Relationship between stage fright and panic attacks

Unfortuately I am not a professional when it come to the psychology of this.

But being involved in public speaking for years and on occassion being stressed about "stage fright" I have come to find this is something quite natural.

I think it is important to realize that even "pros" feel the effects of this but it doesn't need to be debiliating.

I often attempt to "disconnect" myself from the performance side and focus totally on the reason I am "on stage"... which is generally because I have something important to say - that the audience either doesn't appreciate or understand as much... and I can help them.

Whether this is of benefit to others, or psychology at play -- I know not... but it works for me.

Dear Fathom,

Thanks for your ideas and reply about this. I am also a professional musician and used to have panic attacks and anxiety and I solved them completely. But I am always curious how other professionals handle these kinds of situations with their clients.

Sincerely,

Michael i. Goode
Author and Stage Fright Consultant
Stage Fright in Music Performance and Its Relationship to the Unconscious
www.trumpetworkspress.com

Hi help1

Whenever dealing with performance anxiety, such as public speaking, I firstly decondition any previous highly anxious times around the situation in question by using the Rewind Technique.

I then have the client ehearse the performance hypnotically feeling the way he/she wants to feel.

In addition, I would aim to reframe any negative or self-limiting ideas they have about performance.

Without blowing my own trumpet , this seems to work well, and I know many others here use similar approaches.

Cheers

Roger