How do you work in psychotherapy against glossophobia?

Glossophobia is defined as the phobia of public speaking, that is, the fact of showing excessive fear at the idea of ​​expressing oneself in front of a more or less large group of people.

Faced with this problem linked to anxiety, different psychotherapeutic intervention techniques can be applied, directed to the different symptoms, very useful to help the person with glossophobia to recover their quality of lifetime. In this article We will talk about glossophobia and about what psychotherapeutic techniques can be used before it to overcome this pathological fear.

• Related article: "Types of Phobias: Exploring Fear Disorders"

What is glossophobia?

Etymologically, the meaning of glossophobia comes from the words that compose it: “glosso”, language, and “phobos”, fear. We can classify it as a type of social phobia, with the specification that it is only activated when performing in front of an audience.

For now we know that glossophobia refers to the fear of speaking in public, but it is necessary differentiate it from the normal feeling of anxiety that appears before the imminent performance in front of others. To make the diagnosis of phobia it is necessary that an intense discomfort appears in the subject, and that this affects his functionality; that is, an anxious feeling of increased tension before speaking in public is not enough, but rather we must really observe an inability to do so.

The subject has a really bad time and avoids the situation, goes blank, or fails to finish the presentation.

As I have anticipated, glossophobia can be understood as a specifier of social phobia. The fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM 5) establishes as the only specifier of Social phobia is the excessive fear of "just acting" when it appears only when the individual acts or speaks in public. In the same way, as happens with the other types of phobia, to understand that a person has developed glossophobia it is required that the diagnostic criteria be met for 6 months as minimum.

And which are they the symptoms? The typical ones in most of the rest of phobias, all of them linked to anxiety. Specifically, it highlights the appearance of an excessive anxiety response to the experience that generates this irrational fear, which is plasma in the following symptoms (which appear in a matter of seconds and last a few minutes, although they do not have to appear everyone):

• tremors
• feeling dizzy
• Vertigo
• Nausea
• pulse acceleration
• cold sweats
• trouble concentrating
• Strong feeling of anguish, feeling that something is going very wrong
• Feeling that you want to get out of that place as soon as possible

As we have seen, the symptoms of glossophobia they have a physiological and emotional facet, another cognitive type based on thoughts, and another behavioral linked to the avoidance and flight response. Psychological treatment should address all of them.

• Related article: "What is anxiety: how to recognize it and what to do"

Psychotherapeutic intervention for glossophobia

Now that we know what the causes and symptoms that this pathology can cause, we will see the techniques that are most effective in treating glossophobia.

1. psychoeducation

It's fundamental explain to the patient what is happening so that he can understand why his symptoms appear and what they are related to. Let him see that he is not "crazy", that there are other people who suffer from the same affectation, and most important of all, that there is a way to treat it and reduce the symptoms and discomfort.

By making the patient aware of the pathology, psychologists aim to increase the probability that he will be more participatory in his treatment, showing more adherence to the intervention.

• You may be interested: "Psychoeducation in psychological therapy"

2. skills learning

A previous step to any type of coping or exposure to phobias consists of check if you have the right skills to be able to deal with the public speaking situation optimally. If we see that you do not have the appropriate skills, it will be necessary to carry out prior learning and training. In this way, the subject will gain confidence, feel more prepared and it is more likely that public speaking will be carried out in a more favorable way.

The skills that we can train in the situation of social phobia are both social and communicative. In the case of glossophobia, the last ones, the communicative ones, will be the most important. It works in know how to express yourself clearly, slowly, with an appropriate tone of voice, taking the necessary breaths, avoiding constant movement, since correct body communication is also important.

3. Relaxation and breathing techniques

The physical symptoms that arise in the public speaking situation are related to an increase in somatic activation, acceleration of respiration, blood pressure and heartbeat. For this reason, performing relaxation and breathing techniques prior to exposure to the phobic situation can help the subject face it more calmly.

Likewise, it's also good work the breath to carry it out correctly, with an adequate rhythm, when the talk or performance is made in public. If slow inspirations and expirations are performed, we favor a calm breathing time and thus reduce the probability of a feeling of suffocation and shortness of breath.

• Related article: "6 easy relaxation techniques to combat stress"

4. Exposition

The exposure technique is the core of therapy for glossophobia, which has been shown to be most effective. This strategy consists of exposing the subject to the situation that causes fear, going through a well-adjusted difficulty curve, with the purpose of getting his fear to decrease so progressive.

If we make the patient expose himself and see that nothing negative happens and that he can carry out the action in a adequate, little by little the anxious symptoms and repetitive negative thoughts will decrease, and with it the discomfort.

• Related article: "Exposure therapy with response prevention: what it is and how it is used"

5. Cognitive-behavioral techniques

Cognitive-behavioral techniques use multiple strategies, some of which introduce goals focused on cognitive work, that is, the management of thoughts, beliefs and decision-making decisions. Among them stands out cognitive restructuring, which aims to identify and modify dysfunctional beliefs, negative thoughts repetitive, which as we have already mentioned, appear in subjects with glossophobia and make the psychopathology continue running.

An effective way to test the irrationality of thoughts is to perform the feared action and see what happens. For this reason, it is interesting to apply cognitive restructuring together with exposure, carrying out both cognitive modification and behavioral change strategies.

• You may be interested: "Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy: what is it and what principles is it based on?"

6. video feedback

The video-feedback technique is also used for the treatment of social phobia. This strategy consists of filming the subject while they perform the social interaction, in this case while speaking in public, so that they can be seen and check that his performance is not as negative as you think and thus be able to modify the distorted image he has of himself and increase his confidence.