Amy S. (Public Speaking)
Austin, TX
I've had problems with shyness and fear of public speaking for the last thirty years. Whether it was a social or professional situation, I wasn't able to feel comfortable just being me. The issues were affecting my work because I regularly have to speak in public for my job. I have to be in a leadership role and take charge of projects. If I'm scared or anxious all the time, it makes things really hard. When I had to speak publicly, I would get really nervous about it and obsess over it for weeks. Every time I thought about it, I felt physically anxious and I always lost sleep. I knew there was a part of me that really wanted to do it, but a bigger part of me dreaded these experiences, so I was constantly fighting with myself. My heart rate would shoot up and I couldn't speak without my voice shaking; I was tied to the podium and couldn't move. My thoughts and physical reactions to these situations made me feel really out of control.
I tried reading self-help books, doing psychotherapy, yoga, meditation, talking to friends, basically anything that I could think of to take care of the problem. Some things helped, with cognitive behavioral therapy I reached a plateau, but moved away and left my therapist. When I tried to do things on my own I was limited subconsciously. When I read self-help books, it made sense to me, but it was still just a conversation with myself. My friends were biased and sometimes you just need an impartial outside source.
I heard about A New Day Hypnosis when I was doing a search on yahoo. I found out that I was a good candidate for hypnosis after going through the questionnaire, so I decided to schedule an appointment. I started noticing results right away. I was thinking about things in a different way and instead of obsessing, I told myself a more positive story. I feel more in control now and I'm not losing sleep over things anymore. I've had two or three big occasions presenting in front of other people and I didn't obsess over them. It was really cool being able to think about a future activity and feeling fine about it. I feel more relaxed and I can move around during a speech or presentation.
This process has been a lot easier than anything that I've tried before. It appeals to my logical side and somehow takes away the baggage. I don't have to fight with myself anymore. If I flub something during a speech, I'm okay with it. I feel more confident because I'm comfortable in my own skin. I find myself talking to people that I don't know and putting myself out there in a way that I never would have before.
The most important benefits that I've received are feeling more comfortable, more confidence, and just being okay with being me. I would recommend A New Day Hypnosis to anyone who wants to work on shyness and public speaking because it works. I'm confident that I'm free of my problem permanently and I've been telling all my friends about it. I feel leaps and bounds from where I was. It was hard to envision myself feeling comfortable giving a speech or being myself in a social situation, but because those things have happened for me now, I have a frame of reference for it. A few weeks ago, I had a meeting out of town and I was a different Amy, now I know what that feels like and it doesn't seem like a far stretch to do it again.