Glossophobia: The fear of Public Speaking

By: Tamanna

 The fear of public speaking is one of the most common types of phobias in existence. About 75% of world's population is affected by Glossophobia.

Some individuals feel slightly nervous before addressing a crowd or speaking in front of a group of people, while for some even the thought of people speaking leads to a full-blown panic attack. these people will go to great lengths to situations where they have to speak in public.

Symptoms of Glossophobia

People affected will experience signs like extreme stress, increased heartrate, sweating, shivering, shaking and trembling hands, nausea and vomiting, dry mouth, stiff body, etc. Mike and stage become the stuff of all their nightmares.  The body goes into a fight or flight mode leading them to evade all kinds of social interactions.

Causes of Glossophobia

There can be causes ranging from environmental, demographic and even medical. The type of environment a person grows up in, their education and social upbringing has a strong impact on their personality and confidence which in turn affects their ability to speak in public.

The fear of being ridiculed, embarrassed or rejected while giving a speech, the constant worry of not being able to express oneself properly and send the intended message to the listeners leads to an aversion to public speaking.

Such individuals come across as shy and introverted and prefer to blend in the background rather than standing out.

Medical cause: an anxiety disorder

In some extreme cases, the fear of public speaking becomes a case of anxiety disorder that can have negative impacts on an individual's lifestyle leading to low self-esteem, social isolation, poor relationships and so on. It can be so severe that any social interaction may trigger shortness of breath and panic attacks.

What is the solution?

Glossophobia can be overcome as well as treated. The distinction between overcome and treatment is made on purpose and is based on the different causes leading to the phobia. Like any other problem, the solution lies in removing the root cause behind it.

Overcome:

When the cause is lack of confidence, environmental or demographic, then it can be overcome by preparing beforehand, practicing meditation and relaxation techniques, talking to oneself while looking in the mirror and most importantly tackling the problem head-on by participating in more and more public speaking activities.

Treatment:

If the cause of phobia is medical than it requires proper treatment including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) administered by a certified mental health provider. It involves identifying the triggers and adapting to them. It focuses on changing individual's mental, emotional and behavioral   processing of situations involving public speaking.

Depending on the severity mental health professionals may also prescribe anti-anxiety medications like benzodiazepines.

The most important thing to remember is that overcoming Glossophobia is not a simple process and requires patience, willingness and commitment from the individual and constant unwavering support from the people around him.
 

 

Thank you