Janimal
25-06-10, 13:21
I'm hoping to get some advice or experience from anyone in a similar position. I've been a long term SA sufferer. Mainly public speaking is the thing that has really flawed me...blushing, nerves, shaking, chattering, inability to think or remember, going blank, sweating, voice cracking, extreme self consciousness. It developed in my mid teens and never really went away.
It has ultimately affected my choices in life & career. I've never really looked into forums, books or conginitive therapy til recently. I am now 30 and contemplating a change in career which would require several years training for a qualification. And that would inevitably entail some seminas, and a need to be, if not great then at least functional at public speaking along the way. I'm concerned I could invest a lot of money and time into a course/career only to be under pressure to prove myself/perform in those scenarios and be affected to the extent it affects or wrecks the outcome of the qualification.
I guess my question is : Is there anyone I can contact and raise this issue with that could help? I mean all I can think is the equivilant to if you were a student with a disability you would contact an institution/uni/employment department to check they supported someone with X/Y/Z. But panic attack anxiety/SA is not classed or measurable as a disability so far as i'm aware?
I'm not even quite sure what I'd be asking...How much of the course is based/marked on semina/public speaking elements? How viable is it to tackle this, have dispensation or support for this? Is there any counseling or support available to someone that's passionate about a subject and career but suffers SA"?
Of course I suspect the answer might be as simple as - if you radically choke at public speaking/attention -that's just life -you are resigned to a career as a librarian or IT geek!
I've always felt self esteem and worth has a lot to do with my own SA and from what I can gather other peoples. Over the years I've tried to expose myself to scenarios that I knew would challenge me: public performances, teaching assistant roles, wedding speeches, even just manning stalls at sales events but they've always gone pretty disasterously. That and the extent of the depression I feel afterwards makes it hard to know what the best course to take is.
I feel if I was doing something I was more passionate about with a measure of success that would help the SA a lot but the issues of SA I have seem to ultimately stand in the way of that leap so it's a bit of a vicious cycle.
Anyway if anyone has any experience or advice with this kind of scenario I'd be really grateful.
It has ultimately affected my choices in life & career. I've never really looked into forums, books or conginitive therapy til recently. I am now 30 and contemplating a change in career which would require several years training for a qualification. And that would inevitably entail some seminas, and a need to be, if not great then at least functional at public speaking along the way. I'm concerned I could invest a lot of money and time into a course/career only to be under pressure to prove myself/perform in those scenarios and be affected to the extent it affects or wrecks the outcome of the qualification.
I guess my question is : Is there anyone I can contact and raise this issue with that could help? I mean all I can think is the equivilant to if you were a student with a disability you would contact an institution/uni/employment department to check they supported someone with X/Y/Z. But panic attack anxiety/SA is not classed or measurable as a disability so far as i'm aware?
I'm not even quite sure what I'd be asking...How much of the course is based/marked on semina/public speaking elements? How viable is it to tackle this, have dispensation or support for this? Is there any counseling or support available to someone that's passionate about a subject and career but suffers SA"?
Of course I suspect the answer might be as simple as - if you radically choke at public speaking/attention -that's just life -you are resigned to a career as a librarian or IT geek!
I've always felt self esteem and worth has a lot to do with my own SA and from what I can gather other peoples. Over the years I've tried to expose myself to scenarios that I knew would challenge me: public performances, teaching assistant roles, wedding speeches, even just manning stalls at sales events but they've always gone pretty disasterously. That and the extent of the depression I feel afterwards makes it hard to know what the best course to take is.
I feel if I was doing something I was more passionate about with a measure of success that would help the SA a lot but the issues of SA I have seem to ultimately stand in the way of that leap so it's a bit of a vicious cycle.
Anyway if anyone has any experience or advice with this kind of scenario I'd be really grateful.