Public Speaking and Panic Attacks

By Joe Barry Mc Donagh

It is often observed that many people’s top ranking fear is not death but having to speak in public. The joke is that these people would rather be lying in the casket at the funeral than giving the eulogy. Public speaking for people who suffer from panic attacks or general anxiety often becomes a major source of worry weeks or even months before the speaking event is to occur.

These speaking engagements do not necessarily have to be the traditional “on a podium” events but can be as simple as an office meeting where the individual is expected to express an opinion or give verbal feedback. The fear of public speaking and panic attacks in this case centers on having an attack while speaking. The individual fears being incapacitated by the anxiety and hence unable to complete what he or she is saying. The person imagines fleeing the spotlight and having to make all kinds of excuses later for their undignified departure out the office window….



Photo credit: tlegend

This differs slightly from the majority of people who fear public speaking because their fear tends to revolve around going blank while speaking or feeling uncomfortable under the spotlight of their peers. The jitters or nerves of speaking in public are of course a problem for this group as well, but they are unfamiliar with that debilitating threat which is the panic attack, as they most likely have not experienced one before.

Public Speaking and Panic Attacks
So how should a person with an anxiety issue tackle public speaking? Stage one is accepting that all these bizarre and quite frankly unnerving sensations are not going to go away overnight. In fact, you are not even going to concern yourself with getting rid of them for your next talk. When they arrive during a speech/meeting, you are going to approach them in a new manner. What we need to do is build your confidence back to where it used to be before any of these sensations ever occurred. This time you will approach it in a unique, empowering manner, allowing you to feel your confidence again. It is said that most of the top speakers are riddled with anxiety before speaking, but they somehow use this nervousness to enhance their speech. I am going to show you exactly how to do this, although I know that right now if you suffer from public speaking and panic attacks you may find it difficult to believe you can ever overcome it.

My first point is this and it is important. The average healthy person can experience an extreme array of anxiety and very uncomfortable sensations while giving a speech and is in no danger of ever losing control, or even appearing slightly anxious to the audience. No matter how tough it gets, you will always finish your piece, even if at the outset it feels very uncomfortable to go on. You will not become incapacitated in any way.

The real breakthrough for if you suffer from public speaking and panic attacks happens when you fully believe that you are not in danger and that the sensations will pass.

“I realize you (the anxiety) hold no threat over me.”

What keeps a panic attack coming again and again is the fear of the fear—the fear that the next one will really knock your socks off and you feel you were lucky to have made it past the last one unscathed. As they were so unnerving and scary, it is your confidence that has been damaged by previous anxiety episodes. Once you fully understand you are not under any threat, then you can have a new response to the anxiety as it arises while speaking.

Defeating public speaking and panic attacks...

There is always a turning point when a person moves from general anxiety into a panic attack, and that happens with public speaking when you think to yourself:

"I won’t be able to handle this in front of these people."

That split second of self-doubt leads to a rush of adrenaline, and the extreme anxiety arrives in a wave like format. If, however, when you feel the initial anxiety and you react with confidence that this is not a threat to you, you will move out of the anxiety rapidly. Using this new approach is a powerful ally because it means it is okay to feel scared and feel the anxiety when speaking–that is fine; you are going to feel it and move with and through the sensations in your body and out the other side. Because he or she is feeling very anxious, often before the talk has begun, that person may feel they have already let themselves down. Now, you can relax on that point. It is perfectly natural to feel the anxiety. Take for example the worst of the sensations you have ever experienced in this situation—be it general unease to loss of breath. You will have an initial automatic reaction that says:

“Danger–I’m going to have an episode of anxiety here and I really can’t afford that to happen.”

At this point most people react to that idea and confirm it must be true because of all of the unusual feelings they are experiencing. This is where your thinking can lead you down a train of thought that creates a cycle of anxiety that produces a negative impact on your overall presenting skills.

