Anxiety attacks/Nervousness

[McGooTheWise]

I have made this thread because I have a big presentation tomorrow that I've been dreading all month, and I'm freaking out about it. Basically I'd like to know if you get nervous, or have anxiety attacks, and how you deal with them... Cause I'm sick of feeling like this over something that only lasts 5 minutes... Even reading to a class freaks me out... Though I'm fine meeting people, and I'm fine talking to people... I freak out because i know I'm freaking out, and it just builds up on top of that.

So how do you deal with stress like this?

 

[gFrohman]

I understand - I'll get nervous a lot mainly because of my job - I'm a musician, so I'm having to play in front of people an awful lot. Stage fright is a bitch.
I listen to fun music, read a good book, something that gets my mind off the stress. At night while I'm trying to sleep, I'll count my breaths: breathe in (1), breathe out (2), and so forth till you get to 10, then start over; it's a kind of meditation (it's actually what is recommended as a starter meditation for Zen Buddhists).
Right before your presentation, make sure you've had a good meal - when you get nervous, your body will get amped up and you'll get really shaky if you haven't eaten well. Eat a banana right beforehand, I find that helps. Just remember when you get really nervous during the presentation, the first thing that goes is air - your breathing will get shallower, so just remember to keep breathing so you don't sound like your running a marathon.

Hope this helps; good luck!

 

[Farrowlesparrow]

Every few days I have a bit of an "Oh God, Oh God, what if they all think I suck!" moment.
It's probably a bit silly, but the way I deal with it is by saying things like "I OWN YOU. YOU ARE MY PROPERTY" to the people I have to speak to.

I, of course, never say these things. Although I came close once.
I'm actually a teacher by the way. I teach all the way from I think my youngest student is 11 and my oldest is 28 (Which is several years older than me).
I also just remind myself that I'm The Teacher and they're The Students. These are the roles we have and I'm going to make sure they understand that.
I know this is a bit different to you. But I mean, I stand and talk to people ever day for a long time and I just have to keep telling myself that they're going to listen and tough luck if they don't want to be there!
I suppose this boils down to me forcing myself into not caring what other people think.

I'M A GOOD TEACHER

I apparently start sentences with "I" a lot...

 

[MorganFreeman911]

On an unrelated note, Frohman, I didn't know you're a musician. What do you play?
EDIT:
Related, to combat Anxiety attacks, I usually either
Have some caffine (not a good idea)
Sleep
Eat a good meal
Daydream a bit (positive daydreams)
Watch a good movie
Think about something exciting (release of Prototype omgomgomg for instance)

 

[gFrohman]

Tenor & alto trombone (occasionally bass trombone & tuba).

 

[McGooTheWise]

Heres the thing though, I get all the average advice, like "Walk youself through the process of the presentation, Imagine them all naked/doing something stupid (Which I never remember to do, and would have to concentrate too hard to do), Memorize what you're supposed to say, practice, eat healthy" All that, and I still get so nervous... It's like an anxiety attack, beacuse my palms sweat, I get cold, I start to shake, my voice trembles, even if I'm not nervous, maybe it's just the fact that people are watching me that I don't like... I dunno. I'm going to go to bed so I can get some good sleep before I do this.

 

[gFrohman]

Just remember to keep breathing - you can't do anything without oxygen in your brain.

 

[kupocake]

Having been on the stage a bit, I've developed a (bad) habit of doing presentations as if the audience isn't really there. Because on the stage, the house-lights are down, the fourth wall is up, I've never had anything approaching 'stage-fright'. Transfer that same attitude to a presentation and you sail through, BUT the best presentations are those that involve their audience, so I usually get rather poor marks!

Also, don't pull an all-nighter to get the presentation done minutes before you have to read it through. Because the anxiety may not be there, but everything else that makes it a very stupid idea is

 

[Warped]

rehearse a lot, in front of your friends and or family. i would do it twice on my own, then once with my mom or dad or even a friend at school. but dude, in senior year of high school I had to do two 20+ min speeches almost back to back and it was crazy but I pulled through. Remember to hold the audience's attention and to focus on looking normal. best thing to do is listen to some awesome music that gets you in the mood to do something. I used to be bad at public speaking but now I can talk to a large group of people almost fine. it gets easier the more you do it....like i said practice in front of someone else...not just yourself

 

[Dumb Dude]

Honestly, just try and be as cool and normal as you can possibly be. Trust me, I've been on really bad anxeity attacks, very recently too, to the point where my arms and legs stiffened and I could not move or breathe normally. It sucked, I thought I was having a heart attack or something because I couldn't feel any pain and I had that pins and needles feeling all over my body (this lasted close to 4 hours).

