Many People With Stage Fright Try to Keep It Hidden and Suffer In Silence

Many People With Stage Fright Try to Keep It Hidden and Suffer In Silence

There are many causes of stage fright but the most common is that the individual lacks self-confidence. Being unprepared and forgetting the lines are good reasons for the anxiety. Some individuals fear that they look witless and that they would gain the antagonism of the audience. The best explanation is that stage fright is a physiological reaction. When the body is presented with a stimulus; its reaction is excitement or fear. The symptoms of stage fright – sweating, trembling, palpitations – are typical of a surge in adrenaline. The stricken speaker seizes up, both physically and mentally; the mouth goes dry, breathing becomes short and shallow, vision blurs and concentration evaporates. In extreme cases, it can trigger vomiting and diarrhea. And no one’s going to go on after that.

In case you suffer from stage fright: You are not alone. It was Mark Twain who coined the term stage fright, and though he claimed to have experienced it only once. Statistics say that the fear of public speaking is the number one fear in surveys. Many people with this fear try to keep it hidden and suffer in silence.

Why? Some believe it is bad for their reputation. The truth is that this problem does not reflect a character flaw or weakness. Many capable and accomplished people suffer from this problem. There appears to be a combination of nature and nurture at play, which creates the source of this problem.