So let that initial “oh dear, not now” thought pass by, and follow it up immediately with the attitude of:

“There you are–I’ve been wondering when you would arrive. I’ve been expecting you to show up—by the way, I am not in the least threatened by any of the strange sensations you are creating—I am completely safe here.”

Public Speaking and Panic AttacksThe key to controlling your fear of public speaking and panic attacks is that instead of pushing the emotional energy and excitement down into your stomach, you are moving out through it. Your body is in a slightly excited state, exactly as it should be while giving a speech, so release that energy in your self-expression. Push it out through your presentation not down into your stomach. You push it out by expressing yourself more forcefully. In this way you turn the anxiety to your advantage by using it to deliver a speech where you come across more alive, energetic and in the present moment. When you notice the anxiety drop as it does when you willingly move into it. Fire a quick thought off when you get a momentary break (as I am sure you have between pieces), asking it for “more.” You want more of its intense feelings as you are interested in them and are absolutely not threatened by them.

It seems like a lot of things to be thinking about while talking to a group of people, but it is not really. You’d be amazed how many different non-related thoughts you can have while speaking. This approach is about adopting a new attitude of confidence to what you might have deemed a serious threat up until now. This tactic will truly help you with fear of public speaking and panic attacks you have associated with them.

If your predominant fear of the speaking engagement is driven by a feeling of being trapped, then I would suggest factoring in some mental releases that can be prepared before the event. For example, some meetings/speeches allow for you to turn the attention back to the room to get feedback etc. from the group.

If possible, you might want to prepare such opportunities in your own mind before the engagements. This is not to say you have to ever use them, but people in this situation often remark that just having small opportunities where attention can be diverted for the briefest of moments can make the task seem less daunting. It my even be something as simple as having people introduce themselves or opening the floor to questions. I realize these diversions are not always possible and depend on the situation, but anything you can factor in that makes you feel less trapped or under the spotlight is worth the effort and can help alleviate fear of public speaking and panic attacks.

I hope you have found this public speaking and panic attacks page helpful. Please give it some careful consideration and you will realize it contains the truth.
http://www.panic-and-anxiety-attacks.com/public-speaking-and-panic-attacks.html
This article is copywritten material. Any requests for reprinting this article must be made to Joe Barry McDonagh
Joe Barry is an international panic disorder coach. His informative site on all issues related to panic and anxiety attacks can be found here:
http://www.panic-and-anxiety-attacks.com/

Get quoted for your healthcare insurance

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Debilitating Fear

By Kurt Mortensen

The biggest obstacle with people is fear. Overcome it and understand what your fears are costing you. Monetarily, relationships, the things you need to accomplish to become exponentially successful. That is why it is so important to implement the things we've talked about during these audios. Find the courage the confidence, the ambition, the conviction to become what you want to be. To do the things that you want to do.



Photo by TzuLan

Now does everyone have fears? We do. Now here is the interesting thing. A little baby that is a week old, just born only has two fears: the fear of falling and the fear of loud noises.

Some people like to take the word fear and spell it out, like False Expectations Appearing Real, some say it is forget everything and run. I think it is Frozen Energy Actions Required. So the challenge is that we've learned these fears, and so if we can learn them we can unlearn them. It is a challenge, we have on of the big fears that Napoleon Hill even talks about is the fear of criticism. Why do we care so much what people think? Social acceptance? We want to be accepted?

Esteem acceptance and praise is one of our deepest cravings. I've done seminars all over the country and as you speak to people, 50-60 people come up and say “thank you, that was great, I appreciate it.” But there is always that one person that has something negative to say, so the ratio is 50:1 but what is on my mind? That one person. What about the other 50? For example a dance instructor was teaching a lady who always wanted to dance and had saved up her money and on her first lesson, the dance instructor said, "Man, you dance like a hippo." What happens to that lady? Does she ever try it again? She is gone.

