Online Therapy for Public Speaking Fear, Anxiety, & Panic
Public speaking anxiety is normal. It's one of the most commonly shared fears. If you deal with social anxiety, however, having to speak in front of others can feel like a death sentence.
Public speaking anxiety impacts in 3 ways:
- Before - This is usually the most intense and is filled with "What if" and "Catastrophizing" thinking, over preparation, and lack of sleep.
- During - Though this can get to the level of panic, it doesn't always get to this level. Often times it's hard to remember the speech itself. A sort of blackout.
- After - Even when we feel good about the speech immediately after, it can quickly turn into finding things to worry about or beat ourselves up about.
Public speaking anxiety is also accompanied by uncomfortable body sensations:
- Racing heart
- Shallow and quick breathing
- Stomach pain
- Shaking
- Sweating
- Tunnel vision
- Foggy mind
Anxiety also creates a busy and overactive mind: The anxious mind ignores the present moment and comes up with and latches on to all types of creative, anxiety-inducing thoughts
- "What if I cry on stage"
- "What I go blank and have to run off stage"
- "What if others notice I'm nervous"
Anxiety also urges us to avoid "danger" and engage in reassurance-seeking behavior: The anxious mind urges us to seek "safety:" call in sick, have a colleague on stage with us, read directly from the PowerPoint, don't use a microphone...
Take back control from anxiety:
I provide confidential and practical therapy using CBT. Many clients suffering from anxiety notice a considerable difference in just a few sessions.
I help alleviate anxiety by assisting clients:
- Uncover and change behaviors that keep us hooked in the vicious cycle of anxiety.
- Discover new ways to respond to anxiety provoking thoughts and start building new helpful thought patterns.
- Build confidence in themselves, their social skills, and their ability to handle uncomfortable and challenging social interactions.
by Brian O'Sullivan, LMFT
Contact Brian
Public speaking anxiety is normal. It's one of the most commonly shared fears. If you deal with social anxiety, however, having to speak in front of others can feel like a death sentence.
Public speaking anxiety impacts in 3 ways:
- Before - This is usually the most intense and is filled with "What if" and "Catastrophizing" thinking, over preparation, and lack of sleep.
- During - Though this can get to the level of panic, it doesn't always get to this level. Often times it's hard to remember the speech itself. A sort of blackout.
- After - Even when we feel good about the speech immediately after, it can quickly turn into finding things to worry about or beat ourselves up about.
Public speaking anxiety is also accompanied by uncomfortable body sensations:
- Racing heart
- Shallow and quick breathing
- Stomach pain
- Shaking
- Sweating
- Tunnel vision
- Foggy mind
Anxiety also creates a busy and overactive mind: The anxious mind ignores the present moment and comes up with and latches on to all types of creative, anxiety-inducing thoughts
- "What if I cry on stage"
- "What I go blank and have to run off stage"
- "What if others notice I'm nervous"
Anxiety also urges us to avoid "danger" and engage in reassurance-seeking behavior: The anxious mind urges us to seek "safety:" call in sick, have a colleague on stage with us, read directly from the PowerPoint, don't use a microphone...
Common Concerns
To save money, most people prefer to use insurance. I do not accept insurance for a few reasons:
When using insurance, the insurance dictates how many sessions are needed for therapy. Not you and I.
Also, many people are unaware that therapy records must be sent to insurance companies throughout the course of treatment.
Lastly, most insurance companies require you to be diagnosed with a mental health disorder to qualify for therapy.
Confidentiality will be discussed at the beginning of our first session. In general, what we talk about is kept confidential, but I do have some limits:
- If you are in immanent risk to harming yourself
- If you are in immanent risk to harming others
- Suspected child abuse
- Suspected elder abuse
I take confidentiality very serious. It's the foundation to therapy and is especially important in a small expat community like Okinawa.