I get panic attacks when speaking infront of many people, how do i get over this? It is too much for me. Help?
954389
It helps to not have to look at the people. There are ways to do this.\nPOWER POINT PRESENTATION: darken the room for the slide show and you are looking at the screen with the rest while talking into the mike\nVISUALS: have something for the people to look at other than yourself and if they are too scary, look at the thing yourself\nONE PERSON: Only look at one person and talk to them. They others are eaves droppers. When you start reading your speech / presentation, someone will have a positve reaction. Give eye contact to that person, and as he/she gets more enthusiastic, so will you. Every now and again, a different person will like something, then you can talk to that one. Instead of talking to a crowd, you will only talk to one person at a time.\n\nPRACTISE your talk: get a couple of rows of chairs with jackets on the backs of them, and give your talk to those chairs. It is always easier giving a talk the 2nd or 3rd time around, so make your first group non-threatening.
658208
remind yourself that everyone says dumb things so there is no reason for being afraid....most people are afraid to talk in front of people because they are wondering what the people are thinking of them....everyone is not perfect
240782
You need to take a deep breath and get your thoughts in order. Do not speak straight away, visualise your speech then start slowly. Do not rush. Also, practice in front of your friends and family or even in front of the mirror.It really helps!
260502
I get panic attacks too. You feel like you are going to pass out and your heart rate goes thru the roof.. right?\n\nHave to talked to your doctor about medication? Maybe they can perscribe something to help you. \n\nWhen I know I'm having a panic attack, I call my father and he talks me thru it. It's all in your head. Worrying about them can bring them on. You have to de stress yourself. And when you have them, call SOMEBODY and just talk, not about your panic attack, just about anything. If your parents know you get them and you are close with them, call them and expalin what is going on and why you are calling. Freaking out about them whil you are having one will make it worse. I'm saying to call (or talk) to someone because it takes your mind off of it while it's happening. While you are talking, lay down. It will go away sooner than it normally takes and it's not as scary. And remember, control your breathing while you are having one. That will slow the heart rate back to normal. In thru the nose, out thru the mouth. You CAN control it (panic attacks).\n\nHope I helped.
758238
Public speaking is a common source of stress for everyone. BELIEVE ME!!!!!  Many of us would like to avoid this problem entirely, but this is hard to do. Whether we work alone or with large numbers of people, eventually we will need to speak in public to get certain tasks accomplished. And if we want to be leaders or achieve anything meaningful in our lives, we will often need to speak to groups, large and small, to be successful.\n\nThe truth about public speaking, however, is IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE STRESSFUL! If you correctly understand the hidden causes of public speaking stress, and if you keep just a few key principles in mind, speaking in public will soon become an invigorating and satisfying experience for you.\n\nPurpose Of This Report\nThe purpose of this Special Report is to help you overcome the fear of public speaking. It begins by discussing ten key principles to always keep in mind. If you approach any problem in life with the right starting principles, everything else will fall into place. On the other hand, if you start with the wrong guiding principles, you can try all you want, but there is little chance you'll improve.\n\nThis Report also reveals eleven "hidden" causes of public speaking stress. I have summarized these eleven causes, along with the ten key principles, at the end of this Report, so you can easily review them.\n\nKey Principles\nPrinciple #1--Speaking in Public is NOT Inherently Stressful\n\nMost of us believe parts of life are inherently stressful. In fact, most of us have been taught to believe that life as a whole is very stressful!\n\nTo deal with any type of stress effectively, you first must understand that life itself, including public speaking, is NOT inherently stressful. Thousands of human beings have learned to speak in front of groups with little or no stress at all. Many of these people were initially terrified to speak in public. Their knees would shake, their voices would tremble, their thoughts would become jumbled . . . you know the rest. Yet they learned to eliminate their fear of public speaking completely.\n\nYou are no more or less human than they are. If they can conquer the fear of public speaking, so can you! It just takes the right guiding principles, the right understanding, and the right plan of action to make this goal a reality.\n\nBelieve me, it's not difficult. I'm a good example of someone who conquered the fear of public speaking. And while I didn't do it overnight, it wasn't difficult. All it took was approaching the problem in the right way.