When in reality, if you look at some of the famous musicians, they've had instructors say that to them, but they didn't listen to them, but the majority of people do listen to them, they have this fear of criticism, they want to be accepted. Fear is one of those things that we really need to take a look at. If you take a plank and put it on the ground and walk across it, there is no fear, but all the sudden, if you put it up on a 20 story building, and you have to walk across this plank between two buildings, it is the same thing, you know you can do it, but you still feel the fear. For example, public speaking, is that a big fear among people? Why? It is a learned fear, where did we learn it? At school? Somebody laughed and what did we think? They are laughing at us.

I teach students and one of the courses I teach at the University is Public Speaking and one of the first things we have to deal with is the fear in getting out and doing it. In fact, one of the funny things that Jerry Seinfeld says is that one of the biggest fears is public speaking and public speaking is a greater fear than dying. And so he says people at the funeral would rather be in the casket than giving the Eulogy. It doesn't make a lot of sense. We have to look at one of the triggers of your fears. Where do they come from? Whether it's spiders or snakes or monsters under the bed. That is the thing. I'm not talking major psychosis or major fear, I'm just talking about minor fears that we have to get over and one of the biggest things they talk about of course is looking fear in the face. Getting out there and doing it. Have you ever had an experience where you were so scared to do something and then you went and did it and what was the first thing you thought of? That's right, that it wasn't so bad. We spend all this time worrying about it and the most important thing is to identify that trigger and understand where that fear comes from and get past them.

Like again, the fear of criticism, when you look at the fear of criticism, Napoleon Hill says it robs man of initiative, destroys his power of imagination, limits his individuality takes away his self reliance and does damage in 100 other ways. He talks about that it causes lack of initiative and lack of ambition. It is a great enemy, you need to identify that you have and get over it. Does anyone have a fear of getting on the phone? How about fear of rejection? They did studies with children who were deathly afraid of dogs. What they would do is they would actually have the kids watch other children play with dogs. That was enough to cure the fear 99% of the time to see other people doing it will get yourself out there and doing it. Understand that fear is magnified doubt. You create this in your mind. The critical thing is to get out there and do it.

Don't accept random thoughts in your mind. Program your subconscious mind, work on your mental skills and program your mind for success. It works! Success is an open book test. That is the critical thing you need to understand. Sure these are soft skills. Sure things are things you don't learn in school, but these skills I guarantee you will increase your ability to achieve exponential success faster than anything else. Go out there and do it. Achieve your dreams, find your goals and become exponentially successful.

Conclusion
Persuasion is the missing puzzle piece that will crack the code to dramatically increase your income, improve your relationships, and help you get what you want, when you want, and win friends for life. Ask yourself how much money and income you have lost because of your inability to persuade and influence. Think about it. Sure you’ve seen some success, but think of the times you couldn’t get it done. Has there ever been a time when you did not get your point across? Were you unable to convince someone to do something? Have you reached your full potential? Are you able to motivate yourself and others to achieve more and accomplish their goals? What about your relationships? Imagine being able to overcome objections before they happen, know what your prospect is thinking and feeling, feel more confident in your ability to persuade. Professional success, personal happiness, leadership potential, and income depend on the ability to persuade, influence, and motivate others.

Kurt Mortensen’s trademark is Magnetic Persuasion; rather than convincing others, he teaches that you should attract them, just like a magnet attracts metal filings. He teaches that sales have changed and the consumer has become exponentially more skeptical and cynical within the last five years. Most persuaders are using only 2 or 3 persuasion techniques when there are actually 120 available!

If you are ready to claim your success and learn what only the ultra-prosperous know, begin by going to http://www.prewealth.com/ and getting my free report "10 Mistakes That Continue Costing You Thousands." After reading my free report, go to http://www.PreWealth.com/IQ and take the free Persuasion IQ analysis to determine where you rank and what area of the sales cycle you need to improve in order to close every sale!