You just have to try not thinking about it that much while thinking about it. I don't know if that makes much sense but yeah, just....try and be cool about things. Also, don't drink highly caffienated things because that will probably only make you more nervous/anxious.

 

[Warped]

if all else fails, drink 2 shots 15 mins before the speech

 

[Dumb Dude]

if all else fails, drink 2 shots 15 mins before the speech

Thats actually not such a bad idea. I would have also suggested to toke a quicky before hand, but that might just make you more paranoid/uneasy.

 

[gFrohman]

Lucky shots always work wonders for me before a jazz gig.

...

But seriously now...

 

[15357]

Apple cider. Works for me.

 

[McGooTheWise]

...I'm 17, in my junior year of highschool (Soon to be a senior) going to my last hour class, in a school that is completely anal about no electronics... Toking up... Not a good idea... D:

 

[TimoJay]

try not thinking about it. it works. trust me.

 

[Dumb Dude]

If you're only 17 and a junior then let me be the first to say that you have nothing to worry about. Seriously. Unless you're taking College Calculus 2 for the second time and you're ass is grass if you don't pass it the second time around, there is no need for such anxiety. High School is nothing my friend.

But in all seriousness, its all about being relaxed. Bum some Xanax off of some friends, you know they have some.

 

[MorganFreeman911]

Tenor & alto trombone (occasionally bass trombone & tuba).

On my world tour I'm bringing my trumpet to whatever state you're from.

 

[gFrohman]

Do it.

We'll make millions.

 

[Krynn72]

Every few days I have a bit of an "Oh God, Oh God, what if they all think I suck!" moment.

I feel like this sometimes too. I know I am not the best artist at the studio. Out of the 8 3D artists there, i'd say i probably rank at 5th or 6th. So I feel inadequate a lot. The only way I can pick myself up from that is by practicing more and improving, or by remembering just how bad those couple of people below me are.

Although, i've had a lot of anxiety since I found out they were planning on firing me over those other guys. They got talked out of it thankfully, but it still hurt my self confidence a lot.

 

[Blinxx]

I have made this thread because I have a big presentation tomorrow that I've been dreading all month, and I'm freaking out about it. Basically I'd like to know if you get nervous, or have anxiety attacks, and how you deal with them... Cause I'm sick of feeling like this over something that only lasts 5 minutes... Even reading to a class freaks me out... Though I'm fine meeting people, and I'm fine talking to people... I freak out because i know I'm freaking out, and it just builds up on top of that.

So how do you deal with stress like this?

Sigh, I'm the same. Whenever I used to go to interviews/give presentations I used to break down, my voice would go all funny, I wouldn't be able to speak and I'd just start shaking. I'd know that I was breaking down but I couldn't stop myself!

I've managed to conquer some of my nerves now, the trick is to just practice. Throw yourself in those situations as often as possible and they won't seem as awful. It worked for me.

Good luck with it mate.

 

[VirusType2]

I don't know what I did, but I managed to be completely unaffected by speaking in front of people once. I believe I had stayed up the entire night before which left me in a sort of sleepwalking dreamstate. It made me extremely outgoing also. I was talking to strangers like I had known them my entire life, which made them accept me immediately I guess. Being very friendly and personal with them.

 

[DEATHMASTER]

I too get ****ified by speeches. I haven't had to do any since 12th grade but even then I was completely logical about it; don't pay attention to the audience, remember what to say, talk like normal. I always do some shaky voice shit.

 

[VirusType2]

One key thing I learned is don't worry about it if your voice is shaky. You aren't in 2nd grade anymore. They won't be making fun of you.

Many people try to hide the fact that they are nervous because they are embarrassed, but this only makes it worse. There is nothing to be ashamed about for being nervous.

If you just start talking, the shakes will calm down a great deal, if not completely go away. BREATHE