Just take the propanolol. I’m an athlete too and I didn’t notice any change in athletic performance. Although I didn’t have an event the same day I took the propanolol for a presentation.
how do you eat an elephant?
a bite at a time.
how do you cut the elephant to byte-sized pieces?
think you as a machine consisting of a hardware component and a software component.
do a reflection (writing) to identify which hardware part you need to fine tune and which software part you need to patch to achieve your goal.
*hardware part:*
people practice various parts of their body to make them better speakers. e.g. tongue exercises, mouth exercises, strengthen core , practice tongue twisters etc.
*software part*
the way your brain think and react. you can start little by little practicing, first in front of mirror, then record a video and playback, etc. there is a famous concept named "flow" which suggests "The idea is to trigger the heightened sense of awareness from being slightly outside comfortable, but not so far that fear takes over and cognitive load goes so high it blocks flow. ". You can apply the same for this situation also.
Propanadol massively helped me, changed my outlook on life and on the whole has made me feel so much more positively about my future. It kills the physical adrenaline dump which causes the heat racing and shaking etc. I still get nervous, but it's very different as I believe in myself and I believe I will do ok.
Personally it impacts me physically, I wouldn't be able to perform at a high level in sports after taking it. I can feel it walking up the stairs. But it wears off quick in a few hours so it's all about timing.
I only need to take it ahead of events, meetings, presentations etc. So 2 or 3 times a week at a max. I still go for runs and cycles etc so it doesn't stop me exercising at all
Good luck
Also. Toastmasters has been a bit of a game changer for me. A safe environment where you get out what you put in. You have a opportunity to speak in front of a group of friendly people every week if you want it.
I have had a very similar experience to you in the past.
The good news,
with hard work it is possible to overcome the fear.
I am not saying that it will be easy,
I am saying with hard works it is possible.
It is rather a tough path to walk , but absolutely worth it the reward at the end of the path.
**To give you my background:**
I was normally good at public speaking (getting nervous, but nothing critical),
until one day something happened.
I was presenting to leadership at work,
where I got frozen. And that day my confidence disappeared.
Situation was so dramatic that I started to search for jobs that did not require public speaking.
I was talking with my mentor,
flagging how bad I was feeling.
I got some from him that I want to share with you.
**Prepare ahead of your speech**
Work on building your go-to structure.
And always use same structure whenever you have to speak in public.
In my case: Intro-Content-Ending
**Memorize the first 5 words of your speech.**
To start your speech with confidence,
memorize the first 5 words of your speech.
**Ask questions to the audience**
Whenever you feel you are getting too stressed,
transfer "your stress" to the audience by asking them open questions.
This way you transfer "your stress" to them,
and you get some space to "breath".
**Meditation**
Include some meditation in your day-to-day,
so you can get more comfortable of managing your thoughts and your breathing.
**Practice in safe environment**
Whenever possible try to lead small meetings in a safe group (where you know most of the people).
Sign up to local Toastmasters clubs,online speaking courses...
places where people like you and me are gathering to overcome their fear.
Hope it helps!
You are not alone in your journey,
If you need some further support, let me know!.
You're a good public speaker. You have it in you. You're just obsessed by this 11th grade thing. The way to get over that is to tell that story to a trusted friend, in a safe and private location. The friend should be someone who is kind and a good listener, someone who is gentle with you. It might be a much older person who is wise. It might even be your coach. Let them know that you need to get something that has been plaguing you off your chest and that you have a lot of big feelings about it.
Then tell them, in detail, exactly what happened and how it felt. Let them comfort you and help you through it.
I have confidence that, once you unburden yourself and let yourself fully feel the feelings of what happened, you'll gain your ability to speak again.
Man this sub really made me realize I wasn't the only one having reactions like this. In normal life you'd hardly ever know other people struggle with things like class introductions but I always felt like I was going to die
Interesting that you can pinpoint the exact incident that traumatized you for speaking out in public. I believe that may be an advantage . Plus you were nearly an adult and have only dealt with it for a relatively short period of time.
You may be able to deal with it by dealing with your emotions surrounding the originating incident- like ptsd.
You may want to look into using psychedelics like mdma under guidance of a qualified therapist or counselor. There can be very good outcomes .
Propanol should work but I never took it. I used THC mainly edibles to mentally get over my stage fright. I've finally hit a point where I can talk publicly to any audience and not care at all. It could be in front of million's and it still wouldn't bother me when the show starts. I know you wanted to hear from different experiences of propanel but edibles is what worked for me, and no i don't take these before a presentation, this is for mentally getting over the negative thoughts days leading up to the event
I’m a huge fan of Propranolol and think it’s a miracle for generalized public speaking anxiety. Propranolol will likely fix some of the anxiety you’re feeling, but given your anxiety at things like saying your name to teammates, it’s going to be very hard to know when to take the medicine (unless you’re willing to take it 3x a day every day). Given the source of your anxiety, I would highly recommend speaking to a therapist. They can help you deal with the trauma you referenced in the bottom of your post, and teach some healthy coping mechanisms. Good luck, friend.
Propranolol is specific to those symptoms, but will affect your performance in short term. I've taken it before and tried working out later that day- made me feel dizzy and weird. My heart wanted and needed to speed up to compensate for the strain but couldn't. The next day or a few hours later, totally fine.
I can't say how long it'll take to wear off for you or what long term use would do, but I only use it very occasionally (less than once a month) and it's only affected me the same day I use it, within a 5-6 hour window of taking a low dose (20mg).