Health Insurance Options for Senior Citizens

By Cherie Gordon-Eales

Health insurance used to be considered a replacement of income for your spouse and children if you were to die during your working years. People of retirement age and older do not usually have young children to provide for because their children are usually grown up and have their own jobs and families. Therefore the benefits of insurance are directed to the needs of the elderly as they live out the rest of their lives. The life insurance sum will generally pay for the funeral arrangements and provide a lump sum to whoever is left behind. Some also help to pay the fees should one go into a nursing home facility as well. Because of the baby boomers living to a more advanced age the need for this type of health insurance is starting to increase.




Whilst the need for health insurance may decrease with age for some, there are many who would benefit from health insurance for the elderly. People are living longer these days and often, elderly individuals are called on to raise their grandchildren, long after they have finished raising their own offspring. If you are responsible for raising your grandchildren as a senior citizen, who will provide for them when you're gone?

Social security and pension benefits, if they are eligible to receive them, can fill in the gaps for your spouse and dependents after your death, but will that be enough? Look closely at your individual situation to determine whether or not you need to purchase senior health insurance and, if so, your chances to obtain it at a reasonable rate should you need to. What works for one may not work for you, so you must assess your personal situation before proceeding. Today Health Insurance has changed and many policies that were once thought of as age related are now being revised. Of course changing a policy you have had for many years will always be the best bet, since it was bought at ultimate age, health, and cost. But for those people who never thought they would need it, there are still some great policies available at a reasonable cost with great benefits.

When you become elderly buying health insurance can be difficult. As you get older, the companies that supply insurance cover don’t make any money off you unless they make the policies too high priced to achieve. Securing senior life insurance at a good premium rate can be even more difficult than the ads lead you to believe.

Unfortunately the real fact of the matter is that anything that increases your risk of death also makes you more of a risk to the insurance companies, thus reducing your chances of getting a good deal at a premium rate. Fortunately many insurance companies that specialise in providing senior people's insurance plans can offer you not only a wealth of good insurance information but they can also offer you a good insurance plan at a decent insurance rate.

You can increase your chances of securing a decent health insurance plan for the elderly if you are prepared to compromise exactly what you want to insure against. One way to achieve this is to get coverage for only long-term care and death expenses (such as cost of funeral, coffin and plot) Another way is by looking at your past and current lifestyle. If you keep yourself reasonably fit, haven't had any major illnesses and have no bad habits such as smoking and excess drinking you should be able to purchase a good health insurance plan at a decent price.

Although in the past the need for health insurance had been thought to decrease as a person got older this is certainly not the case now. Many insurance companies are seeing a gap in the market helping those of advancing age decide upon an insurance policy that will cover them both in long-term care and also funeral arrangements as the time draws near.

In the past many insurance companies were reluctant to issue health insurance to senior citizens. Not only that but many employer-sponsored heath insurance plans contained provisions to reduce the benefits for employees once they had reached a a certain age, usually 65. Today, although not as bad as in the past, you will often find that this is still the case.

No matter who or what insurance policy you decide to go with, make sure it best suits your needs. Do your research and compare quotes and policies to see who offers the most for the money. Every senior citizen has different needs and it is essential to have all the facts and information laid out logically so that you can get the best policy for the best price. For example, an elderly couple with an adult handicapped child will need more health insurance than a single elderly person who is alone and has only need for long-term and death benefits. There is also a broad spectrum in between which needs to be catered for. It is therefore, essential that you make sure you know what your needs are before signing anything.

Cherie Gordon-Eales author of the guide to helping you choose the right nursing/convalescent home

Nursing home in UK

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Residential care
Many people choose residential care, which vary from small family-style homes to homes with five star hotel standards. Residential care homes provide care during normal short illnesses but do not provide constant nursing care. You can also have a nursing care all day all night from nursing home care as well.

Finance
You can choose paying for care in England and on state financial support. You will also find that several the agencies in UK.

However, you can try to register at bettercaring forum and talk to other users from each topic that along with your choice, you can found the experience from them to sharing on.