Stage fright... it's the one thing that many performers have in common. But what is it? And why do different people suffer in different ways, and indeed some not at all? And is it possible to overcome it?
If you're one of those who experience this at its worse then you'll recognise the symptoms all too well: remember that sick feeling in your tummy? Perhaps you need to go to the loo every few minutes? Maybe you throw up before a performance. You might shake, have palpitations or come out in a sweat, or experience breathlessness. Any of this sounding familiar? Or you might just be a mild sufferer
If you're one of those who experience this at its worse then you'll recognise the symptoms all too well: remember that sick feeling in your tummy? Perhaps you need to go to the loo every few minutes? Maybe you throw up before a performance. You might shake, have palpitations or come out in a sweat, or experience breathlessness. Any of this sounding familiar? Or you might just be a mild sufferer
who gets a little bout of 'butterflies' just before the performance.
Some performers claim that they perform at their best when suffering from nerves of some sort - and that of course is fine; however, if this really is a problem for you then read on!
Ok, so what is it? Well, most of the symptoms I've just described will be quickly recognised by anyone who suffers from panic attacks, and it's pretty much the same thing.
Ever heard the expression 'fight or flight'? This is kind of a reference back to ancient mankind. Imagine the situation: a bloke comes face to face with a very hungry sabre toothed tiger. Quite apart from spoiling a perfectly good Sunday afternoon stroll, the situation is, I'm sure you'll appreciate, a tad tricky. He's basically got two choices: he stands and fights the thing, in the hope that his home made spear and flint axe are up to the job, or he runs like hell. That's 'fight or flight'.
Now, in the face of such a confrontation, the human body does some really clever stuff in preparation for action. The adrenal glands go into overdrive pumping adrenalin around the body. At the same time our chap's breathing rate will increase in order to get more oxygen into his body. Now, that oxygen needs, somehow, to get delivered to the muscles to ready them for action, so his heart rate increases. If he's got a half digested meal in his gut, then there's a chance that he might evacuate his bowels (which is a posh way of saying that he'll either be sick or have a bit of an accident in his loin cloth). Why? Because digesting food takes up blood supply which is now needed elsewhere in the body to oxygenate the muscles. Now our man is physically prepared to fight or fly. Wow.
Now, all of this is essentially nature's way of arming us against the vicissitudes of life. 'Fight or flight' is a protection mechanism. But wind the clocks forward a few hundred thousand years to the here and now and there aren't to my knowledge, that many sabre soothed tigers wondering around our high streets. Sure, people get mugged or attacked from time to time, but on the whole, here in the West, we live a pretty comfortable, safe existence. There's not much that is a physical threat to us.
However, we do place ourselves in some really weird situations that nature could surely never have foreseen. Think about making a presentation, leading a meeting, or getting up on stage and giving a performance in front of an audience of hundreds. These are all pretty intimidating things for some people, and the body cannot easily differentiate between these and a life threatening situation: it just perceives that the organism is under threat and goes into overdrive.
So there you are, about to go on stage or stand in front of a corporate audience: your body is full of adrenalin, your heart rate and breathing have sped up in order to oxygenate the muscles and you're tense, really tense. Your body is ready for extreme physical action but you're not about to fight a sabre toothed tiger. You're just going to walk on stage. So all that adrenalin has to go somewhere. In extreme situations some people will shake, sometimes violently: it's just the body trying to discharge its now pent up energy.
So how do we cope with it? Well there are all manner of strategies out there. Deep breathing is often a good idea: not the shallow stuff from the chest, but really fill your tummy with air.
If you're able to (and I appreciate this might be difficult just before your award winning performance) try and get some physical exercise. Go for a brisk walk, or even a run, do some running on the spot: anything to discharge all that pent up energy.
In the lead up to the performance, try and keep yourself as busy as possible doing other things. It's an over used expression, but 'keeping your mind off things' really can make a difference.
Post hypnotic suggestion often works a treat. If you go and see a hypnotherapist, he or she will guide you into a hypnotic state, and deliver suggestions designed to make sure that once you step out on that stage you'll feel really calm and confident.
Perhaps you're suffering generally from anxiety anyway and you feel that there are a number of issues in your life that need addressing. Then a course of investigative analytical therapy might be for you.
Alternatively, your therapist might give you some techniques such as modelling. Try it - find yourself a nice comfortable spot and make sure you're not going to be disturbed for a while. Take a couple of deep breaths and close your eyes. Now, try and think of someone you look up to. A role model. Someone that you regard as an absolute master of your craft. Now imagine her stepping onto the stage with a supreme air of confidence: no stage fright for this person! Involve as many of your senses as possible: see her, hear her, and get a sense, a feeling of her complete mastery of your craft. Now, in you're mind's eye step into her body and mind. Feel what it feels like to be her, to be in complete control. Feel how good that feels. Hear the adulation from the audience. See the happy, smiling faces in front of you. Feel you whole body filling with pride. Now touch your finger to your thumb, and 'anchor' this feeling. Practice this on a regular basis. Now, the next time you're about to go on stage, touch your finger to your thumb. You might just find yourself amazed at the difference it makes!