\n\nPrinciple #2--You Don't have to be Brilliant or Perfect to Succeed\n\nMany of us have observed public speakers and thought to ourselves "Wow, I could never be that smart, calm, witty, entertaining, polished . . . or whatever." Well, I've got news for you-- you don't have to be brilliant, witty, or perfect to succeed. That is not what public speaking is all about. I know it may look that way, but it's not. You can be average. You can be below average. You can make mistakes, get tongue-tied, or forget whole segments of your talk. You can even tell no jokes at all and still be successful.\n\nIt all depends on how you, and your audience, define "success." Believe me, your audience doesn't expect perfection. I used to think most audiences did, but I was wrong! Before I discovered this, I used to put incredible pressure on myself to deliver a perfect performance. I worked for days to prepare a talk. I stayed up nights worrying about making mistakes. I spent hours and hours rehearsing what I was going to say. And you know what? All this did was make me even more anxious! The more perfect I tried to be, the worse I did! It was all very disheartening (not to mention unnecessary).\n\nThe essence of public speaking is this: give your audience something of value. That's all there is to it. If people in your audience walk away with something (anything) of val
546480
you are not alone,  public speaking is one the biggest fears faced by people.  you must feel confident, make sure your dressed to the tee, you smell good, your hair is done right.... beleive me the way you look influneces the way you feel about yourself.\nsecond,,,,,prepare,,,,  know whatever your speaking about.knowledge is power. power boosts confidence. \nthird, practice in front of mirror. \nthis sounds funny but it works , this is a sales technique , if you look convincing , you'll sound convincing. \ndont look anyone directly into the eyes. look above them but change the general direction of your look so they feel you are talking to the whole crowd.\nand lastly....... relax.you know what your doing.youll bee all right.... it will be over soon.
609932
I've had that problem for three years, but I've got it under control now.  They're called panic attacks, and they're REALLY scary.... sometimes, you can trigger one just by THINKING about it.  Do you get nervous when you think about how scared you feel when you get nervous?  It's a scary feeling, I know.  Start by breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth when you start to feel like that, and then think about something that makes you happy and remember that YOU ARE IN CONTROL.  It doesn't work right away, but pretty soon you'll get to know yourself in this situation well enough to know what works for you, how long to breath right, what to think about to make yourself feel better, and everything else!  Whatever you do, don't just sit there and let it happen... they'll get worse.  Think happy thoughts and take yourself away from the situation, read a book or a magazine, watch cartoons... cartoons work the best for me.  Don't start thinking about scary things, about life, and all the bad things that can happen.. and honey, you are NOT a freak.  This is normal, hundreds of thousands of people have this problem.  Eventually, you'll get them under control.  Good luck and if you ever need to talk, feel free to email me! ♥
457957
PRACTICE, i know uve heard it a million times.By now you expect yourself to stammer. you are going to need to do alot of talking to yourself practice getting it right when theres no audiance, plan what u are gonna say and pactice just being able to get it done. then mov on to publick stuff, MAKE yourself speak up in groups. and remember that everyone has problems, you arent gonna get thr over night, but one of the best publick speakers ive ever heard STAMMERED a little during his speach, i met him aftrward, and he said about what you said in your question. it had been a life long struggle for him too.
1064652
You might want to check out information on Social Phobia. This is one of the most common forms of anxiety disorders (more common than Agoraphobia). Over 7% of the population suffers from social anxiety disorder.\n\nIf you have social phobia you usually worry that others will notice your anxiety because of your blushing, sweating, shaking, or difficulty getting your words out, (for example).\n\nOther fears triggered by social situations include:\n\n    * I'll look uncomfortable or awkward\n    * I'll seem weird or strange\n    * I'll appear stupid or incompetent\n    * I'll look embarrassed\n    * I'll be boring\n\nThese fears tend to be triggered when just anticipating the social situation. You may also have noticed that, after the event, you often feel bad or worse when thinking about how you "performed". How you actually felt in the situation can play a big role in this "post-mortem". \n\nThe Social Phobia/Social Anxiety Association, a non-profit organization, seeks to educate about social phobia:\nhttp://www.socialphobia.org/\n\nThey list some good self help books here:\nhttp://www.socialanxietyinstitute.org/bookstore.html\n\nYou should talk with your doctor and ask for a referral to a psychologist who specailizes in Anxiety Disorders.
272341
Honestly there is no easy fix for this. You just have to put yourself in a situation where you have to talk. If you are really that uncomfortable with it and you are in school consider taking the dreaded speech class. It will force you to get up and talk in front of people. The best way to get over a fear like this is to tackle it. Hope that this helps and I wish you luck!
