This discussion is now closed.
Check out other Related discussions
- Do we need to know the categories of each disorder for A-Level Psychology AQA?
- AQA AS Level Psychology 2023 Questions
- 2024 Aqa A level Psychology Papers
- Selective/situational mutism
- A level psychology help
- Honest review of Psychology A-Level? Difficulty? Is it Interesting? Is it worth it?
- what the hell is this phobia
- A-Levels
- What’s your phobia?!
- Can anyone Manchester think of any green spaces less likely to be dogs
- weird social anxiety experience
- phobia
- Does anyone else have selective mutism?
- Safe unsafe to eat
- Can anyone Manchester think of any green spaces less likely to be dogs
- Semen phobia
- OCR A-LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY PAPER 3 (H567/03) - 3rd June [Exam Chat]
- Mental health
- A fear of anything that can fly within my vicinity?
- I'm a Phlebotomist, AMA!
Social phobia
This is difficult to explain but here we go...
Basically I have a massive fear of having to talk infront of a group of people, sometimes even 1 person for an extended period of time. It's worse when I have to present things like a powerpoint infront of the class or do feedback from a piece of text we've read / made notes on. When this happens I have paralising fear and have numerous panic attacks and by the time it's my turn I am red, trembling, heart going into arrest, can't speak properly, can't breath properly, and it's just basically a complete mess.
Today we had to do a powerpoint presentation and it's got the stage where I'm so petrified that I've just skived the day cos I erally cannot put myself through the physical stress of it any longer because, if any of you have experienced a panic attack, you will know how unpleasant they are.
This was the first time I've ever 'stuck my head in the sand' over this issue and part of me feels really disappointed as I've always stood up to pressure but lately it's just got too much.
Anyway, last night I told my parents about this problem and to be honest it didn't go down well, they understand that I do not like doing this but they say things like "don't be silly" and "it's just a little hang up you've got" which really doesn't help as it used to be 'a little hang up' but it's got worse and worse until I cannot put myself through the situation anymore.
When I suggested the doctor they went totally on the defensive, and when I mentioned anti-stress drugs they almost went mad. They said that the only thing they'd be prepared to do is send me for councelling.
Okay that's fair enough, but I really think I'm past the councelling stage now and the only thing that will help me now is drugs so that the association between stress and public speaking is destroyed as I know that the fear is completely irrational (yes I study psychology).
However, as said before, my parents are completely against this and claim that if that goes on my medical record my future employability will be affected which really freaks me out
So, I'm basically at a crossroads:
a) Carry on as normal, take on the stress and fight on
b) Trust my parents, go to councelling and hope for the best
c) Go to the doctors behind my parents' back, get the drugs and hopefully all will be solved.
Which option do you guys think is best?
Sorry for the long rant, I guess some of you probably think I'm mad.
Basically I have a massive fear of having to talk infront of a group of people, sometimes even 1 person for an extended period of time. It's worse when I have to present things like a powerpoint infront of the class or do feedback from a piece of text we've read / made notes on. When this happens I have paralising fear and have numerous panic attacks and by the time it's my turn I am red, trembling, heart going into arrest, can't speak properly, can't breath properly, and it's just basically a complete mess.
Today we had to do a powerpoint presentation and it's got the stage where I'm so petrified that I've just skived the day cos I erally cannot put myself through the physical stress of it any longer because, if any of you have experienced a panic attack, you will know how unpleasant they are.
This was the first time I've ever 'stuck my head in the sand' over this issue and part of me feels really disappointed as I've always stood up to pressure but lately it's just got too much.
Anyway, last night I told my parents about this problem and to be honest it didn't go down well, they understand that I do not like doing this but they say things like "don't be silly" and "it's just a little hang up you've got" which really doesn't help as it used to be 'a little hang up' but it's got worse and worse until I cannot put myself through the situation anymore.
When I suggested the doctor they went totally on the defensive, and when I mentioned anti-stress drugs they almost went mad. They said that the only thing they'd be prepared to do is send me for councelling.
Okay that's fair enough, but I really think I'm past the councelling stage now and the only thing that will help me now is drugs so that the association between stress and public speaking is destroyed as I know that the fear is completely irrational (yes I study psychology).
However, as said before, my parents are completely against this and claim that if that goes on my medical record my future employability will be affected which really freaks me out
So, I'm basically at a crossroads:
a) Carry on as normal, take on the stress and fight on
b) Trust my parents, go to councelling and hope for the best
c) Go to the doctors behind my parents' back, get the drugs and hopefully all will be solved.
Which option do you guys think is best?
Sorry for the long rant, I guess some of you probably think I'm mad.
