Picturing Your Audience in Their Underwear Doesn't Always Work!

Imagine standing on a large, old wooden stage with nothing but a coffee color, rusty podium in front of you. You look down at the podium to reread your speech and prepare yourself for what is about to happen next.  You feel calm and before you know it the red velvet curtains that separate you from one of your greatest fears begin to open.  The curtains open exposing thousands of concentrated eyes.  You feel as if every set of eyes is looking into yours.  You freeze and forget word that was in your speech.

According to Glossophobia.com, glossophobia is the official term given to a severe fear of public speaking. People who suffer from this phobia have a tendency to freeze in front of any audience, even a couple of people.

Symptoms of glossophobia can be grouped under three primary categories: physical, verbal, and non-verbal. Physical symptoms are the most obvious.  Some of these symptoms of include:

·         intense anxiety prior to, or simply at the thought of having to verbally communicate with any group,

·         avoidance of events that involve an audience

·         physical distress

·         nausea

·         feelings of panic

If you suffer from glossophobia you shy away from any opportunity to speak in public. Your symptoms are usually so severe you get terribly embarrassed and fearful of any public speaking.  Statistically, 75 percent of people have glossophobia and many claim that they would prefer death over giving a speech.

 

Although glossophobia can be a very serious and distressing, various treatment options are available. Certain drugs such as beta blockers may be used to help people relax before speaking in public. Complementary therapies such as hypnosis, meditation or psychotherapy can also be quite. Some organizations, such as Toastmasters International, and training courses in public speaking may help to reduce the fear to manageable levels.

My advice to anyone suffering from glossophobia  is to get help.  Do not feel embarrassed to ask for help because many people suffer from this phobia on a daily basis.  It is essential to face and overcome your fear of glossophobia so that you do not let this fear control your life; do not let glossophobia win! 

What advice would you give to someone suffering from glossophobia? Comment below because you just might help someone overcome his or her fear. 

Oh the irony!

Fears and phobias are a very interesting topic to research because not only do you learn about all the unusual, yet attention-grabbing phobias, but you also learn a lot about yourself.  You learn that you are not the only person in the world experiencing a specific phobia; you are not alone.  You learn reasons as to why people fear these specific phobias.  Finally, you learn how lucky you are to not be afraid of such things. 

According to psychologist Lisa Fritscher, one of the world’s most unusual phobias is the fear of long words. Ironically, that fear is called Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia.  What’s so ironic about this fear you ask?  Well, let’s start by taking a quick glance at the length of the phobia name.  It’s a long word! And the fear is…fear of long words!

After researching this fear, the first thing that came to my mind was how lucky I am to not have Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia.  Before I get into more detail about why I feel lucky to not be afraid of long words, let’s talk more about this phobia, the symptoms, and how to overcome it.  Just in case anyone reading this blog does have this phobia (in which I apologize for any long words that my cause you to fear my blog). According to Fritscher, some of the symptoms of Hippopotomonstrosesquinppedaliophobia include:

·      Shaking
·      Freezing in place
·      Sweating
·      Limiting your speaking and writing vocabulary
·      Losing interest in school
·      Excuses for not reading or doing homework

However, for many people, the fear of long words is mild. Fritscher states “If yours does not significantly impact your life, making a conscious effort to expand your vocabulary can help.”  To help overcome this fear, look for opportunities to discover new words through reading or everyday conversation. If you come across a word that appears to be uncanny, look it up in the dictionary. Familiarity can alleviate the symptoms of anxiety when it comes to this fear. If Hippopotomonstrosesquinppedaliophobia begins to impact your daily life, then it would be best to seek professional assistance.

Now that I briefly explained symptoms of Hippopotomonstrosesquinppedaliophobia and how to overcome this phobia, let me explain why I feel so fortunate to not fear long words.
My major is Mass Communication with a concentration of public relations, advertising, and journalism (or PAJ as us MCOM students call it.)  My major involves a lot of writing and to be completely honest with you, I love it.  I love everything about this major! I love writing and being able to use my creativity.   If I would have been one of the few that fear long words, I wouldn’t be able to do what I love. 

 I realized that not everyone is able to do what he or she loves because of fear; not everyone is as lucky as I am.To all of you out there who are doing what you love, remember how lucky you are.  Instead of doing what you love to do, you could be living in your life wishing you weren’t afraid. Remember how lucky you truly are. To all of you who are unable to do what you love because of fear, I hope one day you find the courage in yourself to overcome your fear; I hope you find it sooner than later.  Remember to never let the fear of striking out keep your from playing the game.

 

Nomophobia takes over!

What do you fear the most? Do you fear spiders the most? Do you fear darkness? Do you fear death?

As I was conducting some research on different types of phobias I came across a few articles that seemed to be quite shocking. Most people do not fear spiders, darkness, or death the most. Instead most people have a fear of losing their cell phone. 

Yes, losing your cell phone is in fact a phobia called, nomophobia, or 'no mobile phone phobia.' According to a Fox News article, British researchers created the term nomophoia in 2008. A recent survey shows that more than half of the world’s population suffers from this condition. Nomophobia even consist of symptoms, which include:

  Incapability to ever turn your phone off

  Obsessively checking your phone

  Constantly topping up your battery life

  High-intensity anxiety or panic over losing your phone.

  Using your phone in inappropriate places.

  Missing out on opportunities for face-to-face interaction.

After reading the symptoms of nomophobia I think that every teenager has nomophobia.  Even when I am in class, I see most students with their phone out just in case they receive a text or phone call.  I’m guilty of it too.  There are times when I constantly check my phone in class just in case I receive a text even though deep down I know I won’t because I never receive a text at that time.

Along with symptoms comes of course “the treatment.”  According to the Fox News article, ways to overcome nomophobia include:

  Become self-aware and monitor the frequency with which you check your phone.

  Commit to putting your phone down and turning it off for a specific amount of time while you focus on other priorities such as your relationships, exercise or meditation.

  If you feel anxious or have an urgent need to check your phone, try using healthy coping skills such as deep breathing, redirecting your attention to the people around you or busying yourself with exercise.

  Ask other people to help you by taking your phone away for specific time periods.

However, for the more serious cases (Yes, that’s right…more “serious” cases) other precautions take place such as going to see a psychologist. Dr. Elizabeth Waterman, an addition and recovery expert with Morningside Recovery Center in Newport Beach, California, stated "If you can't let go of your phone, then this could be a sign that your life is out of balance."

It's important to have a balanced life.  If a person's life is not balance, many other issues can go wrong such as stress, depression and other conditions.  Sometimes nomophobia can be linked to other disorders.

Now, I found this entire phobia shocking because out of all the things to fear in the world, why would people fear losing a materialistic object? Cell phones can be changed or replaced, death on the other hand cannot be.  Personally, I believe that this generation has become immune to technology and relies on technology way too much. That tiny device carries an enormous amount of information that people today think they need, when the reality is they can and will survive without it.   After reading the article I can only hope better for the future.  If nomophobia is truly a fear, I can only imagine what other bizarre fears I will see in the near future. If people are letting their cell phones take over their life maybe some help would do them good.   

Here's a short interesting video on a school's take on nomophobia and what students think of this phobia.