Stress Center Peer Support

I posted this in another area as well. It never hurts to get as much encouragement as possible.

Greetings folks and I hope all is well for all of you. I apologize for not logging on sooner. I just listened to session 3 tonight.

Here's my story. All of us have those certain calendar dates that are burned in our memory. Mine is August 3rd. I am 30, married with a child, and have spent the better part of 16 years in front of people. Speaking, singing, radio, announcing, you name it. Several months ago I was preparing to speak and got a bit antsy. At first it was the temperature in the room, then it was my shirt, then it was something I ate. I jumped up, excused myself from the room and found myself being sick. Sure a person gets antsy when speaking but this was the first time. For the next several months the process repeated and I learned a new behavior. I always got through the speaking engagement and nobody had a clue what was going on behind the scenes. In fact, a lot of people said the presentations got better. On August 3rd I was preparing and was sick again. I made it through teh presentation, went to a quiet, dark place and told my wife I was finished. I love doing what I do but could not go through the constant sickness before speaking. I went ahead and got medical clearance and my wife told me to order this information.

I've always had some issues with nerves, even in early childhood. My folks told me that when we would go do something fun and exciting it wasn't unusual for them to pull over so I could be sick. Now here we are. It's amazing how life can play out. All of a sudden the things that I could always do at the drop of a hat are not so easy. Now my calendar list of to do events is just one apprehension to the next.

Since starting the lessons I have had some good moments even with the occasional setback. Over the past week I was even able to get through 3 speaking engagements without having to find a restroom. I try to be hopeful and tell myself this is temporary. I love what I do and want to continue doing what I love. I certainly will not allow myself to withdraw from doing what I want, even if there's some tension.

That's my story. I hope we all find the peace we are looking for.

Hi there,

My life long anxiety stemmed from a great fear of public speaking and reading out-loud in class and it branched out from there - being in a roomful of people, like a class room or a closed in room, then sometimes driving in traffic or being trapped in the dentist's chair or in a closed examination room.

I think you have a wonderful gift, and whatever is going on right now with your recent anxiety, you should definitely take this opportunity to nip it in the bud using the techniques taught in this program.

If you haven't been through the program, it is basically talking yourself through the anxiety when it happens. The more you do it, the easier the challenges get, but yes, you do have to get through them and sometimes you may feel sick, anxious or have to run to the bathroom, but as you learn to talk yourself through it, it gets easier and easier every time.

I hope that helps, I do know what you are going through!

Thanks for the input and encouragement. I have a friend who is a counselor that told me that I was experiencing anticipatory anxiety. There were some events that had me fearing the worst. Unfortunately I let it get the best of me.

I am seeing quite the improvement since starting the series. I started the first week of September but I am going a little slower and just started session 3.

When this started I still accepted a speaking opportunity at a local school. I dwelled on it for a month until the day arrived. As expected I wandered around the parking lot and even inside to cool off for a bit. Once I began speaking everything was fine. I even got a card from the school saying how much it meant. At that point I realized that although there may be some awkwardness at times the reward is worth it.

Fortunately I have good people behind me that are allowing me the opportunity to work this out and they are more than supportive. Very blessed. I had an opportunity to speak last night and of course dwelled on it up until the moment. A month ago I would've been pacing around the room counting down the minutes. Last night I was waiting for the nerves to come but they never did. It's awkward that I was actually feeling awkward because the nerves did not come. Of course I celebrated the victory and look forward to the next opportunity to challenge myself to get through this.

Hope all is well,

Ask your doctor to prescribe beta blockers for a while, and take one before you present. Google them for more info.