Public Speaking Fear

Off Topic
21

[quote]sig805 wrote:
You’re absoloutely correct, I didn’t do the reading and didn’t mean to imply that I did. I believe that we are essentially making the same argument. My reference to training wheels was trying to indicate that you could use the propranol to overcome the initial anxiety and as you become comfortable speaking, taper down the dosage. (Not sure if its always this way but in my experience having issues with public speaking can really perpetuate itself i.e. one poor speach causes more anxiety about the next thus the problem feeds itself and this is where I can see the drug being beneficial.) Overall I think that as long as your approaching it with the attitude that you want to address and overcome the problem as opposed to avoid it you are on the right track.[/quote]

I think you get it now. My post is meant to discuss the use of this drug, which you seem to be the only one doing. I still have hope for these forums.

22

It sounds to me like you’re making every attempt to justify keeping your fear. You medicate it so it doesn’t bother you, so you have no reason to dispose of it. You must really like this fear, do you not? It must serve some purpose for you. What purpose?

What you need is the “Fast Phobia Cure”. Look for a hypnotherapist who’s familiar with it. One session with a skilled hypnotherapist usually does it even for the most horrific phobias. PTSD is very effectively treated with the FPC.

Right about now I suspect you’re coming up with reasons why I “don’t understand” or how your phobia “is different” or “I didn’t do research.” You’ll get over it eventually? Bullshit. You’ll keep using the drugs. Man up and fix it without the crutch.

This is a bodybuilding website, so we’ll tell you when you’re full of shit too.

23

[quote]Hyena wrote:
Taking drugs to not be nervous? you gotta be fucking kidding. Listen man, nobody, and I mean NOBODY is comfortable speaking in front of a crowd. Why it is the #1 fear among humans, I haven’t the slightest idea. What is the worst that could happen? You fuck up a word? You lose your train of thought? Who cares? As long as you know what you are talking about, it is pretty much impossible to come out looking like an inept dumbass, like everyone seems to think they will.

You want my advice? Get off the drug, enroll in a public speaking class at your local community college, and thank me later. Public speaking classes should be required in high school. Once you go through it, and you get used to it, and you learn how to approach a topic, or an audience, its so easy, you wouldn’t believe. Even the best speakers in the world, who speak in front of tens of thousands of people on a weekly basis, are nervous before they go up. Their heart is pounding just like yours, they sweat just like you. The only difference is, they’ve learned to deal with it. Be aware that you are gonna be a nervous wreck, and work through it, once you are in front of your audience for about 40 seconds, you will calm right down.

[/quote]

I think you’re missing the point that the biggest issue is not neccesarily the fear and discomfort going into a speach but the physiological response it causes during the speach, if this is strong enough it can and will carry through the whole speach. These effects can also cause alot more than just fucking up a word. But I do agree that the vast majority of people can overcome this through practice, however in cases like the OP where it is already addressed regularly and is still an issue I dont neccesarily belive it can be dealt with so easily.

I also find the OP’s comment on comparing it to performance enhancement intriguing, not quite sure what my opinion is on that at the moment.

24

[quote]Hyena wrote:
Taking drugs to not be nervous? you gotta be fucking kidding. Listen man, nobody, and I mean NOBODY is comfortable speaking in front of a crowd. Why it is the #1 fear among humans, I haven’t the slightest idea. What is the worst that could happen? You fuck up a word? You lose your train of thought? Who cares? As long as you know what you are talking about, it is pretty much impossible to come out looking like an inept dumbass, like everyone seems to think they will.

You want my advice? Get off the drug, enroll in a public speaking class at your local community college, and thank me later. Public speaking classes should be required in high school. Once you go through it, and you get used to it, and you learn how to approach a topic, or an audience, its so easy, you wouldn’t believe. Even the best speakers in the world, who speak in front of tens of thousands of people on a weekly basis, are nervous before they go up. Their heart is pounding just like yours, they sweat just like you. The only difference is, they’ve learned to deal with it. Be aware that you are gonna be a nervous wreck, and work through it, once you are in front of your audience for about 40 seconds, you will calm right down.

[/quote]

Its interesting how you you reveal that you ‘dont know how it can be a #1 fear’, but then you proceed with a solution to a problem that you just said you don’t understand some of the mechanics of. You come off as very naive here, and obviously havn’t read any of the previous posts in this thread. Do I want your advice? No I don’t. If you weren’t high off your ego while writing that post, and actually comprehended the series of posts in this thread up until now, you would have realized this. If you would have read the previous posts or had any knowledge about this topic, you’d realize that plenty of elite performers use this drug as an edge. You ever hear of anyone use a drug for an edge? Try some of the other sections in this forum.

