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Long winded response, but this is something that I can quite personally relate to. My senior year of college I was tasked with giving a presentation on an enti

Long winded response, but this is something that I can quite personally relate to. My senior year of college I was tasked with giving a presentation on an entire semesters worth of work to the class, no problem - except the catch was that you weren't allowed to have any notes with you. I'd never had an issues with presenting or speaking in front of audiences before, a little bit of nerves like most people, but nothing more than that. Well the day of the presentation comes and in my mind I knew ahead of time that it wasn't going to go well - I'd never given a talk to a class with no notes and I had convinced myself that without something to reference I was going to screw up. Well 30 seconds or so before it's my time to speak I begin to get the fight or flight response and start to have a panic attack - mind goes blank, heart literally pounding, I'm frozen. I don't really remember what I said, but I remember spouting off a lot of "umms" and "fucks". It sucked. I eventually got over that embarrassing moment, but I'm convinced that I've now actually taught myself how to easily have a panic attack during moments that trigger even the slightest bouts of performance anxiety. Conference calls, medium-sized meetings, you name it, my body triggers an anxiety response - something that I never had a problem with before, it's debilitating, and I fear that it's holding me back in life. The only thing that works for me (that i know of) is taking beta-blockers when I know ahead of time that I may be "in the spotlight" discussing or presenting something at work. They work wonders and really silence the physical responses that the body produces that are ultimately the catalyst of a panic attack, but the effects don't last veery long. So unless I'm popping pills all day, I'm basically always on-guard and fearful of those impromptu situations that pop-up where I could be called upon to speak - an "unmedicated" me could easily freeze-up slip into panic mode. I sympathize with Dr. Habib and I'm wondering if anyone else on HN is in a situation similar to me and how they're coping, treating or hopefully curing it.

chris_wot 11y ago
Not long winded at all actually. It's not easy to admit you have a problem like this, most people (men especially) tend to run from it. I don't have any answers, except that this is really where a professional can help you out. Dr Habib actually has been dealing with this sort of thing for a long time and was quite successful, it's just that the issue with him being live on air was so different and he wasn't really prepared for it. He seems to have worked on strategies with professionals. When you read his blog post, you can see that he's not defeated by this experience, but is going to use it and take lessons from it to work out more strategies to prevent it from helping. (I hope that the ABC asks him back again when he has dealt with the issue, he is an expert and what he has to say is actually very valuable). There are a lot of great professionals that can help with anxiety and panic attacks. As someone who uses a pyschiatrist, a psychologist and was referred to a guy who helps people with adult ADHD (a life coach I guess), it has been incredibly helpful. Not sure where you live, so I don't know how much it costs but if you can afford it, or you are lucky enough to live in a country that helps pay for this, then speak to your doctor and get a referral to someone. Only other bit of advise around this I can give is to forgive yourself if you make mistakes, and if you do go to see a medical professional and you don't think they are the right person to see, don't feel bad about finding someone else. Any true professional psychiatrist or psychologist won't mind, as they know that each person has different needs and not everyone they see will be a good fit for that person.

chris_wot 11y ago

Not long winded at all actually. It's not easy to admit you have a problem like this, most people (men especially) tend to run from it. I don't have any answers, except that this is really where a professional can help you out. Dr Habib actually has been dealing with this sort of thing for a long time and was quite successful, it's just that the issue with him being live on air was so different and he wasn't really prepared for it. He seems to have worked on strategies with professionals. When you read his blog post, you can see that he's not defeated by this experience, but is going to use it and take lessons from it to work out more strategies to prevent it from helping. (I hope that the ABC asks him back again when he has dealt with the issue, he is an expert and what he has to say is actually very valuable). There are a lot of great professionals that can help with anxiety and panic attacks. As someone who uses a pyschiatrist, a psychologist and was referred to a guy who helps people with adult ADHD (a life coach I guess), it has been incredibly helpful. Not sure where you live, so I don't know how much it costs but if you can afford it, or you are lucky enough to live in a country that helps pay for this, then speak to your doctor and get a referral to someone. Only other bit of advise around this I can give is to forgive yourself if you make mistakes, and if you do go to see a medical professional and you don't think they are the right person to see, don't feel bad about finding someone else. Any true professional psychiatrist or psychologist won't mind, as they know that each person has different needs and not everyone they see will be a good fit for that person.