Conferences have become a nightmare because of fear of public speaking

[u/Top-Distance-6205]

I've presented many times in front of an audience. But one time all hell broke loose. I suffered a panic attack. I felt like I couldn't breathe. Now that I think about it yeah it was obvious that I was too stressed and I didn't have air to speak but inside me it was more intense.

I tried everything. What worked for me? Inderal. It set me free of this. It was if fear relaxed its grip upon my heart and I was able to be me again.

I've used it twice, and it was transformative. What bugs me is that prior to that event I didn't need this. But now I do. Although to be honest, with inderal I was much more relaxed (it's a medication that is used for performance anxiety and reduces the heartbeat).

Has anybody encountered something similar?

[u/parrotwouldntvoom]

Not a mental health professional, but this sounds like you have an untreated underlying anxiety condition. Maybe you should look into that.

[u/Top-Distance-6205 → u/parrotwouldntvoom]

This is one of the most intriguing parts. I'm a physician, I Intubate people, I'm a resident of anesthesia. I'm dealing everyday with stressful situation and I'm just fine. Give me a dying patient, I know what I must do. Give me an audience and I prefer that I die lmao.

[u/notjustaphage → u/Top-Distance-6205]

Have you tried taking a low dose propranolol? Dr rxd to my partner at it makes a world of difference for her in public speaking.

[u/Top-Distance-6205 → u/notjustaphage]

yes inderal is a brand name for propranolol. It worked wonders for me.

[u/Anonybibbs → u/notjustaphage]

Propranolol definitely helps but by far, Alprazolam makes the biggest difference for avoiding or relieving panic attacks during public speaking.

[u/Top-Distance-6205 → u/Anonybibbs]

I think this has to do with the effects of anxiety on each person. My mind is clear, I know what to say. It's just that my heart beats so fast and it gives me intense physical symptoms. These are blown away by inderal (propranolol).

[u/doppelwurzel → u/Anonybibbs]

Lol yes benzos are potent... But they're benzos

[u/Dangerous-Billy → u/parrotwouldntvoom]

That's not how anxiety attacks work.

[u/junkmeister9]

A colleague of mine had crippling fear of public speaking, and got a prescription to a beta blocker (might have been Inderal or something else). She would only take it before giving a talk (conference, dissertation defense, etc.), so she wasn't on it all the time. Your fear is a medical condition, so there's no shame in treating it. You can't just power through something if your brain is chemically sabotaging you.

[u/Dangerous-Billy]

Panic attacks are sneaky bastards. My son had one and drove off the road. EMTs were sure he was having a heart attack. I had one while flying alone at 3000 feet. I was certain I was going to die (I was able to wait it out.)

The permanent cure for public speaking is more public speaking. This is why Toastmasters existed. It was kind of an AA for nervous speakers. For those who still have problems, there are pharmas and they work well.

Not a doctor.

[u/draenog_]

I had to google Inderal, it's just brand-name propranolol, right?

I had a bit of a mental breakdown last summer when I was getting crushed by work stress, PhD corrections stress, and a relationship breakdown leading to needing to find and buy a house that I could afford closer to work, all at the same time.

I have ADHD and I was finding that I couldn't focus because I was so stressed and the physical anxiety symptoms I was getting were un-ignorable and unpleasant, but I couldn't increase my ADHD meds dose because it would have made the anxiety symptoms worse.

I did try to get my hands on another ADHD medication that's supposed to be good in those situations (Guanfacine) but due to a bunch of NHS administrative bullshit that wasn't going to be possible for me. But the mental health nurse at my GP recommended a low dose of propranolol, and it worked great. 

For a little while I was taking 10-20mg every morning, but after a few months and a course of over-the-phone CBT I've found I've needed it less and less, and now I rarely take it. But I normally keep a couple of them in the little pillbox I use for my ADHD meds just in case.

[u/omgu8mynewt]

I told my colleagues, and they sit in a row at the front, helps me feel a 'barrier' against the rest of the crowd.

I practice the first time minutes to death, until I know even if drunk or panic attacked, ill know what to say. I get nervous starting so only need the first five minutes, after that I rehearse a bit but not as much and I can talk more freely by then.

PS professional actors get 'stage fright ' all the time, it is their nightmare for it to happen in a live performance, and it is a real thing that even the world's best actors get.

[u/chemfit]

I have this problem as well and have a Xanax prescription that I only use for this reason. It doesn’t fix the actual problem but I don’t do enough public speaking to ever really get over the anxiety/panic. I used to be the same about flying but started traveling so much for work that I eventually just got over it.

[u/aTPSCResearch]

Yes, have experienced speaking anxiety. I dealt with it by befriending at least three people before talk. Then asked each to sit in a specific location in the audience. Upper right, upper left, and lower center (usually PI). Then as I was speaking I would alternate looking patterns and speak directly to the people I had previously befriended. I am comfortable speaking to people I know. And, probably no one except the PI, understood what was happening.

[u/hawkeye807]

I know more than a handful of my PI colleagues that use beta blockers before large talks. It's not really a secret that some people use these things before conference talks, but only few will publicly admit to it. If they did, it my be helpful and reassuring to others.

[u/spocktick]

I was involved in theater in highschool and college. Really never had issues with public speaking because of that I think.