Glossophobia (phobia of public speaking): causes and treatment

We find ourselves standing in front of a crowded room with people looking at us and waiting for us to speak. If we do not turn out to be very daring people, this situation can turn our stomach a little.

This reaction is perfectly normal, as the pressure that comes with speaking in public can be unsettling. However, when this concern turns into fear we may be facing a case of glossophobia.

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

What is glossophobia?

The term glossophobia comes from the union of the terms of Greek origin "glossa" which translates as "tongue" and "phobos" which corresponds to "fear". Although at first glance it may not offer us any clue about what glossophobia is, this is about a specific anxiety disorder in which the person fears the action of speaking in public.

Although it is normal to get nervous when we have to speak in front of many people, in glossophobia the person experiences an excessive, irrational and uncontrollable fear of such situations. This exacerbated fear causes the person to experience abnormally high levels of anxiety every time he has to speak in public, so he always tends to avoid these situations.

Although in many cases, glossophobia is part of a much broader social phobia, it does not always have to be that way. In addition, there are essential differences between these two types of specific phobia.

Unlike social phobia, by which the person manifests an excessive fear of practically any type of socialization, glossophobia is a situational phobia that only occurs in the specific context of having to speak before an audience, even if it is known or small.

As mentioned, experiencing a certain nervousness or fear when speaking in public is completely natural; but when this fear prevents the person from carrying out said activity, it can be glossophobia. In addition, there are certain characteristics that distinguish a phobic fear from a normative one:

• It is excessive considering the real danger of the situation.
• It's irrational. The person is unable to give a logical explanation for his fear.
• It's uncontrollable. Those who suffer from it cannot control their fear or the reactions it causes.
• Persists over time and through different situations.

In addition, in the case of glossophobia, the anxiety response experienced by the person is so high that it it is completely impossible to speak in public, to the point of fainting if they are forced to.

As a result of this, they tend to avoid this situation, which can interfere with their work or academic life, since it is quite likely that at some point they will be required.

• You may be interested in: "Types of Anxiety Disorders and their characteristics"

What symptoms does it present?

As previously mentioned, glossophobia is an anxiety disorder, so the symptoms respond to a clinical picture typical of this type of condition.

This means that the person with glossophobia who is exposed to the situation of having to speak in public will experience an extreme anxiety response. Sometimes the fear of having to speak in front of more people is so intense that the anxiety reaction can only occur when imagining the situation.

Although each person may experience different symptoms and with different intensity, the symptomatology that distinguishes both Glossophobia, like other phobias, manifests itself in three different categories: physical symptoms, cognitive symptoms, and symptoms behavioral

1. physical symptoms

When the person faces or thinks about facing the phobic stimulus, in this case having to speak in public, they produces a hyperactivity of the central nervous system that causes a large number of changes and alterations in the organism. These symptoms include:

• Increased heart rate.
• Increased respiratory rate.
• Feeling of lack of air or suffocation.
• Vertigo or dizziness.
• Nausea and/or vomiting.
• Increased sweating.
• tremors.
• Gastric alterations.
• Confusion.
• Fainting.
• Feeling of unreality.

2. cognitive symptoms

The physical symptoms are provoked and are accompanied by a cognitive symptomatology that is distinguished by presenting a series of irrational beliefs and ideas about the things that can happen when the person is speaking in public.

Ideas such as that you are going to be humiliated, that you are not going to measure up to the circumstances or that other people are going to notice the anxiety you experience are very recurring thoughts that invade the minds of people with glossophobia.

These cognitive symptoms are manifested through the following ideas or thoughts:

• Intrusive, involuntary and uncontrollable ideas about the possible scenarios that can occur while the person is speaking in front of an audience.
• obsessive speculations about the feared action.
• Mental images of a catastrophic nature.
• fear of losing control and not knowing how to manage the situation properly.

3. behavioral symptoms

Finally, these symptoms are accompanied and manifested through a series of behavioral symptoms that appear as a response to the aversive stimulus or situation, These behaviors have as their purpose either the avoidance of said situation or the flight.

All those behaviors that are carried out with the purpose of avoid or dodge the possibility of having to speak in public known as avoidance behaviors. For example, the person with glossophobia may falsely claim that she has become ill in order to have to go to an appointment where she knew she had to speak in public.

On the other hand, all those behaviors that are carried out once the feared situation has started are called behaviors of escape and although in glossophobia they are not so common, they allow the person to escape as quickly as possible from the situation phobic.

What are the causes?

In many cases, it is practically impossible to determine the specific origin of a phobic fear, since the person himself is unable to remember or determine what triggered it.

However, in most phobias, a genetic predisposition to the effects of stress and anxiety, together with the experience of traumatic or intensely emotionally charged and related to the feared stimulus, are the perfect breeding ground for the development of a phobia.

Is there a treatment?

Since glossophobia can be highly disabling, it is highly recommended that people who suffer from it see a specialist in psychology or mental health. Luckily, there are treatments that can significantly reduce the intensity of the symptoms and even eliminate them completely.

Through techniques such as in vivo exposure or systematic desensitization, the person is gradually faced with the feared exposure. Therefore, if they are accompanied by training in relaxation techniques and a cognitive restructuring, the person can overcome his phobic fear and carry out this activity in a normal way.