People ask me all the time if they really can completely eliminate their performance anxiety( often referred to as stage fright, or fear of public speaking) and feel confident and in control when they have to express themselves in front of others such as: performing, giving a talk, a presentation or a public opinion at home, at work or in social situations.
It seems hard for people to believe that they can eliminate their performance anxiety so quickly, especially since many people have been suffering with it for so long and have attempted to get help through a variety of programs with little results.
The problem begins to look too big to solve, impossible to eliminate, overwhelming and improbable. Each time you attempt to change something in your life and don't, the more you believe that you can't . It's one of the laws of our mind. “What the subconscious mind perceives to be the truth, becomes the truth.”
When you suffer from performance anxiety, you know it by your immediate physical reactions which can include (but are not limited to) feeling sweaty and faint, fear of losing control, trembling, hyperventilating, shaky voice, diarrhea, weakness in the knees, dry mouth, a desire to flee, difficulty concentrating, pounding heart, and feelings of complete terror, and panic.
These feelings occur every single time you have to express yourself in front of others, they often occur simply in anticipation of expressing yourself in front of others, even though it may be days or weeks in advance.
The truth is, you must come to that point when you are absolutely ready to change, (read that again) then you have to (take action) and then you can become the change you seek. We get positive results by getting the facts, then finding the best solution to resolve it.
Having said that, here are 6 things you must absolutely know before you can completely eliminate your performance anxiety and the negative and debilitating feelings associated with it.
1.) You can't practice your performance anxiety away. In other words, getting up in front of people over and over again, isn't going to resolve performance anxiety regardless of what you may have read or heard to the contrary. The reason is simple. Performance anxiety is not a rational understanding by the conscious mind, it's created by your subconscious mind to protect you from this imagined danger. ( It's called a conditioned response) You will continue to respond to this situation exactly the same way you always have until you resolve it.
2.) Performance anxiety won't go away by itself over time. Simply put, you can't ignore it, or take time off from your career or your social life and then expect your performance anxiety to have disappeared on its own when you get back.
3.) Self-medicating with drugs or alcohol is not solving your performance anxiety, but in fact, is actually making your life, your health and your performance worse. If you are self-medicating to get yourself through presentations or performances, you are throwing away your career, your health, and your important relationships and you still will not have resolved your performance anxiety. When you resolve your performance anxiety you'll feel confident, in control and your performance will dramatically improve naturally, without the need for drugs or alcohol.
4.) Prescription drugs don't eliminate your performance anxiety. They simply help you to manage it in return for a variety of side effects that definitely diminish your performance. A lot of performers and presenters, from actors to classical musicians, to lawyers, to salespeople, talk about the use of beta-blockers and anti-anxiety drugs as a method to control their performance anxiety or( stage fright or fear of public speaking ) as it is often called. Again, the bottom line here, is that you must resolve your performance anxiety, when you do, the feelings associated with it will disappear and so will your need for prescription drugs.
5.) Avoidance is not a cure for performance anxiety. More often than not an individual will use avoidance as a means to manage their performance anxiety. The belief is that by avoiding such situations they are managing the problem. The truth is just the opposite, they are actually being managed by their fears and anxiety. For performers and presenters in particular, this choice can be a career ending decision. At the very least, you pay a very high price with your mental and physical well-being, not to mention all the lost opportunities.
6.) You actually can overcome and eliminate your performance anxiety, in 24 hours or less. Today we use techniques that are simple, fast, relaxing and effective. You don't have to spend months or years in therapy or thousands of dollars on programs that aren't right for you. All you need is 1.) to understand the 7 points I just shared with you, 2.) make your decision to fix the problem and 3.) take action by finding that specialist who offers expertise in fast change, fast results techniques for performance anxiety, stage fright, fear of public speaking and phobias.