I'm really sorry to hear that you're suffering so badly from this problem. It's normal for people to get anxious about talking in front of crowds or groups, but when it's at this stage, I really think you should seek help. It's great that you've been being so brave and fighting on, and if you can manage that, then I think you can manage to overcome the condition. You should take your parents advice and try the counselling. If you get put on medication, it will sort things out for a while, but the problem is, you can become dependant on it. It's best to tackle the root of the problem with a professional, rather than to hide the problem behind drugs. There are some natural remedies you can take otherwise, such as St John's Wort, Natracalm and Rescue Remedy, look them up! Good luck.
That sounds like a horrible thing to have to go through... well done for mentioning it to your parents, its a shame that they automatically closed off at the mention of going to the Drs. But at the end of the day.. whilst you say that you know the drugs are what you need, and your parents say that the most you need is councilling, neither of you are really qualified (although with the psychology I do get you might have a bit more of an idea) to say which in particular you need. Definitely try to battle through this, because you'll be so proud of yourself if you do. But if it's something you really can't avoid, then go to the Drs, and see what they say, whether you would do better with councilling or maybe something else. Share the fears over your medical record you've got with them, see what they have to say.. and just see what their professional opinion is, if you really can't battle through it anymore.
Best of luck
Best of luck
Thank you for both your opinions...
It's half-term next week, which is basically the only thing willing me on at the moment, so I can relax a lot then.
The drugs that Love Sheep suggested are a big possibility as I can purchase them during a free period so that no one will know.
It's half-term next week, which is basically the only thing willing me on at the moment, so I can relax a lot then.
The drugs that Love Sheep suggested are a big possibility as I can purchase them during a free period so that no one will know.
Your parents evidently know nothing of such things. Panic attacks and a public-speaking phobia shouldn't be things belittled. My personal experiences that have helped, i get myself very physically fit in the weeks/days prior to the presentation, helps lower my resting heart beat as a result etc...also some visualization, i.e. deliberately raise my heart beat up just prior to the presentation (i.e. pretend that my name has just been called so as to start reading in class/do the presentation - a psychological mind game on myself as such), so that my body is adjusted to what it will be like, in a couple of minutes time, i.e. a high heart-rate, one in which the body will adjust to etc...make my nerves more controllable due to such visualization...
if such psychology and exercise routes don't work, go for beta-blockers. These helped enormously at times for me, but ideally, drugs are the last resort, but maybe you're at that 'last resort' stage already...with beta-blockers, they made me feel a tad drowsy at times and i often had to go for an afternoon nap if i used them in the morning for a presentation...to sleep off the drowsiness...
if such psychology and exercise routes don't work, go for beta-blockers. These helped enormously at times for me, but ideally, drugs are the last resort, but maybe you're at that 'last resort' stage already...with beta-blockers, they made me feel a tad drowsy at times and i often had to go for an afternoon nap if i used them in the morning for a presentation...to sleep off the drowsiness...
It sounds like you may suffer from Social Anxiety. You are not mad and people often don't understand the feelings you get when put in pressured social situations. It's easy for others to say that it's just nerves etc but they most likely haven't experienced it. For the record there are many people who suffer from this.
There isn't a magic cure for these things. Drugs can do a fair bit to help some people but with others they don't have the desired effect. I would say that drugs is the last resort and that pinning your hopes on them isn't the answer.
I'm not in a position to tell you what to do but seeing a doctor is definitely advisable.
There isn't a magic cure for these things. Drugs can do a fair bit to help some people but with others they don't have the desired effect. I would say that drugs is the last resort and that pinning your hopes on them isn't the answer.
I'm not in a position to tell you what to do but seeing a doctor is definitely advisable.
white_haired_wizard
Your parents evidently know nothing of such things. Panic attacks and a public-speaking phobia shouldn't be things belittled. My personal experiences that have helped, i get myself very physically fit in the weeks/days prior to the presentation, helps lower my resting heart beat as a result etc...also some visualization, i.e. deliberately raise my heart beat up just prior to the presentation (i.e. pretend that my name has just been called so as to start reading in class/do the presentation - a psychological mind game on myself as such), so that my body is adjusted to what it will be like, in a couple of minutes time, i.e. a high heart-rate, one in which the body will adjust to etc...make my nerves more controllable due to such visualization...
if such psychology and exercise routes don't work, go for beta-blockers. These helped enormously at times for me, but ideally, drugs are the last resort, but maybe you're at that 'last resort' stage already...with beta-blockers, they made me feel a tad drowsy at times and i often had to go for an afternoon nap if i used them in the morning for a presentation...to sleep off the drowsiness...
if such psychology and exercise routes don't work, go for beta-blockers. These helped enormously at times for me, but ideally, drugs are the last resort, but maybe you're at that 'last resort' stage already...with beta-blockers, they made me feel a tad drowsy at times and i often had to go for an afternoon nap if i used them in the morning for a presentation...to sleep off the drowsiness...
Thanks, can beta-blockers be bought at a pharmacy or are all of them prescribed?
