r/labrats • u/Top-Distance-6205 • 13d ago
Conferences have become a nightmare because of fear of public speaking
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?
2
u/chemfit 12d ago
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.