25

[quote]demonthrall wrote:

[quote]angry chicken wrote:
Or you could confront your fear… and conquer it. Just sayin’…[/quote]

Any specific steps you suggest, or are you just some idealistic kid?[/quote]

Damn. You got me. LOL

26

[quote]yorik wrote:
It sounds to me like you’re making every attempt to justify keeping your fear. You medicate it so it doesn’t bother you, so you have no reason to dispose of it. You must really like this fear, do you not? It must serve some purpose for you. What purpose?

What you need is the “Fast Phobia Cure”. Look for a hypnotherapist who’s familiar with it. One session with a skilled hypnotherapist usually does it even for the most horrific phobias. PTSD is very effectively treated with the FPC.

Right about now I suspect you’re coming up with reasons why I “don’t understand” or how your phobia “is different” or “I didn’t do research.” You’ll get over it eventually? Bullshit. You’ll keep using the drugs. Man up and fix it without the crutch.

This is a bodybuilding website, so we’ll tell you when you’re full of shit too.[/quote]

You’re putting yourself way out on a limb with your assumptions. You’re giving advice for my personal direction on public speaking, rather than talking about the drug and it’s promising uses. You obviously have nothing useful about propranolol to post about, and are simply spouting out advice, similar to the guy who’s had a little too much whiskey at the bar. The concept of performance enhancement seems to elude you too. Did you know that people take steroids for enhancement? weird. Back to the actual topic: Have you any experience or knowledge with the drug? If you are interested, read some of the info on PTSD, you’ll see what we’re talking about.

27

[quote]
I think you’re missing the point that the biggest issue is not neccesarily the fear and discomfort going into a speach but the physiological response it causes during the speach, if this is strong enough it can and will carry through the whole speach. These effects can also cause alot more than just fucking up a word. But I do agree that the vast majority of people can overcome this through practice, however in cases like the OP where it is already addressed regularly and is still an issue I dont neccesarily belive it can be dealt with so easily.

I also find the OP’s comment on comparing it to performance enhancement intriguing, not quite sure what my opinion is on that at the moment.[/quote]

Congratulations, you have a brain that is capable of thoroughly reading a thread, and deciphering the topic at hand!

As far as performance enhancement, it definitely has value. The usual question is “at what cost?” As I said, the average reported dose for this purpose seems to be about 10mg, which pales in comparison to the 140-300mg taken for it’s primary purpose; Hypertension. If you research the side effects as well as personal anecdotes on the web, you may come to the conclusion that side effects at hypertension dosages are rare and or minimal. Now scale that down to 10mg. It would be similar to taking 40mg of ibuprofen, instead of 800mg!! Once you do some research on the side effects at this small dosage, read up on the performance enhancement aspect of it. You won’t get much real data, only personal stories like mine. You may come to the conclusion that the enhancement to side effect ratio is worth it to use. It’s interesting how some people in this thread have treated it as a narcotic or something, without researching it- Especially on a forum where its common practice to ingest supplements, steroids and everything in between- for the sake of performance enhancement.

The first person that was busted in the olympics for it was a marksmen in 2008, so this seems to be a recently developed use for the drug. It doesnt seem to be widely known yet.

28

I wont be able to comment on this thread for a few days, as I’ll be ‘up north at the lake’ for the holiday.

Minnesota humor.

Cya then.

29

I’ve heard of very good musicians using this stuff to enhance their performance and give more consistent performances. And I have to admit that before I go out to anywhere with lots of noise and lights and people or make speeches/presentations, I like to take a little magnesium to help take the edge off. Sometimes a tea meant for either relaxation or sleep can help too. After starting to do it, I’ve found that I don’t need as it much anymore that I’ve been able to create positive experiences at these places and during these experiences. I guess it just got me more comfortable which in turn led me to gain more experience and confidence.

30

[quote]angry chicken wrote:

[quote]demonthrall wrote:

[quote]angry chicken wrote:
Or you could confront your fear… and conquer it. Just sayin’…[/quote]

Any specific steps you suggest, or are you just some idealistic kid?[/quote]

Damn. You got me. LOL[/quote]

hahah

31

As somebody who used to completely freeze up when standing in front of an audience, my only advice is to get out there and do it. Start small…deliver a toast at a dinner party or something, then work your way up. I know this sounds like a tired old mantra, perhaps stamped onto a bottle of “AminoBlast 2000”, but “face your fears!”. Has anybody ever successfully conquered a fear by pharmaceutical methods rather than facing it head on? (I’m excluding paranoid schitzophrenics and the like). A pill might help to alleviate some of the underlying anxiety involved but ultimately you have to sack up and “just do it” (agh…another mantra, sorry).

