Table of contents:
- The phenomenon of stage fright that makes you 'forget your memory' for a moment
- Symptoms of stage fright
- Causes of stage fright
- How to deal with anxiety on stage?
Recently, the Indonesian people were shocked by the moment when the finalist Princess Indonesia from West Sumatra, Kalista Iskandar, failed to pronounce Pancasila. Many people regretted this mistake, but not a few also defended him and thought he was experiencing stage fright. What is stage fright?
The phenomenon of stage fright that makes you 'forget your memory' for a moment
The moment when Puteri Indonesia finalists forgot when reciting Pancasila certainly drew a lot of criticism from the public. They consider that the stage fright experienced by the finalist at this prestigious event indicates that he is not a nationalist.
In fact, do you know that when someone is nervous and tries to talk on stage, it is not uncommon for him to lose his words which may have been memorized by heart.
In fact, what is stage fright to make someone 'forget their memories' for a moment?
Reporting from the dictionary of the American Psychological Association, stage fright is a feeling of anxiety and fear of the achievement that someone will get when performing. They worry whether what is shown is in accordance with expectations or not, such as talking, playing musical instruments, to eating in public.
If the fear associated with performance anxiety focuses on criticism from others, feels embarrassed and humiliated, this feeling can be categorized as social phobia.
Most of the public, in fact, often feel anxious and nervous when preparing to speak or appear in front of a public. In fact, not a few of them are afraid and panic when they become the center of attention.
Another example is that even a famous singer like Adele has suffered from this panic. When he was holding a concert in Amsterdam, Adele admitted he was very scared and finally came out of the emergency exit. Even in other cities he vomited, but was able to overcome the fear.
Therefore, fear and panic when appearing in public can happen to anyone. Whether it's a small child to an adult, his appearance may have been quite frequent.
As a result, many performers hide their fears from their partners, close friends, and family because they are ashamed and afraid of being considered unprofessional.
Symptoms of stage fright
The symptoms that mark stage fright turn out to be slightly different from other phobias. Generally, phobias rarely hinder a person's ability to work.
However, when this particular panic comes before a performance or audition, it can actually cause the following signs. However, everyone has a unique and different reaction.
- Heart rate, pulse, and breathing accelerate
- Mouth and throat feel dry
- Hands, knees, lips, and voice trembling
- Hands breaking out in cold sweat
- Feel nauseous and have discomfort in the stomach
- Your eyesight changes
Some of the above symptoms do not even appear a little weeks or months before the show is held. If you often have stage fright, as the date of your performance gets closer, your symptoms will get worse.
Whether it's experiencing diarrhea, vomiting, irritability, mood swings, tremors and heart palpitations. However, the symptoms that are experienced are not infrequently lost when the show begins and this often applies to singers or performers.
This is because most performers experience euphoria, such as surging adrenaline and eliminating stage fright symptoms when performing.
However, not a few of them admit that their symptoms are even worse and don't remember what they wanted to say when they were on stage.
Causes of stage fright
Like fear when speaking in public, stage fright is caused by stress and anxiety of not being able to meet people's expectations.
Therefore, you need to deal with that fear and panic by accepting yourself as you are and not having to prove yourself to others.
The thing to remember about anxiety when appearing in public is that nothing is perfect and no one hopes to be. Then it doesn't matter when you make a mistake.
How to deal with anxiety on stage?
Many people think their stage fright will affect their appearance. As a result, not a few of them choose to use certain drugs and alcohol so that their symptoms disappear and they can appear smoothly.
In fact, this can actually lead to alcohol and drug dependence, causing new problems.
Actually, there are several steps that are quite simple and effective to overcome this anxiety, such as:
- always prepare yourself with practice
- limit consumption of caffeine and sugar and replace them with healthy foods
- not so much focus on what will go wrong, but on your success
- avoid doubting thoughts of yourself
- practice self-soothing breathing techniques
- take a short walk, get ready, or do whatever it takes to get rid of anxiety
- be natural and be yourself
- exercise regularly, eat healthy foods, and live a healthy lifestyle
- make eye contact with the audience to reduce tension
While on stage and your panic gets worse until it makes you forget for a moment, there are a few tricks you can do, namely:
- focus on the faces of the audience that look friendly
- laugh when the situation is right to help you relax more
- trying to show the best
If stage fright persists despite the attempts above, consult your counselor on this issue. At least that way you will get the right treatment and maybe find out the cause of this situation.