Anonymous
Thanks, can beta-blockers be bought at a pharmacy or are all of them prescribed?
go to your doctors, if you're at uni, go to the uni doctor - beta-blockers could be prescribed, and once finished, you can get repeat precriptions. Firstly, he/she will probably ask you in what type of situation you get nervous, give you some leaflets, i.e. local groups you could attend to, to help you in such a situation, leaflet with detailed breathing exercises etc... By the sounds of things you obviously have a problem so beta-blockers i found to be a good insurance policy whenever i was physically not fit enough in a position to control my nerves...which would then develop into panic attacks...with beta-blockers, i could also eat and drink as per normal, prior to presentations....so everything was so much better, but as a minor side-effect i got a little drowsy with using them, but a very small price to pay IMO....
So, in short, a prescription from the doctor.
But like Love-Sheep effectively is saying, if you can find a natural route to take, to reduce your problems to a manageable level, then it's better doing this, i.e. drug-free. But if you do feel extremely nervous prior to a presentation, you do have a beta-blocker on-hand if you need it...
Anonymous
It sounds like you may suffer from Social Anxiety. You are not mad and people often don't understand the feelings you get when put in pressured social situations. It's easy for others to say that it's just nerves etc but they most likely haven't experienced it. For the record there are many people who suffer from this.
There isn't a magic cure for these things. Drugs can do a fair bit to help some people but with others they don't have the desired effect. I would say that drugs is the last resort and that pinning your hopes on them isn't the answer.
I'm not in a position to tell you what to do but seeing a doctor is definitely advisable.
There isn't a magic cure for these things. Drugs can do a fair bit to help some people but with others they don't have the desired effect. I would say that drugs is the last resort and that pinning your hopes on them isn't the answer.
I'm not in a position to tell you what to do but seeing a doctor is definitely advisable.
Not necessarily Social Anxiety. More specifically, as seems to be the case with the OP, formal presentation/speaking anxiety - which develops into panic attacks... I have this yet i don't have Social Phobia, which is quite a general, more all-encompassing description...
hey guys im socially anxious around females male btw
male btw
I think you should give councelling a try first. Your councellor may suggest you talk to a doctor, you never know.
Councelling may help with that as well, though I suspect it's more of a piss take. But it worked well for me, got me to ask this gal I liked out for a drink, though nothing came of it.
It may seem like I'm singing the praises of councelling, and, well, I am. It helped me a lot.
Anonymous
hey guys im socially anxious around females male btw.
male btw.It may seem like I'm singing the praises of councelling, and, well, I am. It helped me a lot.
I recommend you start with something natural like Rescue Remedy. Recommended by driving instructors before you take your test and surely that's one of the highest anxiety situations? Just a few drops on your tongue just before a stressful situation. No side effects, not habit forming. What have you got to lose?
Pescription or over-the-counter?
I used to suffer from the same problem, but don't worry it will get better (even if it takes a while). For now though I think you should take counselling, and let your teachers/lecturers whatever know so that you don't lose marks or get into trouble.
My phobia was so bad I got into trouble with one school, and excluded from another!
My phobia was so bad I got into trouble with one school, and excluded from another!
I used to have the same problem. I am getting over it now. Don't know how, I just got so used to being anxious I got practice bringing up my confidence. Stop yourself overthinking, and make the outbreath a bit longer than the inbreath. It was all about my expectations to how the presentation would be. I stopped thinking about that stuff. I tried to tell my parents and they were completely unsupportive.
One way or another it sounds like you need to get help from a doctor or another professional. Social phobia can get very serious.
Does it actually effect the rest of your life or just doing presentations?
Does it actually effect the rest of your life or just doing presentations?
Related discussions
- Do we need to know the categories of each disorder for A-Level Psychology AQA?
- AQA AS Level Psychology 2023 Questions
- 2024 Aqa A level Psychology Papers
- Selective/situational mutism
- A level psychology help
- Honest review of Psychology A-Level? Difficulty? Is it Interesting? Is it worth it?
- what the hell is this phobia
- A-Levels
- What’s your phobia?!
- Can anyone Manchester think of any green spaces less likely to be dogs
- weird social anxiety experience
- phobia
- Does anyone else have selective mutism?
- Safe unsafe to eat
- Can anyone Manchester think of any green spaces less likely to be dogs
- Semen phobia
- OCR A-LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY PAPER 3 (H567/03) - 3rd June [Exam Chat]
- Mental health
- A fear of anything that can fly within my vicinity?
- I'm a Phlebotomist, AMA!
Latest
Trending
Last reply 1 month ago
Engineering vs. Medicine: Stuck Between Dreams and ExpectationsLast reply 1 month ago
heyyy , im new heree and im willing to have some friends xxxLast reply 1 month ago
Im 16 and never had a gf and it doesnt feel ok.