32

[quote]demonthrall wrote:

You’re missing the point of the post, you really are. I will oblige you anyway for your efforts, since you mean well. First of all, you are assuming I don’t speak a lot, whereas I do about once a week, albeit sometimes only in front of 8-10 people. I doubt thats too irregular for avoidance. I have also been doing this for 3-4 years.

Secondly, you dont seem to understand there are different severities of psychological things like this, nor do you seem to understand the concept of performance enhancement. Notice I never said it was bad enough for me to avoid or cancel anything. You’d know this if you did any research on propranolol and realized that many stage performers use it, and olympic athletes have been busted using this for an extra edge. Taking drugs for an extra edge, what a concept on a bodybuilding website, huh? [/quote]

Look man, you may not have posted this looking for advice on how to deal with your fear, but you’re the one who said that “anxiety disorders cannot be cured by confronting the fear,” when in fact, behavior therapy (specifically exposure therapy) is the most effective treatment (including meds) out there. There’s much, much more evidence for it than propranolol, including for PTSD.

If that drug works for you, great. Good luck.

33

I’m a much better speaker after I have had a couple of beers. You could try that, I know a lot of those talking heads on the news get sauced before they have to go on the air.

For me, it’s not really the fear of speaking in front of people - it’s because I HATE the sound of my voice. It sounds so weak and soft.

I used to scream in my car on my way to work/school; that will deepen your voice temporarily but you have to do it everyday for longer lasting effects.

34

You’re a douche…and you’re long winded…douchey long winded people usually THRIVE in the spot light.

35

Maybe the name of this thread should be “uses of propranolol” to avoid confusion about discussing your public speaking fear.

36

[quote]attydeb2005 wrote:
You’re a douche…and you’re long winded…douchey long winded people usually THRIVE in the spot light. [/quote]

Haha awesome.

37

Propanolol is crazy, if you actively remember one of your memories and you inject it right after in the specific area where the memory is actived you stop the synthesis of protein necessary for the reconsolidation of your memory in the long term memory, that means you forget the memory you were remembering before injecting the propanolol

at least in rat

it’s crazy I tell you

38

[quote]angry chicken wrote:

[quote]demonthrall wrote:

[quote]angry chicken wrote:
Or you could confront your fear… and conquer it. Just sayin’…[/quote]

Any specific steps you suggest, or are you just some idealistic kid?[/quote]

Damn. You got me. LOL[/quote]

This made me laugh. I would take angry chickens advice, actually i would take any advice this man offered. Even if it seemed bad i feel like i would still take it.

39

[quote]demonthrall wrote:

[quote]Hyena wrote:
Taking drugs to not be nervous? you gotta be fucking kidding. Listen man, nobody, and I mean NOBODY is comfortable speaking in front of a crowd. Why it is the #1 fear among humans, I haven’t the slightest idea. What is the worst that could happen? You fuck up a word? You lose your train of thought? Who cares? As long as you know what you are talking about, it is pretty much impossible to come out looking like an inept dumbass, like everyone seems to think they will.

You want my advice? Get off the drug, enroll in a public speaking class at your local community college, and thank me later. Public speaking classes should be required in high school. Once you go through it, and you get used to it, and you learn how to approach a topic, or an audience, its so easy, you wouldn’t believe. Even the best speakers in the world, who speak in front of tens of thousands of people on a weekly basis, are nervous before they go up. Their heart is pounding just like yours, they sweat just like you. The only difference is, they’ve learned to deal with it. Be aware that you are gonna be a nervous wreck, and work through it, once you are in front of your audience for about 40 seconds, you will calm right down.

[/quote]

Its interesting how you you reveal that you ‘dont know how it can be a #1 fear’, but then you proceed with a solution to a problem that you just said you don’t understand some of the mechanics of. You come off as very naive here, and obviously havn’t read any of the previous posts in this thread. Do I want your advice? No I don’t. If you weren’t high off your ego while writing that post, and actually comprehended the series of posts in this thread up until now, you would have realized this. If you would have read the previous posts or had any knowledge about this topic, you’d realize that plenty of elite performers use this drug as an edge. You ever hear of anyone use a drug for an edge? Try some of the other sections in this forum. [/quote]

I don’t understand how it is such a big fear, because it is so easily remedied by the things I listed.

Face.

And I’m not high on my ego, I just prefer to face my inadequacies, and deal with them, instead of just popping a pill, like a little bitch, and not having to worry about it.

Also, just using it to “enhance performance” is bullshit as well. You’re not some world famous motivation speaker who gets paid to speak to millions of people every year, and if you were, you wouldn’t be such a pussy in the first place. You’re just trying to justify your weakness by comparing it to what somebody else did. “but…but johnny stole a candy too, and HE didn’t get in twubble!”

Grow some nuts, and stop solving your problems in pill form. You are a weak and small man.

40

The less you give a fuck, the better at public speaking you are. Try that. Or just get sauced.