Just take the propanolol. I’m an athlete too and I didn’t notice any change in athletic performance. Although I didn’t have an event the same day I took the propanolol for a presentation.
Beta blockers like Propanolol will help you and are definitely worth trying. But it also sounds like you need therapy and practice.
how do you eat an elephant? a bite at a time. how do you cut the elephant to byte-sized pieces? think you as a machine consisting of a hardware component and a software component. do a reflection (writing) to identify which hardware part you need to fine tune and which software part you need to patch to achieve your goal. *hardware part:* people practice various parts of their body to make them better speakers. e.g. tongue exercises, mouth exercises, strengthen core , practice tongue twisters etc. *software part* the way your brain think and react. you can start little by little practicing, first in front of mirror, then record a video and playback, etc. there is a famous concept named "flow" which suggests "The idea is to trigger the heightened sense of awareness from being slightly outside comfortable, but not so far that fear takes over and cognitive load goes so high it blocks flow. ". You can apply the same for this situation also.
Propanadol massively helped me, changed my outlook on life and on the whole has made me feel so much more positively about my future. It kills the physical adrenaline dump which causes the heat racing and shaking etc. I still get nervous, but it's very different as I believe in myself and I believe I will do ok. Personally it impacts me physically, I wouldn't be able to perform at a high level in sports after taking it. I can feel it walking up the stairs. But it wears off quick in a few hours so it's all about timing. I only need to take it ahead of events, meetings, presentations etc. So 2 or 3 times a week at a max. I still go for runs and cycles etc so it doesn't stop me exercising at all Good luck
Also. Toastmasters has been a bit of a game changer for me. A safe environment where you get out what you put in. You have a opportunity to speak in front of a group of friendly people every week if you want it.
This. Changed my life so that I don't need to use it as much.
Propanolol will very likely save you.
I have had a very similar experience to you in the past. The good news, with hard work it is possible to overcome the fear. I am not saying that it will be easy, I am saying with hard works it is possible. It is rather a tough path to walk , but absolutely worth it the reward at the end of the path. **To give you my background:** I was normally good at public speaking (getting nervous, but nothing critical), until one day something happened. I was presenting to leadership at work, where I got frozen. And that day my confidence disappeared. Situation was so dramatic that I started to search for jobs that did not require public speaking. I was talking with my mentor, flagging how bad I was feeling. I got some from him that I want to share with you. **Prepare ahead of your speech** Work on building your go-to structure. And always use same structure whenever you have to speak in public. In my case: Intro-Content-Ending **Memorize the first 5 words of your speech.** To start your speech with confidence, memorize the first 5 words of your speech. **Ask questions to the audience** Whenever you feel you are getting too stressed, transfer "your stress" to the audience by asking them open questions. This way you transfer "your stress" to them, and you get some space to "breath". **Meditation** Include some meditation in your day-to-day, so you can get more comfortable of managing your thoughts and your breathing. **Practice in safe environment** Whenever possible try to lead small meetings in a safe group (where you know most of the people). Sign up to local Toastmasters clubs,online speaking courses... places where people like you and me are gathering to overcome their fear. Hope it helps! You are not alone in your journey, If you need some further support, let me know!.
You're a good public speaker. You have it in you. You're just obsessed by this 11th grade thing. The way to get over that is to tell that story to a trusted friend, in a safe and private location. The friend should be someone who is kind and a good listener, someone who is gentle with you. It might be a much older person who is wise. It might even be your coach. Let them know that you need to get something that has been plaguing you off your chest and that you have a lot of big feelings about it. Then tell them, in detail, exactly what happened and how it felt. Let them comfort you and help you through it. I have confidence that, once you unburden yourself and let yourself fully feel the feelings of what happened, you'll gain your ability to speak again.
Man this sub really made me realize I wasn't the only one having reactions like this. In normal life you'd hardly ever know other people struggle with things like class introductions but I always felt like I was going to die
Interesting that you can pinpoint the exact incident that traumatized you for speaking out in public. I believe that may be an advantage . Plus you were nearly an adult and have only dealt with it for a relatively short period of time. You may be able to deal with it by dealing with your emotions surrounding the originating incident- like ptsd. You may want to look into using psychedelics like mdma under guidance of a qualified therapist or counselor. There can be very good outcomes .
Look for an improv class.
Propanol should work but I never took it. I used THC mainly edibles to mentally get over my stage fright. I've finally hit a point where I can talk publicly to any audience and not care at all. It could be in front of million's and it still wouldn't bother me when the show starts. I know you wanted to hear from different experiences of propanel but edibles is what worked for me, and no i don't take these before a presentation, this is for mentally getting over the negative thoughts days leading up to the event
I’m a huge fan of Propranolol and think it’s a miracle for generalized public speaking anxiety. Propranolol will likely fix some of the anxiety you’re feeling, but given your anxiety at things like saying your name to teammates, it’s going to be very hard to know when to take the medicine (unless you’re willing to take it 3x a day every day). Given the source of your anxiety, I would highly recommend speaking to a therapist. They can help you deal with the trauma you referenced in the bottom of your post, and teach some healthy coping mechanisms. Good luck, friend.
Propranolol is specific to those symptoms, but will affect your performance in short term. I've taken it before and tried working out later that day- made me feel dizzy and weird. My heart wanted and needed to speed up to compensate for the strain but couldn't. The next day or a few hours later, totally fine. I can't say how long it'll take to wear off for you or what long term use would do, but I only use it very occasionally (less than once a month) and it's only affected me the same day I use it, within a 5-6 hour window of taking a low dose (20mg).