and you react with confidence that this is not a threat to you‚ you will move out of the anxiety rapidly.
Using this new approach is a powerful ally because it means it is okay to feel scared and feel the anxiety when speaking — that is fine; you are going to feel it and move with and through the sensations in your body and out the other side.
The key to controlling your fear of public speaking and panic attacks is that instead of pushing the emotional energy and excitement down into your stomach‚ you are moving out through it. Your body is in a slightly excited state‚ exactly as it should be while giving a speech‚ so release that energy in your self–expression. Push it out through your presentation not down into your stomach. You push it out by expressing yourself more forcefully. In this way you turn the anxiety to your advantage by using it to deliver a speech where you come across more alive‚ energetic and in the present moment.
If your predominant fear of public speaking is driven by a feeling of being trapped‚ then I would suggest factoring in some mental releases that can be prepared before the event.