145676
The only way to get over being afraid of singing in front of other people is to actually sing in front of other people. You'll end up getting used to it and after awhile it won't even bother you anymore. It just takes time and getting used to. Don't let your fear stop you from singing. Keep on singing and good luck!
955661
You need to examine WHY you are anxious. This is sometimes difficult to get to but figuring out what triggers you and why is the first step to getting control over it.\n\nThe most important thing to remember, is that YOU are in control.\n\nI used to have terrible panic attacks and then one day I realized... i am doing this to myself?? WHY?? After that I began to really look at things and see what was going on and how I could find ways to change it. \n\nUltimately, I gained control over myself and my panic attacks and thus, my life. \n\nI think too many people get to thinking they are out of control and all of these things become self-propagating problems (we think they are getting worse, so they do). \n\nI strongly believe that life is not about getting RID of our neuroses, it is about learning to live with them and appreciate them for making use the unique people that we are! \n\nGood luck my friend...
641551
i have the same problem...it actually harder for me in front of people that i know...oddly enough, strangers i have no trouble with...but that may just be me. but here are my guild lines\n\n1st know what you are going to say...practice your speech to the point that even if you start freaking out you can still say everything you want to say without thinking\n\n2nd when it comes time for you to make the speech...be calm...close off your emotions as much as you can...almost to the point of not thinking...this does help me\n\n3rd when i was starting out i couldn't make direct eye contact with anyone while giving the speech...this msy not be the case with you but it sure helped with me\n\nrecently i was kinda trust into a position where i had to give speeches about 2 time a week...i can honestly say that the more you do it the better you will get at it...and the easier it will become...so if you are going to have to give a speech quiet often it will get easier\n\njust to let you know after giving a speech i was so nearvous that i would almost be crying at the end of a speech...i am not normally the emotional type but then i was...now i can give speeches with relative ease...still not as good as i want to be but better none the less.\n\ni wish you the best of luck on your speech
394033
You didn't give enough information about yourself but you may be suffering from "social anxiety disorder". Look it up on the internet and if the symptoms fit your description, there are medications that can help. I've had a lot of success with and prescribe a beta blocker called "propranolol". I tell my patients to take it before they give a speech or engage in social events. The medication helps but the real treatment is psychotherapy...
859677
yes i did and i know why you do, your probably have a huge fear of being embarrassed in front of a lot of people or worried about what people think  if you say or do something silly or make a mistake when your talking  or something along them lines.When you with one person its OK but when you have a lot of eyes staring at you when you make a mistake its a horrible feeling! i used to be afraid to talk in class when i thought people would laugh at my voice,comment or answer 2 something . But thank God i don't have that problem now, you just have 2 tell yourself whats the worst that can happen speaking in a group? your not going to get hurt or die maybe you might be laughed at but It will all be forgotten in a few days time. So my advise to you is just try to be more strong minded and don't care what anyone thinks of you,  life is to short to let other people dictate it or ruin it.:-) hope this helps.peace.
1012279
Best thing I learned through four years of acting school was to keep practicing. If you have to do this presentation soon, go to a public place, any place, the mall, the park, where it is fairly crowded. Practice your debate or your side of the debate here. Raise your voice, and give your speech. People will look at you like your insane at first, but you will notice after a while, they will start to ignore you. If you can get comfortable doing this when you give the real debate it will be a piece of cake! It take guts, but try it! It really works! and if you can't do this practice alone, take some friends with you to cheer you on. Stage fright fear is, funny, and powerful, once you get over it, you can wield it like a wizard and use your stage presence to win your audience. Hope you try it and good luck!
953686
A mental problem? Not even close! You sound like you are simply preoccupied or experiencing anxiety about your next task or place to be . Try this, The next time you are walking to a class or any place you have to be,YOU start a very simple conversation with the person you are with. It could be the weather or a job , just small talk . Even plan out what you want to say before hand and just take one word or sentence at a time. Work on relaxing and no " tough" topics that can cause anxiety.\n\nSee if this helps and most important don't build this up to be "Oh no there is something wrong with me". because there is not .\n\nWe all have some funky thing about us that makes us unique. I have trouble putting sequences together sometimes. If somebody asks me about a movie that I saw I have a hard time explaining the movie because  I have trouble putting things in sequence and vocalizing them but then again I can play complex classical music on the guitar so maybe I'm autistic, who knows? But your OK . Just relax..