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Comment by WalterBright | Hacker News Reader

> What fixed me: more public speaking

Yup, that's the cure. Worked for me, too.

As someone with lifelong social anxiety. There is the concept of White Knuckling an event. If the anxiety is so far beyond your capability that start to panic, you only reinforce the fear instead of soothe it.

That’s why exposure therapy with an anxiety ladder is important

Right, that’s the problem: for most people this works, but those it doesn’t work for, it can really fuck up. So what this amounts to in expected utility is you need guardrails before forcing things this way.

Well I think what ultimately helps is having a safe space to practice and learn in.

Fears are further reinforced if, when you trip over your words and get all anxious, your audience laughs at you rather than with you.

That does help of course, but it overlooks the fact that anxiety can be an illogical mental health problem rather than just a logical well-founded concern. By which I mean even if the audience's reactions are completely ideal, it doesn't mean someone with bad anxiety won't spend lots of time in the future thinking of all the ways in which the audience might have been silently judging them etc.

I get this because I do it. I get immense anxiety from what people may be thinking, or what could go wrong in all areas of life.

Speaking to the entire company gets me nervous, but strangely not as much as other things, I think because I have to be delivering a presentation there's less time to spin in a loop worrying.

Agreed

And think of your whole education hinged on a presentation in front teachers and pupils.

Nightmare fuel for many

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