Glossophobia Treatment

We understand why you need to get over your glossophobia and that is exactly what we aim to help you with. In our glossophobia treatment, we intend to focus on some of the main issues including speech anxiety, public speaking and much more.

Cognitive Therapy - Glossophobia Treatment

People who have a fear of talking in front of people (Glossophobia) understand how fear takes control of the body and mind and robs a person of his or her identity, comfort, hope, and so forth.

Understanding your public speaking fear has helped us to create a useful glossophobia treatment guide that will walk you through eight steps designed to help you overcome Glossophobia. All we need from you is your willingness to take action by following eight easy steps. If you have the ability to follow some basic instructions and you really want to overcome Glossophobia, then you are ready to take the action necessary to abandon your fear of public speaking. One of the most important things to keep in mind as you work to understand and overcome Glossophobia is that you are not alone.

You are not alone!

There are millions of people in the world just like you who fear talking in front of people. This condition is known as Glossophobia. The fear of talking in front of people causes the person to fear that others will reject them, or make fun of whom they are. They feel inadequate as though they are not clever enough to talk in front of others. This inferiority complex makes it difficult to achieve your goals. I've been in your shoes and let me tell you, overcoming the fear of talking in front of people is a long, painful journey, but it is something you can achieve.

If you want to be successful in life, you have to talk to people on a regular basis. Your willingness to talk with others will help you become an effective speaker. Still, you will need to learn effective ways to write and deliver a speech, or talk with others in public.

Fear of talking in front of people - Consequences

Your fear of talking in front people could cause you to lose out on many opportunities because speech anxiety takes control of your life. You could land a great job if you have excellent communication skills, or you could be the next president if you have the mind to, but first you must overcome Glossophobia. Yet, if you do not overcome your fears then you lose out on these opportunities.

About Glossophobia

The term 'Glossophobia' comes from the Greek word for 'tongue' or 'γλῶσσα glōssa', which means 'fear' or 'dread'. Nearly every one of us has experienced this fear at some time or another throughout our lifetime.

Glossophobia causes a person to feel intense speech anxiety while thinking about speaking in public. It is very difficult for a person with Glossophobia to communicate verbally in groups because the speech anxiety takes control.

The intense speech anxiety may cause one to avoid events required of the individual to speak in groups or public settings. Symptoms develop, which cause one to feel anxious or overwhelmed with panic. The symptoms include mental, physical and verbal symptoms which we will briefly explore.

Glossophobia and its Symptoms

Some of the physical symptoms of Glossophobia include physical distress, feeling of panic, speech anxiety, nausea and so forth.

Some of the common symptoms of Glossophobia include intense anxiety. When a person feels like he or she has lost control it causes them to fear the inevitable at meetings that involve being in group communications.

One may avoid events that center on group activities. A person with Glossophobia may call in sick, make excuses or feel reluctant to speak while participating in public speaking or groups.

Some of the physical symptoms of Glossophobia such as distress, speech anxiety, nausea or panic can develop at the thought of meeting in groups or joining a speech.

Glossophobia can cause one to experience speech anxiety, which may develop into panic attacks. When physical symptoms develop, it affects the Autonomic Nervous System, so as a result one may respond to the public situations with a "fight or flight" reaction.

Physical Symptoms of Glossophobia

Psychological symptoms of Glossophobia could lead to acute hearing loss or other physical symptoms. When the mind is cluttered with thoughts it will cause extreme tension to develop, which affects a person's hearing. Heart palpitations or increased heart rates could develop as a result of the intense anxiety or stress. This could lead to increased blood pressure and the physical response causes the pupils to dilate and can cause the one to sweat.

One may feel as though he or she cannot breath, and the neck and upper back muscles may tense when experiencing Glossophobia. One may experience a dry mouth, which can affect his or her speech.

Verbal Symptoms from Glossophobia

Some of the verbal symptoms that develop from Glossophobia can cause one to strain while trying to speak. The voice may quiver and shake, or one may repeat hesitations such as 'Umm' or 'Ahh', followed by vocal pausing. This reaction causes one to feel uncomfortable and anxious so the symptoms of Glossophobia worsen.

Speech anxiety results from the "fight or flight" response can lead to dysfunctional speech and stammers or tics, since the intense anxiety may prevent one from speaking properly. Speech disorders can develop as well, which are caused by stress-induced reactions during public speaking.

Glossophobia affects everyone differently. Some people with Glossophobia may actually be able to speak or sing in public providing that they cannot see the audience. Some people sing at home but if family members are present and watching them it could cause them to react anxiously to the situation. They feel uncomfortable when someone has their eyes on them while they are verbally expressing themselves.

Causes of Glossophobia

Some people claim that the cause of Glossophobia may relate to multiple traumatic incidents. The cause may be related to personal incidents or the person may have witnessed some traumatic event. Yet, fear of public speaking is a widespread problem that has no connection to trauma in most cases.

Still others believe that Glossophobia forms early on in life and stems from negative viewpoints of oneself, such as "nothing I say matters". A person who feels inferior to others, incompetent or feels like a failure may develop Glossophobia. They may have convinced themselves over the years that others will reject them if they fail.

In some instances, Glossophobia links to social anxiety and phobia disorders. Some people believe a person's self-defeating thoughts lead the person to believe that he or she will fail while speaking in public. The person may feel that he or she must measure up to perfection, otherwise he or she is a loser.

Glossophobia makes a person feel inadequate as though they are not clever enough to give a public speech. They feel inferior to others. Some people believe causes of Glossophobia include the repeated developing of negative viewpoints of oneself, yet the hardcore facts of reality tell us there is more to Glossophobia than most people understand.

Facts to consider

It is not necessarily true that people develop Glossophobia because they witnessed a traumatic event or because they experienced a traumatic event somewhere in their lifetime. Glossophobia or the fear of talking in front of people is not prejudiced and targets all types of people despite of their background.

Part of the cause of Glossophobia or public speech anxiety links to society and the pressure it puts on people to succeed. We call this competition. These days' people expect perfection from human beings, which is not possible. Parents push kids to compete with others and promote winning, which leaves them very little room to grow. These negative behaviors can cause a person to develop a fear of talking in front of people.

One of the main origins of Glossophobia, however, lies in the truth that most people, no matter what background they come from does not have a natural desire to speak in public.

Not all people are born with the notion that they will be speaking in public for the rest of their life. Rather, they fit into the commonplace and do not desire or plan to speak in public. It's the same with doors-to-door sales reps; people do not have the natural desire to knock on strangers' doors. Instead, the need to speak in public is developed through their education and learning experiences. Rather, public speaking fear develops in all people.

Therefore, speaking in public is something that can be accomplished if the person is trained properly. The problem is, most public school systems do not prepare us to speak openly in public environments. Sure, we attend choirs, and other gatherings at school that help us to train to become public speakers, but education is important and often the facts about becoming a professional public speaker are left unspoken.

What this means is a person who suffers from Glossophobia must be willing to learn, which leads us into defining the eight steps to overcome Glossophobia or the fear of talking in front of people, as we know it.