http://www.hypnocenter.com
There is an old saw that "speaking in front of others" is the
second most terrifying thing a person has to do in his or her life. If it is
the second, then what is the first? Some say death, and some say burning
alive. What is it about performing that would make it almost as frightening as
dying by fire?
For the majority of the
population, it is hard to imagine standing in front of an
audience without feeling one's throat go dry, knees become
weak and wobbly, and the stomach churn. Whether at work, in
school or in a large performance hall, stage fright can take
such a firm hold on people, that they can become temporarily
immobilized and unable to respond. For many, the very
thought of even having to offer their name in a group, or to
make a brief announcement is so overwhelming that they will
do anything possible to avoid being in such a situation. In
many cases, performance fear can affect some people's normal
and necessary activities to such an extent that they are
unable to succeed in the work they have been given to do.
The fact that the greater
part of our population experiences being in front of a
group, or having everyone's eyes upon them, as terrifying,
should not be surprising. After all, most of us have
experienced the stress of having to perform "properly" from
the time we entered school and had to correctly answer the
teacher's questions in front of all of our peers. Just the
strain of having to "get it right," suffering the responses
of our teacher, or even our classmates, is often enough to
make most people nervous about being "in front' for the rest
of their lives.
There are other causes of
performance phobias that can stay with people for the rest
of their lives:
? Repressed severe stress
that can surface in the form of irrational fear, typical,
for instance, of people on a job where there is a lot of
pressure to succeed, or at home, where a family member tries
hard to please.
? Another person's
reactions to having to perform before others may
inadvertently serve as a role model.
? More than one negative
experience many have built up fear to the point that just
the anticipation of being in a performance situation can
cause a phobic response.
? A seemingly unrelated
issue may be involved, in which the inability to speak
before the public without terror may be a symbol of the
inability to speak up for oneself in other life situations.
? Continuous ridicule,
depreciation, or dissatisfaction, especially by a parent,
can lower a person's self esteem to the point where they
believe they have nothing worthwhile to say, or that
whatever they say may be "wrong". A painful emotional
experience in the past can produce an unreasonable fear of
the same or similar situation either at a conscious or
subconscious level.
This leads us to the
question of what to do about it. Telling oneself to simply
"get over it" doesn't work. And, for many people, just doing
it more often does not lessen the fear. Such a fear can seem
impossible to unlock, or even to understand. However, the
competent hypnotherapist can help trace the majority of such
performance phobias, and help the client release them
forever.
Working at the
subconscious level, where the fear has "hooked in", is the
most effective and quickest way to help a person through any
fear, even if at a phobic stage. Hypnosis can do what will
power alone cannot. Hypnosis can help a person achieve the
relaxed, focused, and receptive state of mind that is
necessary to change the negative programming that lies in
the levels of the mind that we call the "unconscious" or
"subconscious" self.
The problem with
surmounting stage fright is that the conscious mind can come
up with many justifications to support it. It can argue,
however irrationally, that the fear is a real thing, and
that one is quite powerless to change it. But hypnotherapy
side steps that. In a sports metaphor, it is like a football
player who makes an end-run around the other team's guards
in order to score a touchdown. The hypnotist makes an "end
run' around the conscious mind's objections. By doing so,
the client is more receptive to helpful suggestions and to
accessing his or her own inner resources.
Often just giving
suggestions that calms a person and encourages self
confidence in performing situations is all it takes to help
a conquer this fear. By "reprogramming" one's subconscious
mind, stage fright can be laid aside, and the client is
freed to "step into the spotlight" with far more confidence.
What you think becomes what you now can do, instead of what
you did before.
Also, a trained
hypnotherapist can act as a guide to help a person identify
the specific event or person that caused the fear, and to
sever its emotional ties. In a hypnotized stage of mind, the
person confronts the fear, yet feels it now as a
non-threatening experience. Once a "demon" is unmasked, it
no longer has power.
Hypnosis is a remarkably
effective tool for helping people conquer all kinds of fears
and anxieties, not just stage fright. It can expose the root
of one's fear. The anxiety diminishes because the fear has
been brought out of the dark of the past, into the light of
the present. Releasing the fear and desensitizing one's
reactions brings the psyche back into balance. Once worked
through in the subconscious mind, the conscious mind can
take it and accept this new "memory."