Iain Phillips is a leading hypnotherapist based in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, UK.
For Iain, hypnosis is about using some fantastic tools to bring out the very best in people; taking them to their full potential.
It's all about creating choices, helping people to release themselves from past patterns that may be limiting their lives.
And writing about this stuff is great too!
Some performers claim that they perform at their best when suffering from nerves of some sort - and that of course is fine; however, if this really is a problem for you then read on!
Ok, so what is it? Well, most of the symptoms I've just described will be quickly recognised by anyone who suffers from panic attacks, and it's pretty much the same thing.
Ever heard the expression 'fight or flight'? This is kind of a reference back to ancient mankind. Imagine the situation: a bloke comes face to face with a very hungry sabre toothed tiger. Quite apart from spoiling a perfectly good Sunday afternoon stroll, the situation is, I'm sure you'll appreciate, a tad tricky. He's basically got two choices: he stands and fights the thing, in the hope that his home made spear and flint axe are up to the job, or he runs like hell. That's 'fight or flight'.
Now, in the face of such a confrontation, the human body does some really clever stuff in preparation for action. The adrenal glands go into overdrive pumping adrenalin around the body. At the same time our chap's breathing rate will increase in order to get more oxygen into his body. Now, that oxygen needs, somehow, to get delivered to the muscles to ready them for action, so his heart rate increases. If he's got a half digested meal in his gut, then there's a chance that he might evacuate his bowels (which is a posh way of saying that he'll either be sick or have a bit of an accident in his loin cloth). Why? Because digesting food takes up blood supply which is now needed elsewhere in the body to oxygenate the muscles. Now our man is physically prepared to fight or fly. Wow.
Now, all of this is essentially nature's way of arming us against the vicissitudes of life. 'Fight or flight' is a protection mechanism. But wind the clocks forward a few hundred thousand years to the here and now and there aren't to my knowledge, that many sabre soothed tigers wondering around our high streets. Sure, people get mugged or attacked from time to time, but on the whole, here in the West, we live a pretty comfortable, safe existence. There's not much that is a physical threat to us.
However, we do place ourselves in some really weird situations that nature could surely never have foreseen. Think about making a presentation, leading a meeting, or getting up on stage and giving a performance in front of an audience of hundreds. These are all pretty intimidating things for some people, and the body cannot easily differentiate between these and a life threatening situation: it just perceives that the organism is under threat and goes into overdrive.
So there you are, about to go on stage or stand in front of a corporate audience: your body is full of adrenalin, your heart rate and breathing have sped up in order to oxygenate the muscles and you're tense, really tense. Your body is ready for extreme physical action but you're not about to fight a sabre toothed tiger. You're just going to walk on stage. So all that adrenalin has to go somewhere. In extreme situations some people will shake, sometimes violently: it's just the body trying to discharge its now pent up energy.
So how do we cope with it? Well there are all manner of strategies out there. Deep breathing is often a good idea: not the shallow stuff from the chest, but really fill your tummy with air.
If you're able to (and I appreciate this might be difficult just before your award winning performance) try and get some physical exercise. Go for a brisk walk, or even a run, do some running on the spot: anything to discharge all that pent up energy.
In the lead up to the performance, try and keep yourself as busy as possible doing other things. It's an over used expression, but 'keeping your mind off things' really can make a difference.
Post hypnotic suggestion often works a treat. If you go and see a hypnotherapist, he or she will guide you into a hypnotic state, and deliver suggestions designed to make sure that once you step out on that stage you'll feel really calm and confident.
Perhaps you're suffering generally from anxiety anyway and you feel that there are a number of issues in your life that need addressing. Then a course of investigative analytical therapy might be for you.
Alternatively, your therapist might give you some techniques such as modelling. Try it - find yourself a nice comfortable spot and make sure you're not going to be disturbed for a while. Take a couple of deep breaths and close your eyes. Now, try and think of someone you look up to. A role model. Someone that you regard as an absolute master of your craft. Now imagine her stepping onto the stage with a supreme air of confidence: no stage fright for this person! Involve as many of your senses as possible: see her, hear her, and get a sense, a feeling of her complete mastery of your craft. Now, in you're mind's eye step into her body and mind. Feel what it feels like to be her, to be in complete control. Feel how good that feels. Hear the adulation from the audience. See the happy, smiling faces in front of you. Feel you whole body filling with pride. Now touch your finger to your thumb, and 'anchor' this feeling. Practice this on a regular basis. Now, the next time you're about to go on stage, touch your finger to your thumb. You might just find yourself amazed at the difference it makes!
Iain Phillips is a leading hypnotherapist based in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, UK.
For Iain, hypnosis is about using some fantastic tools to bring out the very best in people; taking them to their full potential.
It's all about creating choices, helping people to release themselves from past patterns that may be limiting their lives.
And writing about this stuff is great too!
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