What is the Fear of Public Speaking?
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Also commonly referred to as fear of public speaking, performance anxiety, public speaking phobia, presentation anxiety or performance nerves. In various surveys, the fear of performing in public is often one of the highest ranked fears. The fear itself is almost always about feelings of inadequacy or being judged negatively by others.
If you get nervous whilst performing or public speaking then you are feeling the effects of the fight or flight response. This is a natural response to a perceived threat. Its purpose is to ensure that we are prepared physically to deal with whatever that threat might be. The usual result is that we either run away and avoid the threat or physically fight it. The perceived threat itself may be physical or psychological in nature. (e.g. potential physical harm, looking foolish, making a scene, not being accepted or liked, appearing weak, etc.) When it is activated, hormones such as adrenaline are released into the bloodstream to prepare your body for action. The fight or flight response actually functions extremely well, however problems arise when it is triggered in situations which we simply can't avoid or fight our way out of. Such as meetings, interviews, speeches, performances or presentations.
When the fight or flight response is triggered, hormones such as adrenaline are released into your body to prepare you for fighting or escaping. You will increase your oxygen levels by breathing more rapidly. There will be an increase in your heart rate to pump blood faster to the lungs, muscles and brain. Your muscles tense ready for action and your awareness is heightened.
Symptoms of public speaking anxiety may include: sweating, a lump in the throat, racing heart, breathing difficulties, shaking, feeling light-headed, going blank, loss of concentration, tingling, a need to urinate, digestive problems, tension, stammering, aches, sense of inferiority, inadequacy, weakness or shame.
All performance anxieties first starts within our thoughts. If we think a threat exists within a situation, our brain stimulates the release of the various stress related hormones.
The part of your mind that deals with anxiety doesn't really tell the difference between reality and imagination. So thinking about a future situation in a negative way, by worrying or 'what-if'-ing will actually activate the fight or flight system, in much the same way as if you were there in reality.
Anxiety functions in such a way that makes it almost impossible to fight head on. Most people desperately fight it by trying in vain to control and manage the symptoms. In fact the more you try to control the anxiety symptoms, the worse they often get! The Chinese proverb "The tree that does not bend with the wind will be broken by the wind", quite neatly illustrates the problem with this approach. One obvious solution is not to rigidly control the symptoms, but to focus on flowing with them and change what's actually causing them.
Anxiety starts with a thought in which an interpretation of danger is made about a situation. As it starts with a thought then the most rational place to start making changes is with your problematic thoughts. If the problematic thoughts are changed so that a situation is no longer considered a danger then the anxiety is never triggered. The process of changing your thoughts is actually easier than most people realise. Any experienced psychotherapist should be able to help.
Public speaking anxiety can occur in any situation were you are the centre of attention. It can be very common in situations such as: presentations, meetings, interviews, acting auditions and performances, musical performances, wedding speeches, exams.
Article Source: Articlelogy.com
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